New Jersey is often called the "Crossroads of the American Revolution" because it saw more battles and skirmishes than any other state.
December 1776 was particularly important. It begins with a retreat. In early December, after losing New York City, General George Washington and the Continental Army retreated across New Jersey, pursued by the British. They crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania in early December, seizing all boats to prevent the British from following.
Thomas Paine's pamphlet "The American Crisis" was written while Paine was with the army in NJ and PA was published this month to boost morale. Washington ordered it read to his troops on December 23.
The 1776 Christmas-night crossing of the Delaware River by George Washington's Continental Army to attack Hessian forces in New Jersey is a very famous image and story. Washington’s army braved a winter storm to cross the ice-choked Delaware River from Pennsylvania back into New Jersey at McKonkey's Ferry (now Washington Crossing).
The first Battle of Trenton was on December 26, after the Delaware crossing and a march of nine miles to Trenton. This surprise attack on the Hessian garrison (German mercenaries hired by the British) was a decisive victory, capturing nearly 900 prisoners with almost no American casualties.
However, a massive British army of about 8,000 men led by Lord Charles Cornwallis was marching south from Princeton to crush him. Washington, with his back to the Delaware River, was effectively trapped. Cornwallis, believing Washington had no boats and was trapped against the impassable Delaware River, famously told his officers they could "bag the fox in the morning." He ordered his troops to rest for the night.
Realizing his army would be destroyed in a dawn attack, Washington executed a daring deception. He ordered a small group of soldiers to keep the campfires burning bright and to make digging noises, tricking the British sentries into thinking the Americans were digging in for a fight. In total silence, the rest of the Continental Army wrapped their wagon wheels in rags to dampen the sound and marched around the British flank in the middle of the night.
By the time Cornwallis woke up the next morning to "bag the fox," the American camp was empty. Washington was already miles away, about to launch a surprise attack on the British rearguard at the Battle of Princeton, which was another victory.
The "Second Crossing" (December 29–30) came because Washington took a huge risk and crossed back into New Jersey to solidify his gains and encourage the militia to rise up.
The Continental Army skirmishes with British and Hessian troops in Princeton on New Year’s Day. The Second Battle of Trenton, also known as the Battle of the Assunpink Creek, was a pivotal defensive stand by the Continental Army on January 2, 1777. While often overshadowed by the surprise attack on the Hessians a week earlier, this battle was arguably the moment the American Revolution came closest to total collapse.
If Washington had lost at Assunpink Creek, the Continental Army would likely have been captured or destroyed, effectively ending the Revolutionary War. Instead, the successful defense and subsequent escape allowed Washington to drive the British out of most of New Jersey and boosted public support for the Revolution.
After marching approximately 12 miles through a cold night, Washington’s army arrived at Princeton at dawn on January 3, 1777. They encountered a British brigade, led by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood, that was marching out of Princeton to join Cornwallis in Trenton. A sharp, fierce engagement broke out on the fields south of the town.
At a crucial moment, when the lead American units were wavering and being overrun by a British bayonet charge, Washington personally rode to the front of the lines. He rallied the troops and led the counterattack, resulting in a decisive American victory. The remaining British troops were surrounded and forced to surrender inside Nassau Hall (the main building of the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University).
Washington at the Battle of Princeton
Following the victory at Princeton, Washington knew his army was exhausted and vulnerable if Cornwallis—who was now rushing up from Trenton—caught them. Washington broke off the pursuit, leaving New Jersey's central corridor, and marched his army north to Morristown, New Jersey.
Beginning around January 6, 1777, the Continental Army set up its winter quarters in Morristown. This strategic location in the New Jersey Highlands allowed Washington to protect his army while constantly threatening the British supply lines that stretched between New York and their garrisons in New Jersey.
In this film, the "Ten Crucial Days" refers to the short, decisive period from December 25, 1776, through January 3, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War that was a critical turning point where General George Washington and the beleaguered Continental Army launched a series of daring, successful military operations in New Jersey that snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and renewed the Patriot cause.
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