The daily national Whig. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1847-1849, 1849-01-01
ing, the want Of which they felt, and we,
fear, do not sufficiently appreciate, Ne
member s O'Clock at my room = R

ing, the want Of which they felt, and we,
fear, do not sufficiently appreciate Ne
member s O'Clock at my room Z
"Well, my young friend, am pleased to
see YOU. Walk IN and take seat on the
floor, unless you prefer chair,-her one
at your service, Hope you have recover
ed from your fit Of the blues"
81 am as well as could be expected, as
the doctors say"
"Good. Now propose that you shall
devote two hours each evening (having no.
thing better TO employ your time) to un-
ravelling the contents Of yonder bundle Of
MSS. You'll find something among them
to stir your blood, or am mistaken. What
say you;"
Agreed ! will commence at once"
/" ! am going out. Should you get tired
before ] return, place the MSS. in that box
with the hasp, lock it and put the key IN
your pocket, wish you pleasant even
ing"
1 (" Well, I'll be switched! He's of, and
l am LEFT, lorlorn hope, to attack this for
midable looking pile Of manuscripts. -
Faugh! how musty they small! What's
this - Battle Of Trenton 1776-l777 !:
Incidents Individual bravery--Fierce en-
counter, Sc, &c"
Our young friend seated himself costly by
the FIRE, placed his feet gently upon the fen
der, arranged a tall spermaceti on either side
in such position as to throw their light upon
the MS, threw himself back in his chair
and was soon lost to everything but the sub
ject-matter Of the papers before him. It is
our design to give to the public such portions
Of these manuscripts as have never appear
ed in print. It is strange, but not less true
than strange, that these transactions should,
for so long period, have escaped the no.
tice of historians. It is still more singular
that the event which Immediately preceded
their enactment, should not have become,
as it certainly is, Gas much so as the battle
Of the 25th December, l776,) part Of the
history Of the struggle for American indie
pendence. That It has not been mentioned
by English writer's, is not SO much to be
wondered at, inasmuch as its result was, to
their, aims disasterous and bloody. The oms-
sion on our own parts, may, perhaps, be ac-
counted for, by the hurry and hustle Of the
mastery retreat which it became necessary
for our army to make from force rendered
SO superior by reiniorcements, that to haz-
ard another battle, would have resulted in
almost certain defeat, But We must not
anticipate.
The British, hitherto victorious in every
field, Boosting andvainglorious, flushed with
success, and all the "pomp and crtum-
stance of glorious war" began to fancy that
they had nothing to do but to march on, con-
quering and 70 conquer--driving the rebels
before them, until, dishearteDed by repeat
ed defeats, they would lay down their arms
and quietly submit to what appeared to be
their manifest destiny. The battle of Tren-
ton, l776, opened their eyes to the fact
that the Defenders Of Liberty, though beaten
oft, did not intend to stay beaten, and that
George Washington, the leader Of this for
lorn hope, placed his trust in higher power
than that Of king George power that
grasped events, and swayed, with breath,
the destinies Of understanding doubling
that He would, eventually, enable his suf-
fering countrymen to conquer their enemies,
and Danish them from country destined to
become the home Of the oppressed Of every
nation-a nation Of freemen-hateys Of ty-
ranny--cultivators Of the arts Of peace--an
example TO the world of successful defiance
of oppression, and Of firm reliance on that
power which nerer fails people who place
their trust in Him.
After the defeat Of the Hessians at Tren-
ton, Washington marched his army into
Pennsylvania, where, having secured his
prisoners and refreshed his men, he again
crossed the Delaware and made his head
quarters at Trenton. Determined to avail
himself Of the ardour with which his late
victory had inspired his men, he prepared to
strike another blow at the enemy. Learn
ing that CORVALLIS was concentrating his
force at Princeton and preparing for battle,
he crossed the Assanpink Creek, (Which
formerly divided Hunterdon and Burling-
ton counties, and is now the dividing line
between north and south Trenton,) erected
his batteries on its southern bank, command
ing the approaches to the bridge, and quiet
ly awaited the enemy.
On the morning Of the ed January, l777,
the British entered Trenton, and immediate
preparations were made to force the Ameri-
can position, drive them into the open coun-
try beyond, and force them to fight on un-
equal terms. But Washington was wide