Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1905-03-25

Sylvanfa, only escaping further pursuit
and certain defeat because he had had
the forethought to seize every boat up
on the Delaware and its tributaries for
! miles in every direction and bring
; them with his army to the west bank
| Of the river. SO that Howe was unable
!: to cross The English general had
! threatened. however, to wait until the
| river was frozen ana then cross on the
ice and. after brushing aside the mis-,
cradle remains Of Washington's army,
march on to Philadelphia and establish
| himself In the rebel capital Making
that most serious Of mistakes for
military man Of despising his oppo-
nents. Howe had scattered his army
for convenience In quartering in va.
rious small detachments along the riv-
er. The small American army. supple
mented by the Pennsylvania militia.
had been placed opposite the different
fords from Yardley to New Hope to
hold the enemy in check in case an at
tempt should be made to force q cross
ing.
The fortunes Of the country were at
the lowest ebb But there was to be a
speedy reversal OF conditions. and the
world was to learn how dangerous
man was leading the Continental
troops. Washington, to whom a re-
treat was as hateful as it had been
necessary. had long meditated an at
tack whenever any chance whatever
Of success might present itself. The
necessity for change was apparent
not merely for the material result
which would flow from victory, but
for the moral effect as well. The fam
cied security Of the enemy, their ex-
posed positions, disconnected from
each other, and the contempt they felt
for his own troops. were large factors
In determining him to- strike then. but
another factor had still more weight,
and that was the fact that the time Of
the enlistment OF nearly the whole Of
his own army expired with the end OF
the year, and whatever was to be done
must be done quickly. He therefore
conceived the daring and brilliant de- /,
sign Of suddenly collecting his scat
tered forces. crossing the river and
falling upon his unsuspecting enemy
at Trenton, where d small brigade Of |
Hessians under Colonel Rahl was sta |
toned. .,
1t would be piece Of unparalleled
audacity. To turn. 90 IL were, Just be-
fore the dissolution OF his army aud /;
cross wide and deep river full Of ice
In the dead OF winter and strike like
the hammer Of Thor upon his unwaFy
toe, rhdeiy disturbing his compiacent |
dreams, was 9 coacepttoa Of eKceeding
briiliancy, and II at once stamped !
Washington as a military genius OF the
FIRST order. And with such. an army to
make such an atte4npt. Said one OF the j
officers Of the period In his memoirs.
IAN army without cavalry. partially j.
provided with artillery, deficient in
transportation for the little they had
to carry, without tents. tools or camp ,
equipage. without magazines Of any
kind, half clothed, badly armed, debili-
tated by disease, dishesrtened by mis-
fortune" But their leader was lion,
and the Hen4 was at last atsbaysz There
was another factor which contributed
greatly to the efficiency Of the army,
and that was the high quality ard
number of the Ameri-
can officers.
Orders had been given to the bri-
gades and troops mentioned to concen-
trate at McConkey's Ferry, about nine
miles above Trenton. Another division
under Ewing was to cross a mile be-
low Trenton and seize the bridge and
fords across the Assunpink, to check
the retreat Of the enemy and cooperate
with the main attack.
Cadwalader's Pennsylvania militia
under Gates was to cross at Bristol or
below Burlington and attack Won Do
mop at that point. while Putnam, in
conjunction with him, was to make
diversion from Philadelphia The move
ments were to be simultaneous, and
the result, it was hoped, would accord
with the effort The main column,
and the one upon which the most de-
pendence was to be placed. was that
which Washington himself was to ac-
company, which was composed OF vet
eran ContinentaIs to the number of
2 400. with eighteen pieces of artillery.
ALI this was briefly explained by the
general to Seymour and the staff
while they rode slowly along the frozen
road About 8 o'clock they arrived at
the ford, near which the troops which
had arrived before them now stood
on the high ground by the
river. "A few fires were burning in the
ravines back Of the banks, around
which the men took turns in warming
as they munched their fru
gal fare from the haversacks A large
number Of boats had been collected for
their transportation. but the river it
self was in most unprOmising condi-
ton, full OF great chunks of ice which
the swift current kept churning and
grinding against each other.
The general surveyed the scene in ST
lence as his staff and the general Off
GERS gathered about him.
S ssThero is something moving in the