Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-17

of ease or plenty Still the Pilgrims went
about their work with an earnest purpose
They must have foreSeen that before the
coming of spring their colony Wound pe
decreased in number. Yet on that hrst
Christmas day in new land they labOred,
sharing what they had with each other
They had no Christmas as we see 1t, put
the spirit of the day must surely nave
been present at Plymouth, Tor IN neliis
free from religious interference ana IN
helping each other they shared the feel
ing of peace on earth, good will to
men,.
X X
THE dark days before Christmas mao
1 been literal truth to the continent
tai army in 1776. The British had taken
New York. There the American troops
had fallen into confusion at the sight OF
the English forces. Many of the CONT
mental army fled Gen. Washington, in
his disgust at such actions, asked: Are
these the men with whom l am to defend
American" In all of our camps there was
great depression At Harlem there were
no hospitals for the troops. The sick were
laid in barns or sheds, by fences or close
to walls, so that they might be protected
as much as possible from the weather.
Regiments were falling away from the
army because of the expiration OF their
service.
Many deserted. but few would enlist.
Washingtons appeal to Congress had
aided some in this matter for that leSIs-
lative body offered bounty of so for
enlistment and land grants were prom
Used soldiers. At Fort Washington and
Fort Lee Gen. Howe and Lord CORVALLIS
had been successful in capturing the con-
tinental forces with their baggage and
brOIlgIt
fresh misfortunes to our army, and Gen.
Washington fled from place to place with
his diminished forces. The convention at
New York also moved from. place To
place. The troops were uniting with the
British. The American army, numbering
only few thousand at the end of No
vember, was retreatinG into an open
country where they would be without
tents, blankets. intrenchment tools, suffi-
cient clothing even shoes during what
promised to be a severe winter.
Newark, New Brunswick, Princeton and
Trenton had all been taken by the Eng
lish. The American fleet was bottled up
in the Providence river Gen. Lee, VINO
might have aided Washington by heed
ing his request to join him. purposely re-
manned away. AT last. when he was
taken prisoner by the British. his sue
cessor, Gen. Sullivan. FASTENED to the
commander-in-chiefw with his troops, in
creasing Gen. Washington's forces to
seven thousand Congress, sitting in Phi
adelphia, found it safer to adjourn 10
Baltimore. At this time they granted
Washington unlimited power over the
army to extend for several months.
It was fortunate that Americas COM
mander-in-chief had been brought up in
Virginia. where the people kept Christmas
in about the same way as their English
ancestors had done. Washington knew
that at this season the victorious British
troops at Trenton would certainly enjoy a
good English Christmas, and no one bet
ter than the American general knew just
what that meant For this reason he de-
cided that there was no time like the
present for an attack. and so it happened
that he determined the Hessans at Tren-
ton should be the sufferers.