Evening star., 1926-05-16

Following this action the fortunes OF
the American forces reached a low
ebb The men were i'll fed poorly out
fitted and armed and many We're
openly discouraged Desertions were
frequent. Washington was weighed
down with problems. He had to do
| his best toward keeping up the morale
of his army and at the same time
prepare for an attack by the British.
| In September it became evident that
he could not hold Manhattan and he
retired from the city.
Shortly thereafter he desired in
| formation concerning the strength
and intentions of the enemy and
called for a spy to enter the British
lines. Nathan Hale. graduate of
Yale University and a lieutenant in
| the Infantry volunteered. Disguised
as Dutch schoolmaster. he visited all
, the English camps i'm New York and
on Long Island. After having been
in the enemys territory nearly two
weeks and having obtained all the
desired information. he was about TO
return when recognized in the tavern
of Widow Chichester. a Tory rendez-
vous. lie was told that there was
boat approaching. Believing it to be
vessel coming to take him back TO
1 his friends. the patriot rushed to the
/ river only to be greeted by line of
leveled muskets and commanded To
surrender.
Hale was Immediately sent to the
headquarters of Gen. Howe. who was
7 amazed at the accuracy and compre-
/ henSiveneHs of the drawings of the
! British fortif1cationS found in the
Americans shoes Howe was so i'm
pressed by the youths accomplish
mentS that he offered him full pardon
II he would enter the crown service.
Such a bribe was wasted on a man of
Hale's caliber and there was no course
left to the British commander but to
order the captive to he executed.
The world learned and acclaimed
the last words of the spy. delivered
just before his death on September %:
My only regret is that I have hut
one life to lose for my country" That
! sentence alone made the man i'm
mortal. endeared him to posterity and
! brought forth renewed ardor among
his fellow patriots of the time
! In the campaign that followed after
! the retreat TO the Delaware the OBJ
| servant colonial comma nder had
| noticed that the enemy had become so
| confident that he had committed sev.
! eral urWise actions. For one thing
| careless sentry system was main.
! tained. For another and more i'm
! portant thing from the American
standpoint, Gen. Howe had extended
the wings of his army too far from
| his base at New Brunswick
| Nearest To the Americans was
! force of 500 men. mostly Hessians.
Quartered across the river at Trenton.
| AT BordentOWn. few miles below,
| there was another HeSSian regiment,
while still further downstream third
detachment Of the British army was
| stationed. Washington believed that
! if one of these forces couh he at
| tackled by surprise it could he defeat
| ed before aid from the more distant
posts of the English could arrive.
The night Of Christmas was select
| ed for an attempt of this sort. The
| colonistS We're divided into three de-
| tachmentS to engage the three forces
! of the enemy just across the river
| The first and largest of the attack
| ing parties was to cross the Delaware
| at place called Mackenkys Ferry.
about 9 miles above Trenton. 1t was
! commanded by Washington himself.
and was the only detachment of the
Army that succeeded in ma vigating
| the river. The crossing began at
| nightfall and proved extremely haZ-
| ardous because of the difficulty of
| constantly combating large cakes of
| floating ice. In order to make the
! surprise more complete Washington
had planned to get his entire Army
over to the eastern bank before mid
! night. but the crossing had to be done
| so slowly that it was not completed
until 4 o'clock in the morning. At
| that time the American force was
! divided into two marching columns.
| which advanced toward Trenton by
| different routes. 1t was hoped that
| the destination might be reached be-
| fore daylight. but a thick fog and
| drizzling sleet retarded the march so
that the troops did not come upon
! the town until o'clock.
| In spite of all the delays the Hes
slams were completely surprised. They
] had spent the night in a hilarious
Christmas celebration and had not
| dreamed that Washington and his
| men were anywhere in the neigh
| borhood. Their commander was
mortally wounded in the first on
slaught. The troops, finding them
! selves surrounded, quickly surrender
ed. Over a thousand prisoners were
| captured on the spot, the colonial
| losses in the encounter being two
killed and three wounded.
| Fearing that large force might be
| dispatched Immediately 10 the relief
| of Trenton from one of the nearby
British posts, Washington did not
linger in New Jersey, but hastily re,
crossed the Delaware.
When he reached Philadelphia he
made the most of his victory by
| parading the prisoners through the
streets of the city to help restore conf
dence. The demonstration had the de-
| sired effect and awakened a new en-
! thusiasm for the war. News of the
| Christmas victory brought forth
| volunteers from all sides. With them
| Washington planned a new campaign.
which, after several more years of
trials and tribulations, eventually led
to YictorN.