Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-30
TEXT OF PRESIDENTS ADDRESS
AT TRENTON ANNIVERSARY
Turning Point in Revolution Seen in
Offensive Victory of Gen. Washington.
i. S. Peace Role Lauded.

the spirit of the patriot cause rose.
| The inhabitants of this region began
| remove their loyalist flags and to
| manifest their open adherence to the
American cause. Early on New Year
morning Robert Norris was busy wax
| ing people in Philadelphia, making APP
| peals for money to support the army.
| He secured $4,000, which went large
| ly to pay the soldiers, encouraging
| them to remain after their enlistments
| had expired.
Again Occupies Trenton.
Meanwhile Cadwalader had crossed
the Delaware. Learning of his move
ments, on the 30th Washington again
occupied Trenton and drew his lines
on the south side of Assunpink Creek,
with about 5000 men. Skirmishers
which he sent toward Princeton were
| driven back by the British commanded
| by Corvallis, who encamped on the
north banks of the creek, expecting.
with his superior numbers, to over
whelm the Americans on the following
day. Realizing that he could not re-
cross the Delaware for the lack of
boats, and that his army was too weak
20 advance, Washington held a mid
| night council, at which it was decided
to leave their campfires burning and
their sentinels posted while the army
moved off to the right and marched
| rapidly around behind the British 20
| Sition.
Just after daybreak CORVALLIS
heard the roar of Washington's guns
| from Princeton, a dozen miles away,
| where sharp engagement took place.
| When the battaliOnS of Mercer and
Cadwalader were thrown into disor.
der Washington rode to the front, raj
lied his men and brought victory out
of defeat. Having routed the British,
he continued north toward Brunswick,
but finding his men too exhausted to
| Ittack the British depot, turned his
Lrmy north toward Morristown, where
1e arrived on January T.
by this brilliant action he had
| broken through the lines of Gen.
Howe and held a position where he
could recruit his army and continue
the war. Earlier successes says
John Fiske. had been local. This was
continental. Seldom has so much
! been done with such slender means
On hearing what Washington had ac-
complished, Sir Horace Walpole wrote:
His march through our line is allowed
| to have been prodigy of generalship.
In one word, look upon a great part
or America as lost to this country
After this display of valor and success,
| Congress fastened to vote more troops
and supplies. Recruits began to ar
rive. The crisis was passed. The
| way was open to arouse the spirit of
the colonies to such a roint that they
were able in the following October to
surround and defeat Burgoyne at
Saratoga. That victory brought the
| open support of France and led on to
Yorktown and independence
Wins Offensive Victory.
| ut is the relationship of events
which makes them important, The
capture of small outpost in a little
village by the Revolutionary force of
scarcely $500 men is not in itself
impressive The night march from
the south side Of Assunpink, the sur
prise attack on Princeton, the escape
of the patriot army through the Brit.
lsh lines. hold rather trifiing place
ii considered merely as military
achievement. The colonists had dem.
onstrated that they could fight at
| Bunker Hill. But that was more than
a year and a half ago, and it was
not a victory. Washington had dem.
| onstrated his military capacity by the
successful and almost bloodless siege
Of Boston He had shown his strategy
in the retreat from Long Island. But
here at last ne had led an attack
of great holiness, had one or two ac-
tons in the field, and finally reached
his objective.
This was successful offensive vic
tory. He had demonstrated his
genius for command His cause was
far from won. He was yet to pass
that terrible Winter at Valley Forge
and meet the shock of Arnold 8
treachery on the Hudson. But here.
after he stood out as general that
| commanded the pride of his country
men and the respect Of their foes.
| Thereafter every one knew that the
Colonies had an army in the field
| that would fight and could win vic
| tories. 1t was that knowledge and
that army which were the entire sup
port of the Revolutionary movement.
I'VE cannot, however, put the
main emphasis of these important
events on their immediate results. 1t
was not that they enthused the
patriots with a new spirit which en-
abled them to win important victories
n the coming campaigns Of 1871.
The war could have been lost many
times in the following years. 1t was
not even the more distant day of
independence. A struggling, dissev-
cred, unrelated aggregation of Col
| onies, each a prey alike to it's own
domestic jealousies and foreign in.
tr.gue, riotous, impotent, bankrupt,
would scarcely have been worth the
blood and treasure expended for a
nominal and fleeting independence.
1.-THE American Revolution was not
an accomplished fact until the adop-
ton of our Federal Constitution and
the establishment under its provisions
Of an efficiently functioning govern
rnent. Unless the engagements at
Trenton and Princeton had led in
this direction they would have been
all in vain and we should not be
here assembled to do our reverence
to them and their heroic figures.
| washington and his generals are
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