Order of battle of the Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton was fought on December 26 , 1776 , during the American Revolutionary War campaign for New Jersey . In a surprise attack , the Continental Army led by George Washington attacked the winter quarters of a brigade composed primarily of German troops from Hesse - Kassel in Trenton , New Jersey . The Hessian brigade was under the command of Colonel Johann Rall ; he died of wounds sustained in the battle , and about two thirds of his men were taken prisoner . It was the first major victory after a long string of defeats that had resulted in the loss of New York City , and was a significant boost to American morale . It was followed by two more American victories , first in a second battle at Trenton on January 2 , 1777 , and then on January 3 at Princeton . Most of the German brigade comprised three Hessian regiments : those of Rall , von Lossberg , and von Knyphausen . The remainder of the brigade consisted of artillery corps attached to each regiment , a detachment of Jäger , and a small company of British dragoon s . The attacking American army consisted of units from the Continental Army , including companies of its artillery , and a few companies of militia . Additional units were intended to also participate either in the attack , or in diversions to draw attention from the main thrust ; these units failed to cross the icy Delaware River and did not participate in the action . Hesse - Kassel and British Army . After the war broke out in 1775 , the British government realized that it would need more troops than it could raise on its own to fight the war , so it sought to hire troops from willing third parties in Europe . All of these hired troops came from German principalities of the Holy Roman Empire . The single largest contingent , with more than 12 , 000 arriving in North America in 1776 , came from the Landgraviate of Hessen - Kassel . The garrison that was quartered at Trenton was a brigade of about 1 , 400 men , almost all from Hesse - Kassel , under the command of Colonel Johann Rall . The brigade was composed of three regiments , each of which had an artillery company attached . Also included in the brigade were a company of Hessian Jäger ( basically light infantry ) and a small company from the British 16th ( Queen ' s ) Light Dragoons . The Hessian regiments were named for their formal commanding officers . Since many general officers were also commissioned as colonels of regiments , they were often not present with the regiment , or were busy with their other duties even if the regiment fell under their higher - level command . Since Rall commanded the entire brigade , his regiment ' s operations were directed by its lieutenant colonel , as were the regiments of Lieutenant Generals Wilhelm von Knyphausen and Friedrich Wilhelm von Lossberg , the second and third ranking general officers in the North American forces of Hesse - Kassel after Lieutenant General Leopold Philip von Heister . The information in this table is based primarily on the reports of surviving Hessian officers submitted during inquiries into the disaster demanded by Frederick II , the Landgrave of Hesse - Kassel , with some estimates provided by David Hackett Fischer and other historians . The reported strengths do not include the 28 regimental officers . The casualty figures are from an official Hessian return ( a formal report on the unit ' s strength ) that also does not include officers . Officers killed or who died of their wounds included Col . Johann Rall and Maj . Friedrich von Dechow , the acting commander of the Knyphausen regiment . Continental Army . Washington organized his army into two columns for the attack on Trenton . After crossing the Delaware River , Brigadier General Adam Stephen ' s troops guarded the bridgehead while the remaining troops crossed . The divisions marched together for several miles before taking different roads into Trenton . Stephen ' s men led Major General Nathanael Greene ' s division southward along an inland road ( which was accompanied by Washington and his entourage ) , while Major General John Sullivan ' s division followed a road along the river , intending to prevent the Hessians from retreating across the Assunpink Creek . Most of the figures in this listing are derived from a return prepared by George Washington on December 22 , 1776 , four days before the battle . Historian David Hackett Fischer includes estimates made by either himself or other historians for strength counts that were not provided in Washington ' s return . The counts include all officers and musicians , in addition to the rank and file marked as present and fit for duty . Washington required everyone to carry muskets , including officers and musicians who did not normally carry them . American casualties in the battle were very light , and are therefore not listed in the table below . Two Virginia officers , Capt . William Washington and Lt . James Monroe of the 3rd Virginia Regiment , were injured , as was James Buxton , an ensign in the 4th Virginia Regiment . ( Monroe , the future United States president , suffered a wound to the neck that very nearly killed him . His life was saved by a doctor who volunteered his services to the army as it marched through New Jersey that morning . ) Two privates are known to have died in the battle , and one account includes mention of two men dying from exposure on the march . The most pessimistic estimate of American casualties lists four killed and eight wounded , although Fischer points out that many more American troops probably died of non - combat causes ( including illness , hypothermia , malnutrition , and exhaustion ) in the days and weeks following the campaign of late December and early January . Other American units in the campaign . Although the main Continental Army force was the only American formation involved in the attack on Trenton , Washington had planned two additional crossings of the Delaware to assist in the attack . Pennsylvania militia Brigadier General John Cadwalader ' s brigade , composed of militia companies called " associators " and a number of smaller Continental Army regiments , did get some units across the river at Dunk ' s Ferry , but ice jams on the far side made it impossible to cross everyone , including Cadwalader and the artillery , and the effort was abandoned . A battalion of Marines under Major Samuel Nicholas was attached to Cadwalader ' s brigade but did not participate in Battle of Trenton . Pennsylvania brigadier James Ewing was unable to cross any of his troops ( militia companies that had been assigned to the reserve force known as the Flying Camp earlier in the year ) due to difficult icy conditions at the Trenton Ferry . Ewing ' s artillery did fire across the river during the battle .