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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3] [4] 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.[5]
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 dragoons. 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.
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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]
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.[9]
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,[10] with some estimates provided by David Hackett Fischer and other historians. The reported strengths do not include the 28 regimental officers.[8] 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.
| Hessian and British units | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit | Commander | Unit size | Casualties | Notes |
| Rall's Brigade | Col. Johann Rall | 1,354 | 17 killed 78 wounded 868 captured | |
| Grenadier Regiment Rall | Lt. Col. Balthasar Brethauer (acting) | 512 | 12 killed 10 wounded 290 captured | This regiment was the "regiment of the day" and had consequently been on alert.[11] It was part of a counterattack to recover some Hessian guns that had been abandoned, during which Rall went down with a mortal wound.[12] |
| Fusilier Regiment von Lossberg | Lt. Col. Franz Scheffer (acting) | 345 | 4 killed 55 wounded 260 captured | Lossberg's regiment managed to regroup with Rall in an orchard east of town, and participated in the counterattack to retrieve the Hessian guns. It suffered the highest number of killed and wounded; "lost in this affair 70 killed and wounded".[13] |
| Fusilier Regiment von Knyphausen | Maj. Friedrich Ludwig von Dechow (acting) | 429 | 1 killed 13 wounded 310 captured[14] | This regiment attempted to escape to the south across the Assunpink Creek, but was blocked first at the bridge and then in attempts to ford the creek.[15] Fifty of its men swam across the icy creek and reached Princeton ten hours later. |
| Artillery | Lt. Friedrich Fischer | 6 guns total; personnel are counted with their assigned regiments | Casualties are counted with their assigned regiments | Many of the artillerymen escaped across the Assunpink Creek bridge after abandoning their guns early in the battle. |
| Lt. Johann Engelhardt | ||||
| Jägers | Lt. Friedrich von Gröthausen | 50 estimated | Stryker does not report any casualties for this unit. | This company retreated across the Assunpink Creek bridge after skirmishing with the van of Sullivan's division.[16] |
| British 16th (Queen's) Light Dragoons | None listed | 18 estimated | Stryker does not report any casualties for this unit. | This company was stationed near the Assunpink Creek bridge and escaped across it early in the action.[17] |
| Totals | 1,382 | 22 killed 83 wounded 891 captured | Unit size includes 28 officers not counted in rank and file. Casualties include the following officer casualties: 5 killed, 5 wounded, 23 captured. Captured includes the wounded; the entire Hessian officer corps was captured or killed.[18] | |
| Unless otherwise cited, the information in this table is provided by Fischer, p. 396. | ||||
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.[19] 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.[20]
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.[21] Washington required everyone to carry muskets, including officers and musicians who did not normally carry them.[22] Also, a few Marines under Major Samuel Nicholas were in the battle.[23]
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.[24] (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.)[25] 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,[26] 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.[27]
| Continental Army | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit | Commander | Unit size | Notes | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Gen. George Washington | Washington rode with Greene's division, and observed the battle from high ground above the town near the artillery companies. | ||
| Commander-in-Chief's Guard | Capt. Caleb Gibbs | about 75 | This unit's assigned task was the protection of Washington and his papers. | |
| Secretary | Lt. Col. Robert Hanson Harrison | |||
| Washington's aides-de-camp | Lt. Tench Tilghman | |||
| Lt. Col. Richard Cary | ||||
| Lt. Col. Samuel Blachley Webb | ||||
| Adjutant General | Col. Joseph Reed | Reed accompanied militia Brig. Gen. John Cadwalader's brigade in its failed crossing of the Delaware.[28] | ||
| Quartermaster General | Col. Stephen Moylan | |||
| Commissary General | Lt. Col. Joseph Trumbull | |||
| Paymaster General | Col. William Palfrey | |||
| Muster Master General | Col. Gunning Bedford | |||
| Director of the General Hospital | Dr. John Morgan | |||
| Chief Engineer | Col. Rufus Putnam | |||
| Greene's Division | Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene | 2,690 | Washington rode with this division. | |
| Stephen's Brigade | Brig. Gen. Adam Stephen | 541 | This brigade served as bridgehead and advance guard,[29] and formed part of the center of Greene's line for the attack, along with Stirling's brigade.[30] | |
| 4th Virginia Regiment | Lt. Col. Robert Lawson | 229 | Col. Thomas Elliott was absent.[31] | |
| 5th Virginia Regiment | Col. Charles Scott | 129 | ||
| 6th Virginia Regiment | Col. Mordecai Buckner | 191 | ||
| Stirling's Brigade | Brig. Gen. William Alexander (Lord Stirling) | 673 | This brigade formed part of the center of Greene's line for the attack, along with Stephen's brigade. | |
| 1st Virginia Regiment | Capt. John Fleming | 185 | No field officers were present.[32] | |
| 1st Delaware Regiment | Col. John Haslet | 108 | Col. Haslet was one of several men that fell into the Delaware during the crossing.[33] | |
| 3rd Virginia Regiment | Col. George Weedon | 181 | ||
| 1st Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment | Maj. Ennion Williams | 199 | Col. Samuel Miles and Lt. Col. James Piper were captured in Battle of Long Island. According to Stryker, this unit included the remnants of Atlee's Pennsylvania State Musketry Battalion (decimated at Long Island),[34] while Fischer places those remnants with the 6th Virginia Regiment. | |
| Mercer's Brigade | Brig. Gen. Hugh Mercer | 838 | This brigade lined up on Greene's right for the attack. | |
| 20th Connecticut Regiment | Col. John Durkee | 313 | ||
| 1st Maryland Regiment | Lt. Col. Francis Ware | 163 | Col. John Stone was recruiting in Maryland.[35] | |
| 5th Massachusetts Regiment | Maj. Ezra Putnam | 115 | Fischer lists Col. Israel Hutchinson in command; Stryker says Hutchinson and Lt. Col. Benjamin Holden were absent. | |
| Bradley's Battalion, Connecticut State Troops | Capt. Benjamin Mills | 142 | Fischer lists Col. Philip Burr Bradley in command; Stryker indicates all field officers were absent. | |
| Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment | Capt. Alexander Lawson Smith (Maryland element)Capt. Gabriel Long (Virginia element)[36] | 105 | Lt. Col. Moses Rawlings and Maj. Otho Holland Williams were wounded and captured at the Battle of Fort Washington.[37] | |
| Fermoy's Brigade | Brig. Gen. Matthias Alexis Roche de Fermoy | 638 | This brigade lined up on Greene's left for the attack. At a key point in the battle, Washington ordered the brigade to extend Greene's line further to its left to avoid a potential flanking maneuver.[38] | |
| 1st Pennsylvania Regiment | Col. Edward Hand | 254 | Hand's men were first assigned to cover the Princeton road.[39] | |
| German Continentals | Col. Nicholas Haussegger | 374 | Near the end of the battle, these German immigrants called out to the Hessians in German to lay down their weapons.[40] | |
| Sullivan's Division | Maj. Gen. John Sullivan | 2,624 estimated | General Sullivan accepted the surrender of Maj. von Dechow, who was mortally wounded and seeking safety.[41] | |
| Glover's Brigade | Col. John Glover | 1,259 estimated | This brigade crossed the Assunpink Creek and took up positions on the far side of the bridge to prevent the enemy's escape across the bridge.[42] | |
| 14th (Marblehead) Regiment | Maj. William R. Lee | Fischer lists Col. John Glover in command; Stryker says Major Lee commanded while Glover led the brigade.[43] | ||
| 3rd Massachusetts Regiment | Col. William Shepard | |||
| 19th Connecticut Regiment | Col. Charles Webb | |||
| 23rd Continental Regiment | Col. John Bailey | |||
| 26th Continental Regiment | Col. Loammi Baldwin | |||
| Sargent's Brigade | Col. Paul Dudley Sargent | 865 estimated | This brigade also crossed the Assunpink Creek bridge and took up positions above the bridge to catch men trying to ford the creek. | |
| 16th Continental Regiment | Capt. James Perry | Fischer lists Sargent in command; Stryker indicates Perry, the next senior officer, commanded while Sargent led the brigade. | ||
| Ward's Regiment Connecticut Continentals | Col. Andrew Ward | |||
| 6th Battalion Connecticut State Troops | Col. John Chester | Stryker claims this unit did not cross the river.[44] | ||
| 13th Continental Regiment | Lt. Col. Ebenezer Clap | Col. Joseph Read was absent. | ||
| 1st Regiment MacDougall's New York Continentals | Capt. John Johnson | The colonelcy was vacant with the promotion of Alexander MacDougall to brigadier general, and the other command positions were also vacant. | ||
| 3rd New York Regiment | Lt. Col. Baron Friedrich von Weissenfels | Col. Peter Gansevoort was absent. | ||
| St. Clair's Brigade | Brig. Gen. Arthur St. Clair | 500 estimated | This brigade entered the lower end of town, near the bridge, and engaged the Hessians on King Street. | |
| 5th Continental Regiment | Col. John Stark | Stark's men led the initial attack against the jäger outpost on the river road.[45] | ||
| 8th Continental Regiment | Col. Enoch Poor | |||
| 2nd Continental Regiment | Col. Israel Gilman | Stryker lists Gilman as Lt. Col., with a vacant colonelcy. The previous colonel, James Reed had been promoted to brigadier general, and was sick at Peekskill, New York.[46] | ||
| 15th Continental Regiment | Col. John Paterson[47] | --at battle-->,463 | ||
| Artillery | Col. Henry Knox | 418 estimated; 16 guns | Knox oversaw and coordinated the crossing of the Delaware River.[48] | |
| New York Company of Continental Artillery | Capt. Sebastian Baumann | 3 guns, 80–85 men | Marching with Greene's division, this company and others occupied high ground that commanded Trenton's main roads.[49] | |
| Massachusetts Company of Continental Artillery | Capt. Lt. Winthrop Sargent | 2 guns, 55 men estimated | Capt. Thomas Pierce was absent, wounded.[50] This unit marched with Sullivan's division, and was eventually stationed on south shore of the Assunpink Creek. Its gunfire obstructed attempts by the Knyphausen regiment to ford the creek.[51] | |
| New York State Company of Artillery | Capt. Alexander Hamilton | 2 guns, 36 men | Marching with Greene's division, this company occupied high ground that commanded Queen Street, one of Trenton's main roads. | |
| Eastern Company, New Jersey State Artillery | Capt. Daniel Neil | 2 guns, 63 men | This unit marched with Sullivan's division.[52] | |
| Western Company, New Jersey State Artillery | Capt. Samuel Hugg | 2 guns, 55 men estimated | This unit marched with Sullivan's division. | |
| 2nd Company, Pennsylvania State Artillery | Capt. Thomas Forrest | 2 guns, 52 men | Marching with Greene's division, this company occupied high ground that commanded King Street, one of Trenton's main roads.[53] | |
| 2nd Company, Philadelphia Associators | Capt. Joseph Moulder | 3 guns, 85 men | This unit marched with Sullivan's division. | |
| Philadelphia Troop of Light Horse | Capt. Samuel Morris | 25 cavalry[54] | According to Stryker, this unit rode with Greene's division; it is not clear from sources if it was brigaded in any way. Fischer lists the unit as "not with the Continental Army".[55] Its assignments included patrolling the area around Trenton in the aftermath of the battle and the retreat across the river.[56] | |
| Total Size | 5,422 estimated | |||
| Unless otherwise cited, the information in this table is provided by Fischer, pp. 390–393. | ||||
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.[57] 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.[58] Ewing's artillery did fire across the river during the battle.
| Other American units | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit | Commander | Unit size | Notes |
| Cadwalader's Brigade | Brig. Gen. John Cadwalader | 2,322 estimated | Some crossed at Dunk's Ferry but then withdrew. |
| Philadelphia Associators | Capt. George Henry[59] | 1,500 estimated | The Associators (or at least some of them) and the Delaware militia were the only troops that successfully crossed the Delaware. They returned after it was clear the artillery could not be crossed, upon which Cadwalader and Hitchcock abandoned the effort.[60] |
| Morgan's Regiment, Philadelphia Militia | Col. Jacob Morgan | ||
| Bayard's Regiment, Philadelphia Militia | Col. John Bayard | ||
| Cadwalader's Regiment, Philadelphia Militia | Lt. Col. John Nixon | ||
| Matlack's Rifle Battalion, Philadelphia Militia | Col. Timothy Matlack | ||
| Kent County, Delaware Militia Company | Capt. Thomas Rodney | ||
| Two artillery companies | |||
| Hitchcock's Brigade | Col. Daniel Hitchcock | 822 estimated | |
| Nixon's Regiment, Massachusetts Continentals | Col. John Nixon | 156[61] | The numbers from Hitchcock's brigade were published in Wright from the General Return of 22 December 1776 and are hard to read. |
| Varnum's Regiment, Rhode Island Continentals (a.k.a. 9th Continentals) | Col. James Varnum | 138 | |
| Hitchcock's Regiment, Rhode Island Continentals (a.k.a. 11th Continentals) | Maj. Israel Angell | 114 | Angell commanded because Hitchcock led the brigade. |
| Little's Regiment, Massachusetts Continentals | Lt. Col. William Henshaw[62] | 168 | Col. Moses Little was sick at Peekskill, New York.[63] |
| Lippitt's Regiment, Rhode Island Line[64] | Col. Christopher Lippitt | 171 | Wright called this unit a Continental Army regiment, whereas Fischer listed it as militia. It was, in fact, a militia regiment, originally raised for service in Rhode Island, which had been called into Continental service. |
| Ewing's Brigade, Pennsylvania Militia of the Flying Camp | Brig. Gen. James Ewing | 1,000–1,200 | This brigade was to cross at the Trenton Ferry, directly across from the town. Fischer lists fewer units than Stryker does, estimating the brigade to have 826 men. |
| Cumberland County Regiment | Col. Frederick Watts | ||
| Cumberland County Regiment | Col. William Montgomery | ||
| Lancaster County Regiment | Col. Jacob Klotz | ||
| York County Regiment | Col. Richard McCallister | ||
| Chester County Regiment | Col. James Moore | ||
| Detachment, Bucks County Regiment | Col. Joseph Hart | This unit is not listed by Fischer, but is listed by Stryker as part of Ewing's brigade. Stryker estimates that this unit and Dickinson's New Jersey militia combined numbered between 300 and 500 men.[65] | |
| New Jersey militia | Brig. Gen. Philemon Dickinson | These units are not listed by Fischer, but are listed by Stryker as part of Ewing's brigade. | |
| Detachment, 1st Regiment Hunterdon County, New Jersey militia | Col. Isaac Smith | ||
| Detachment, 2nd Regiment Middlesex County, New Jersey militia | Col. John Neilson | ||
| Unless otherwise cited, the information in this table is provided by Fischer, p. 392. | |||
. David Hackett Fischer. Washington's Crossing. New York. Oxford University Press. 0-19-518159-X. Fischer. 2004. Washington's Crossing (book).