George Washington Overseeing Seige of British at Boston During American Revolutionary War

George Washington With Betsy Ross and New Flag

George Washington at Dorchester Heights During Seige of Boston

Ultimately, what allowed Washington to drive the British out of Boston was his placement of cannons on Dorchester Heights, making the British position indefensible.  These cannon were obtained by Washington sending Henry Knox to Fort Ticonderoga to drag the cannon from the captured fort back to Boston in the middle of winter.  At first it would seem that this would be an impossible task in winter.  What Washington and Henry Knox figured out, however, was that winter could be an advantage to hauling the cannon back to Boston since the marshes and wetlands would be frozen solid – and giant sleds could be made to drag the cannon back over the ice and snow.  What was just as incredible was how the American army was able to build fortifications on Dorchester Heights and drag the cannons into position in one night, without the British being aware of what the Americans were doing.  When the British woke up the next morning to see the fortifications and cannons on Dorchester Heights, they realized that their position was no longer defensible and soon evacuated Boston.

George Washington at the Battles of Brooklyn and Long Island

After defeating the British at the seige of Boston, George Washington shifted the American army to New York where he expected the British to next attack.  As it turned out, Washington was correct in his assumption of British intentions with the British landing some 32,000 men on Staten Island in July of 1776.  Finally, towards the end of August the British forces attacked, trapping the bulk of the American forces led by Washington at Brooklyn Heights.  On the night of August 29-30th, however, in a thick fog Washington was able to evacuate his army across the  river to Manhattan.  Unfortunately, this was only a temporary reprieve as the American army was then defeated in several battles with the result that Washington was forced to lead what was left of the American army in retreat across New Jersey.  These series of battles were collectively the largest battle of the entire Revolutionary War and the first time that the American army had fought the British after the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.  It also was Washington’s greatest defeat during the Revolutionary War.  Blame for the defeat was partially Washington’s, but can also be attributed to the lack of training of the American army and the superiority of the better trained and equipped British army led by British General William Howe.

George Washington Crossing the Delaware

After the defeat at Long Island, George Washington led the American army in retreat across New Jersey.  Chasing behind him was the significantly larger, better trained, and better equipped British army.  Reaching the Delaware River, Washington rounded up every available boat and lit fires all along the Pennsylvania shore to guide the evacuation of his army across the river to the safety of the Pennsylvania shore.  Ninety percent of the Continental Army that existed at Long Island was gone from casualities and desertions.  What is worse is the fact that on December 26th, the enlistments of the remaining soldiers would be up and Washington would no longer have an army to lead.  In a desperate and bold move, Washington assembled his men and offered them a bonus if they would stay for one for month.  Unfortunately, none of the soldiers stepped forward to take such an offer.  Washington then started to ride away, but turned back to his soldiers and made a speech where he told them that never again would they have such a unique opportunity to serve their country.  Stirred by Washington’s words, this time the soldiers stepped forward to stick it out for one more month.  As a consequence, on the night of December 25, 1776 and on into the morning of December 26th, Washington led his men in boats backed across the Delaware River in order to mount an attack on the Hessian garrison in Trenton, New Jersey.  The password that Washington picked for that night was “Victory or death.”

George Washington at the Battle of Trenton

The battle of Trenton took place on December 26, 1776.  Because of the blizzard conditions that night, two other planned offensive thrusts were unable to cross the Delaware – leaving on George Washington and his 2,400 men to attack the Hessians at Trenton.  The severe weather conditions also delayed Washington’s nine march south on Trenton so that the American army did not arrive at Trenton until after dawn.  Even still, because of the severe weather and partying the night before, the Hessians had let down their guard and were surprised by the American attack.  The result was that the Americans were able to overcome the Hessian garrison, with almost two-thirds of the 1,500 man garrison captured.  Many of the American troops did not have boots and had thus had to wrap their feet in rags.  As a result, on their march to Trenton, they left a trail of blood in the snow.  Washington rode back and forth along the line of troops during the march to encourage the men.  And when they encountered the first Hessian troops on the edge of town, Washington personally led the American assault.

George Washington at the Battle of Princeton

Most people do not know that there was a second battle of Trenton.  This occurred when the American army under the command of George Washington repulsed a British attack upon the American position at Trenton on the night of January 2, 1777.  Expecting to resume the attack the following morning, British General Lord Cornwallis instead woke up the next morning to find that the Americans had disappeared.  While keeping fires going to create the illusion that the Americans were still in their positions, George Washington had instead slipped away with the American army during the night.  In the morning, George Washington then led an attack on the British forces at Princeton, again boosting American morale with another American victory over the British.  Afterwards, the British evacuated New Jersey and retreated to New York City while Washington led his troops to a winter encampment at Morristown, New Jersey. 

George Washington – 1777 Winter Encampment at Jockey Hollow at Morristown, N.J.

After the battles of Trenton and Princeton, George Washington picked Morristown, N.J. as the site of the winter encampment for the Continental, where they remained from January 6 to May 28, 1777.    Washington had his headquarters at Jacob Arnold’s Tavern located at the Morristown Green in the center of town.  During this winter encampment, George Washington used the local churches as centers to innoculate the soldiers against small pox.  Among the individuals innoculated was Martha Washington.

George Washington at the Battle of Brandywine

The Battle of Brandywine was fought on September 11, 1777 in the area surrounding Chadd’s Ford, Pennsylvania and the Brandywine River.  The above picture is a painting of the battle by Howard Pyle.  The events leading up to the battle included the British under British General Sir William Howe putting together an armada of 260 ships to carry some 17,000 British soldiers from Sandy Hook, New York to Maryland’s Elk River some 60 miles south of Philadelphia.  From there, the British marched on the 20,600 strong army under George Washington which was positioned between the British and Philadelphia.   Washington had chosen a strong position on high ground at Chadd’s Ford.  Because of heavy fog and the inexperience of the American forces, however, the Americans did not detect until it was too late a flanking movement of British troops led by British General Lord Cornwallis.  As a result of the American loss, the Continental Congress had to abandon Philadelphia and move first to Lancaster, PA. for one day and then on to York, Pennsylvania.  Meanwhile, the British were able to occupy Philadelphia, which they did until June 1778.

George Washington Watching Troops On March to Valley Forge

The last major battle between the Americans and the British during 1777 occurred at White Marsh west of Philadelphia.  With winter coming on, George Washington had to find a winter encampment for his army.  While several locations were considered, Washington eventually picked Valley Forge as being located on a plateau far enough from the British to avoid a surprise attack by the British while also being situated between the British and the rich farm country west of Valley Forge to prevent British foraging in such farm areas.  The army under Washington marched into Valley Forge on December 11, 1777 in a cold howling wind.  Washington immediately ordered the construction of over 1,000 huts to house the soldiers and the construction of several hospitals to nurse the sick and wounded.  A critical problem that faced the American during their entire encampment, however, was a lack of food and other supplies.  This was hampered by poor weather that left many of the roads muddy and impassable.  Contrary to the impression of many, the winter at Valley Forge was not the coldest the American Army faced.  Instead, while there were several snow storms, it was the frequent thawing because of milder weather that made the roads impassable from mud.