SUSSEX COUNTY -- In December 1776, on orders of Gen. George Washington, troops were gathering together, with many of those troops marching through Sussex County in order to reach their destination. Washington kept his plans a complete secret, but his goal was to attack Trenton before the end of the year as many of his troop enlistments would expire, leaving him with a greatly reduced army.
If all goes as planned a re-enactment of the crossing of the Delaware is planned from noon to 3 p.m. at the Washington Crossing Parks, located on both the Pennsylvania and the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. A vehicular bridge and a pedestrian walkway connect the two parks.
As for the background of the Trenton Battle and the subsequent Princeton Battle, historians recorded that morale was low, hopes of defeating the British and their hired Hessian soldiers had diminished and many of the men's enlistments would expire in a few days. The situation was explicitly described in "Rebels and Redcoats" where it was written that, "the loss of General Lee, the successful British suppression of occupied territory, the vast number of Americans eagerly grasping Howe's pardons seemed to herald the end of the American case. Washington's army had been beaten pitifully from Long Island and White Plains to the Delaware; in camp, it had been reduced frightfully by disease and desertion. His tattered ranks still were dazed by their harrowing flight through the Jerseys in freezing weather, wretchedly clothed and poorly fed, with seldom an issue of rum to warm the belly and ease the spirit."
As a means to offset this, Washington realized that he must do something and do it quickly. Washington conceived a brilliant plan. He determined to attack the British and their Hessian soldiers on Christmas Day at Trenton.
Incidentally, while historians write much about the Trenton and Princeton Battles and their importance, they fail to record the part that Sussex County played in them. Fortunately, however, our local historians have. As an example, Amelia Stickney Decker in "That Ancient Trail" recorded that, "just before the Battle of Trenton, too, in 1776 we find Gen. (Horatio) Gates' army marching down the Old Mine Road, with seven regiments, on their way to assist the armies of Washington. When they neared Van Campen's Inn they were compelled to camp for several days because of a heavy snowstorm. Then they traveled on to Newton."
Decker included a letter dated Dec. 12, 1776, written from VanKempt's, 15 miles from Sussex Court House. Addressed to "His Excellency, Gen. Washington", it read in part, "in obedience to Gen. Schuler's command, I left Albany the 2nd instant, with Stark's, Poor's Reed's and Patterson's regiments; Greaton's, Bond's and Porter's having sailed from thence the day before; Bedell's remaining to embark the next day as sloops were not ready to receive them. Upon my arrival at Esopus, I sent Brigade-Major Stoddart to New Windsor to order Greaton's, Bond's and Porter's regiments to join me upon the march by way of Goshen. I therefore marched from Esopus, and sent my aid-decamp Major Pierce, to Goshen, to direct the march of those regiments. He met me yesterday and informed me that Gen. Lee sent an order to those regiments to join him by a prescribed route. I therefore pursued my march by this route with the four other regiments, and hope to rendezvous them all day after tomorrow at Sussex Court House."
Decker then noted that Brigadier Major James Wilkinson sent a letter to Washington advising "he crossed the hills to Sussex Court House the next day, where he received advice that Washington had crossed the Delaware several days before, and that the enemy had reached Trenton.
Local historian John C. Rights, in his manuscript on Lake Owassa, expresses interest in the Military Road as the troops that marched from Walpack to Newton (Sussex Court House) marched on as it went through his grandparent's former Egypt Farm and intersects the West Shore Owassa Turnpike at the Frankford/Hampton township boundary line. Rights laments that "despite being a pivotal component of the War for Independence and the Battle of Trenton, the march made by the men under Gen. Gates' command is rarely discussed in American History.
According to Rights, Maj. Wilkinson arrived in Sussex Court House on Dec. 12 with St. Clair's brigade arriving in the area of Washington's encampment on Dec. 20 and 21, with their timely arrival causing a tremendous boost in morale. He estimates that the combined strength of Washington's Army now stood at about 8,000 men, but he adds that not all were fit for duty.
As for the marchers involved in this daring attack, Richard P. McCormack, in his book, "New Jersey From Colony to State," observed that "marching with Washington on that desperate foray were heroic men who have become immoral in our history. In addition to Sullivan and Greene there were the brave Hugh Mercer, soon to perish at Princeton; Henry Knox, later chief of artillery and first United States Secretary of War; Arthur St. Clair, a Scottish veteran who commanded the Pennsylvania troops; the loyal Lord Stirling, a valiant figure despite his spendthrift habits and his pretensions to a lapsed Scottish earldom; and John Stark of New Hampshire, a veteran of Bunker Hill.
"Among the younger men were Alexander Hamilton and James Monroe, both of whom were to gain distinction in the ensuing encounter. Had their mission on that perilous night ended in failure, their names might now be unknown."
As for the pre-conditions of the battle, perhaps brutal at best, would describe them. For, recorded in "Rebels and Redcoats" was the following: "Christmas 6 p.m. -- The Regiments have had their evening parade, but instead of returning to their quarters are marching toward the ferry. It is fearfully cold and raw and a snowstorm setting in. The wind is northeast and beats in the faces of the men. It will be a terrible night for the soldiers who have no shoes. Some of them have tied old rags around their feet; others are barefoot, but I have not heard a man complain. They are ready to suffer any hardship and die rather than give up their liberty. I have just copied the order for marching. Both divisions are to go from ferry to Bear Tavern, two miles. They will separate there. Washington will accompany Greene's division with a part of the artillery down the Pennington road. Sullivan and the rest of the artillery will take the river road."
Fortunately, the battle was swift and lasted only 90 minutes when the British surrendered. The American casualties were light with one man, Pvt. Forest Ballangee reportedly frozen to death. Included among the wounded were the general's nephew, Capt. William Washington and a future president of the U.S.A., Lt. James Monroe.
The battle over, it was recorded that "so reluctantly, with the storm in their faces now, the army tramped back to McConkey's ferry. The long line of prisoners and booty delayed the march; the ice in the river was more dangerous than it had been before. It was deep night and bitterly cold by the time the last of them was over. By the time they were back in the old quarters, all of them had been marching and fighting for 36 hours, some for 50, and some had marched 40 miles. A thousand men, more than two-fifths of the whole command, were reported unfit for duty next morning."
Rights estimates that of the troops involved in the successful Trenton raid that one-third of the men that were involved in its success had marched to Washington's aid through Sussex County. Rights also observed "the surprising victory at Trenton galvanized the colonies. The cause of Independence and Liberty now seemed possible. It proved that citizen soldiers could defeat the most powerful standing regular Army in the world." Against all odds, Gen. George Washington's striking plan had proved successful.
Jennie Sweetman is the history columnist for the New Jersey Herald. She may be contacted at email@example.com.