Trenton: The Night Washington Crossed the Delaware | 5-Minute Videos | PragerU
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In the winter of 1776, it looked like the battle for independence was doomed. The British army had chased Washington out of New York. To salvage victory from defeat, the American general had one last play to make. He would attack his enemy on Christmas night. The password was “victory or death.” Historian Mark Maloy tells the desperate and inspiring tale.
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Transcript:
Trenton: The Night Washington Crossed the Delaware
Presented by Mark Maloy
In spring 1776, the British sent a massive armada of 400 ships, carrying 32,000 men across the Atlantic. Led by General William Howe, a seasoned veteran of the French and Indian War, it was one of the largest invasion forces in the history of the world up until that time.
Its purpose was straightforward: quash the American rebellion once and for all. It almost did.
That August, Howe thoroughly trounced George Washington and his fledgling Continental Army, driving them entirely out of New York City.
It was a humiliating defeat.
When it was over, Washington’s army of 20,000 was reduced to 5,000 from death, disease, and desertion.
“The game,” as Washington admitted to his brother in a letter, was “pretty near up.”
What to do now? Whatever it was, it would have to be something bold, something that would reignite the patriot cause, prove once again that the Americans could stand up to the British.
Was such an option even available?
Washington thought so. He had identified a chink in the British armor: an isolated garrison of
