In the run-up to the declaration of American independence, it is worth noting that many battles were fought. One of these battles is the Battle of Trenton, which took place on December 26, 1776, in the time of ‘American Revolutionary Wars,’ after crossing of the Delaware River by Washington's army (Vierow, 2013) . Critical to note is that each of the battles had its own significance in the historical journey towards the American independence. General George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army in crossing the river before surprising and almost eliminating the Hessian garrison at Trenton in New Jersey. I decided to discuss the Battle of Trenton since the overwhelming victory in this fight was instrumental in establishing the presence of Americans in New Jersey (Vierow, 2013) . The triumph also played a pivotal role in helping to preserve the Continental Army as well as setting the stage for the success of Americans in the Battle of Princeton including the following week’s second Battle of Trenton.
Apparently, Trenton was occupied by three key regimes of Hessian soldiers who were being commanded by Colonel Johann Rall. On the other hand, the force on Washington's side consisting of approximately about 2,400 men decided to attack from the north in two columns (Vierow, 2013) . Two divisions of the army led by major general Nathanael Greene and John Sullivan marched to the inland Pennington Road and along the River Road respectively. The first division was led by General Ewing's. Washington had planned that this division would attack from the west (Parker, 2015) . However, this group was stopped by the river ice as it was the case with another division commanded by the Colonel John Cadwallader which was unable to cross the river. Washington had planned that Cadwallader would be supported by colonel Griffin who previously had been successful in his mission despite the fact that the British soldiers halted him at the Cherry Hill (Vierow, 2013) . Some historians argue that Hessians were asleep after they had celebrated Christmas, which meant that they were not prepared for the battle. However, this argument has been opposed by some scholars who claim that Hessians could not hear the sound of the continental army as it approached due to severe Northeastern winds. For a significant part, the American victory was aided by a spy, John Honeyman, who had been enlisted by Washington. As part of his task, Honeyman helped in gathering intelligence on Trenton and remarkably misleading the Hessian defenders. At the same time, Honeyman was tasked with estimating the strength of these defenders as well as convincing them that Americans had been confused and therefore there was no imminent attack (Vierow, 2013) . To a great extent, the weather made the process of crossing Delaware difficult, and due to the heavy storm, the Hessians never sent the patrolling teams during that night.
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Due to the Northeastern snowstorm that had begun at eleven in the morning on December 25, the crossing of the Delaware by the Continental Army was delayed by close to six hours. The severe element of sleet, snow, hail, as well as gusting winds, meant that the Americans could not reach the east bank of the river, which was nine miles off the north of Trenton, until December 26 at four in the morning. George Washington had planned his rendezvous with Ewing as well as Cadwallader for five in the morning.
The war started at about eight in the morning and stopped at around nine in the morning while the storm was still raging the region (Vierow, 2013). Trenton had two key streets in 1776, which included King and Queen Streets. At about nine miles in the north of Trenton, a gourd post had been set up by the Hessians in Pennington, which was placed along the route that Washington’s men had to pass. After the men who were guarding the post saw a large contingent of American troops coming towards Trenton, lieutenant Wiederhold with his team decided to retreat. While back to Trenton, the picket would receive some assistance from other Hessian guard companies who had been placed on the outskirts of the town. General John Sullivan, who was the leader of the Americans from the south, entered the town thus making it hard for the Hessians to escape through the southern route (Vierow, 2013) . After more than thirty-five Hessian Jagers, who were being led by Lieutenant Grothausen at the barracks in the northern edge of Trenton saw the American forces led by Sullivan, they decided to run over the Assunpink bridge, thus leaving the town. Although at a slow pace, different companies would form regiments to enter into the battle with the Americans. The northern brigade of the American army took the main streets of the town under General Nathaniel Greene with their cannons further blocking the Hessians contingents. The other groups led by Sullivan headed nearer to the river, thus ensuring that the Hessians were surrounded. However, Rall, the commander of the Hessians through Lt. Col. Scheffer, reorganized his men and successfully escaped from the town with the aim of coming back and retaking it (Smith, 2009) . In their attempt to retake the Trenton, the Americans fired at them since they had already taken many buildings. The Hessians, in two regiments, were forced to go back in a chaotic battle, which led to Rall being mortally wounded. Throughout the campaign, the Americans only suffered few injuries and lost two of their men in the fight. On their side, the Hessians suffered more than a hundred casualties while more than twenty died (Vierow, 2013) . Additionally, Americans were able to capture more than nine hundred Hessians. It must be noted that all four Hessians colonels, together with Rall were killed in the battle.
The significance of the victory for the Americans in the Battle of Trenton cannot be underestimated. By midday, the American force had already started moving to re-cross the Delaware River back to Pennsylvania with prisoners as well as supplies that they had captured (Vierow, 2013) . Although there are different ways that this victory signified to the Americans, the fact that the Continental Congress, as well as American colonials, were able to renew their confidence stood out. The Battle was a clear indicator to Americans that they could defeat both the British as well as the Hessian mercenaries. At the same time, the victory played an instrumental role of re-enlisting in the Continental Army forces (Vierow, 2013) . The forces were able to prove themselves against the renowned European powers, and the victory completely broke the fear that they had about the Hessians.
In the current America, the Battle of Trenton serves as a reminder of the efforts applied in the fight for the independence (Vierow, 2013) . In fact, the battle serves as an inspiration for one of the famous paintings in America, the Washington Crossing the Delaware that shows individuals who participated in different independence battles (Stryker, 2012) . At the same time, it must be noted that the primary aim of the Battle of Trenton was to forge ahead with the fight for the American independence. In this way, one would be forgiven to argue that the independence that Americans are currently enjoying was due to the Battle of Trenton among other battles.
References
Parker, L. K. (2015). The Battle of Trenton . San Diego: Blackbirch Press.
Smith, S. S., & Smith, S. S. (2009). The battle of Trenton: The battle of Princeton . Yardley,
Penn: Westholme.
Stryker, W. S. (2012). The battles of Trenton and Princeton . Boston: Houghton, Mifflin.
Vierow, W. (2013). The Battle of Trenton . New York: PowerKids Press.
