Washington's Crossing of The Delaware River - Washington's Army

Washington's Army

Washington encamped the army near McKonkey's Ferry, not far from the crossing site. While Washington at first took quarters across the river from Trenton, he moved on December 15 to the house of William Keith to be closer to the army. When Washington's army first arrived at McKonkey's Ferry he had four to six thousand men, although 1,700 soldiers were unfit for duty and needed hospital care. In the retreat across New Jersey Washington had lost precious supplies, as well as losing contact with two important divisions of his army. General Horatio Gates was in the Hudson River Valley and General Charles Lee was in western New Jersey with 2,000 men. Washington had ordered both generals to join him, but Gates was delayed by heavy snows en route, and Lee, who did not have a high opinion of Washington, delayed following repeated orders, preferring to remain on the British flank near Morristown, New Jersey.

Washington had additional problems, including the fact that the enlistments of many of his men were expiring. The series of lost battles and the retreat from New York had left morale very low in Philadelphia, where many residents and the Second Continental Congress fled to the south. Many soldiers were inclined to leave the army once their commission was finished, and several had taken the opportunity to desert the army before their enlistments were up. Orders were issued to bring supplies to the camp, and men were dispatched to recruit new soldiers, who did slowly begin to arrive at the camp. Militia recruiting in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania was also successful, spurred on by British and Hessian mistreatment of New Jersey's residents.

Morale was given a boost on December 19 by the publication of a new pamphlet by Thomas Paine. Common Sense had served to increase support for the Revolution in its early days, and Paine's new pamphlet, titled The American Crisis, began with words well-known to American schoolchildren:

Within a day of its publication in Philadelphia, General Washington ordered it be read to his troops. While Paine's writing could not feed or shelter the troops, it did serve to improve morale and help them feel a little more tolerant of their current conditions. Some provisions, including much-needed blankets, arrived in the Continental Army camp on December 24.

On December 20 an event took place that gave another boost to morale. General Lee's division of 2,000 arrived in camp under the command of General John Sullivan. General Lee had been captured by the British on December 12, when he ventured too far outside the protection of his troops in search of more comfortable lodgings (or, according to rumors, an assignation). Later that same day General Gates' division arrived in camp, reduced to 600 by ending enlistments and the need to keep the northern frontier secure. Soon after, another 1,000 militia men from Philadelphia under Colonel John Cadwalader joined Washington. As a result of these reinforcements and smaller numbers of volunteers from the local area, Washington now had 6,000 listed as fit for duty. Of this number, a large portion were detailed to guard the ferries at Bristol and New Hope, Pennsylvania. Another group was placed to protect supplies at Newtown, Pennsylvania and to guard the sick and wounded who would remain behind when the army crossed the Delaware River. This left Washington with about 2,400 men able to take offensive action against the Hessian and British troops in Central New Jersey.