The Continental Army Of General Washington

General Washington and the Continental Army had been routed in the Battle of Long Island and withdrew to the defenses of Brooklyn Heights, which left them confined between Hessian and British troops and the East River. General Washington was able to keep the revolution alive by maintaining the Continental Army in the field.

Major General Nathanael Greene and Major General John Sullivan were two men serving under General Washington. They were both marching with Washington on December 26, 1776. Washington's plan of attack was to split his army into two groups in order to surround the Hessians. He and Major General Nathanael Greene would enter from the north, while Major General John Sullivan would enter Trenton from the south. Greene and Sullivan followed the plan, and the Hessians were completely taken by surprise. Both Generals moved into a position to surround the Hessians. Many soldiers started to abandon their artillery, so the Americans captured the abandoned artillery and used it to their advantage.

Washington took away that fear when he launched the attack on Hessian troops. He followed up this victory by a win at Princeton. Next, he was forced to fight a battle that he knew he would lose. The British navy took over Philadelphia at the battle of Brandywine Creek. Washington’s militia was strengthened in October, when General Gates won at Saratoga, New York. In the spring of 1778, good news arrived when the French decided to send money, troops, and a fleet to help the colonies. When the British heard the news they decided to consolidate their position to New York and New Jersey. In the time period between 1778 and 1781 Washington kept the British army concealed to New York City. At the time he faced a variety of disappointments by losing the battles of Brooklyn Heights, Kip’s Bay, Harlem Heights, and White Plains.

The Battle of Trenton persuaded men to reenlist so Washington would still have an army in the new year. Washington planned on surprising the British in Princeton, but decided to wait considering Ewing and Caldwalader never made it across the river. A week later, on January 3, 1777 Washington recrossed the Delaware River with his troop into Princeton. The battle lasted less than an hour, but around one hundred British men were killed or wounded and they captured two hundred. The Americans only suffered forty casualties (Dupuy 83-84). These two wins boosted the patriot’s morale and helped Washington rise back to the top as a military commander (Murphy). These two victories also convinced America that the war was not over yet, there was still hope. Overall winning these battles created a spark of hope and a wave of electricity. There were many battles Washington led, but

December 25-26, 1776 Washington's surprise attack against Hessian forces in Trenton, NJ. Washington crossed the Delaware river so that his army could attack an isolated gorrion of Hessian troops at trenton, New York.(“Crossing the Delaware”).

To protect the American people the Continental Congress assigned General George Washington as commander of the American troops in part because his soldiers had already won the battle of Bunker Hill. An estimated ⅓ of people wanted the colonies to stay loyal to the British, ⅓ wanted to break free and declare independence from Great Britain, and the rest didn’t know what they wanted. While the American people were confused on what to do the delegates in Philadelphia were unsure what to do about the Declaration. However they knew they were running out of time to make a decision.

Washington was aware that he and the militia’s needed the artillery to be successful. Many people thought the 300 mile journey was impossible and that the crew and leader would surely die. Washington decided to choose one of his own, Major General Henry Knox, to do the job. Knox and his crew “...traveled 300 miles in the dead of winter to transport over 120,000 pounds of artillery including 59 mortars and cannons, a large supply of gunpowder, and numerous weapons…“ (Strum, 33) that would help the militia defeat the British. So Knox was assigned to move artillery when the funny thing is that Knox actually focused on artillery, “...with a focus on artillery.” (American Revolution: Major General Knox). Knox once said on his journey, “... It is not easy [to] conceive the difficulties we have had in getting them [the artillery] over the lake owing to the advanced season of the year and contrary winds,

The 54th Massachusetts Regiment aka the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, was the first official all African-American regiment with 1007 black troops and 3 white officers leading them. There was one very heroic man among named Robert Gould Shaw who was one of the white officers. The regiment began in the Boston Common and went down to South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The regiment carried out a lot of operations across these states including the siege of Fort Wagner. Fort Wagner was not necessarily a win but it still showed heroic

On June 17, 1778 Clinton began his march. His force consisted of 10,000 troops, which were accompanied, and hampered by, swarms of Tory refugees. The Tories turned out to be an incredible nuisance to Sir Clinton as he marched toward New York. The excessive amounts of baggage, and the poor wagons used to carry said baggage, slowed the progress of the British Regulars to, at times, nine miles a day. This being said, the baggage train exceeded twelve miles in length. It is possible that one could have sat in the same spot for an entire day and never seen the end of this incredibly slow, incredibly long, and incredibly vulnerable procession.

George Washington’s tactics and skills when it came to the Continental army and war were very helpful in the many battles that he led. In Trenton, Washington planned a sneak attack on the British, in which they had to cross the Delaware River on. Because of Washington’s quick thinking and great army skills allowed the Continental Army to succeed in surrounding all the Hessians in Trenton in an orchard, leaving them with

George Washington is the current leader of the Continental Army. He was born in 1732 and rasied in Verginia. when he was elected leader of the Continental Army in December of 1776 he had no prior millitary experience, he was elected because he was a member of the first Contenental Congress and he was the most qualified out of all of the members of the congress. George Washington finnished school when he was 15 and he was exceptional at math he was very smart and could easaly take controll of a group of people so he led the millitamen in to the battle of lexington and concord. George Washington was 42 when he was voted as the comander of the milita. Is there a chance that George Washington might be the fitst president of the united states?

The Continental Army in the South had suffered several embarrassing defeats. The British defeated General Howe at Savannah, Georgia leaving the city in British hands. General Benjamin Lincoln lost Charleston, South Carolina and General Horatio Gates lost Camden, South Carolina with the Army disintegrating and fleeing in retreat. These losses allowed Lord Cornwallis to freely recruit support and raise levies in the South with plans to move into and conquer Virginia.

On the 7th of January in 1777, General George Washington with the Continental Army arrived at Morristown, New Jersey. After the decisive victories at Trenton, on December 26 1776, and Princeton, on January 3 1777, Washington changed course from New Brunswick to Morristown, allowing his troops to rest. The location of Morristown, being a town of roughly 250 people who were largely farmers or ironworkers, was a challenging region for the British to invade and made it easier for Washington and his troops to keep track of potential British movements. A fort was built on top of Kinney’s Hill on George Washington’s orders that overlooked Morristown at roughly 230 feet and it would later be known as Fort Nonsense.

After Howe 's victory at Brandywine, his army camped at Germantown, Pennsylvania. Washington planned a surprise attack against the redcoats at sunrise. He broke the army into four separate columns for battle. The American soldiers marched to Germantown by two roads, with General Sullivan to the right and General Greene to the left. Washington, along with General Wayne, joined Sulliven and caused the British to fall back.

The Battle of Trenton is widely regarded as a turning point in the American Revolutionary War. With enlistments in the Continental Army about to expire at the end of the year, General George Washington risked everything in harsh winter conditions to advance across the Delaware River and execute a surprise attack on Hessian troops in Trenton, N.J. An evaluation of the moments that led up to the battle, the setting, area of operations, the Continental and Opposing forces, along with the use of intelligence will reveal the major factors that led to the outcome of the battle. An analysis of the battle will illustrate how Washington devised an offensive plan that demonstrated many of the principles of war still utilized in military operations today.