⚔️ Battle of Trenton, New Jersey,
26 December 1776

Strategic context: the 1776 campaign

The Battle of Trenton on 26 December 1776 was a much-needed victory for General George Washington and the Continental Army.

The 1776 campaign had gone poorly for Washington and his army. General Howe’s British forces had driven the Continentals out of New York and New Jersey, and the Americans were plagued by low morale and falling enlistments. As the campaigning season ended, Howe’s army settled into winter garrison quarters throughout New Jersey, including a force comprised of German mercenaries at Trenton, New Jersey.

Opposing forces: Hessian mercenaries versus Americans

American forces

General George Washington commanded a total force of about 7,000 troops before Trenton. The Continental Army contingent was divided into two divisions: Major General Nathanael Greene’s Division and Major General John Sullivan’s Division. Colonel Henry Knox commanded Washington’s artillery. Brigadier General John Cadwalader and Brigadier General James Ewing commanded militia brigades. Due to difficulties crossing the icy Delaware River, only about 2,400 troops of Green’s and Sullivan’s Divisions were engaged at Trenton. Washington’s troops had experienced a series of defeats in the 1776 campaign season and suffered from the harsh winter conditions and limited logistic support.

Hessian forces

The ‘Hessians’ were German mercenaries serving under British command. They were generically referred to as ‘Hessians’ and, while the majority were provided by the German principalities of Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Hanau, many were also supplied by other German states. At its peak, the ‘Hessian’ contingent of German mercenaries comprised up to 25% of the British Army’s total strength in North America.

At Trenton, the Hessian force comprised about 1,400 troops under the command of Colonel Johann Rall. These troops were from three regiments: Rall, Lossberg, and Knyphausen Regiments, each named after its commander. The Hessian mercenaries were well-trained and experienced, but they were caught off guard by the American surprise attack, partly due to a false sense of security and the belief that the Continental Army was incapable of mounting offensive operations.

The Battle of Trenton

Washington’s plan

To regain the initiative after the defeats in the 1776 campaign season, Washington planned a surprise attack against the Hessian garrison at Trenton. The attack comprised three force elements:

• a diversionary attack by General Cadwalader against the small British force at Bordentown 9km downstream from Trenton,
• a crossing of Assunpink Creek opposite Trenton by General Ewing with about 700 troops, and
• the main attack by General Washington with about 2,400 troops who would cross the Delaware 14km north of Trenton.

Crossing the Delaware

Icy conditions on the Delaware prevented Cadwalader and Ewing from making their crossings, but Washington was successful and had his force across the Delaware by about 0300hrs on 26 December 1776. Washington’s force split into two elements and made a rapid approach march against Trenton. The 1,400-man Hessian garrison was complacent in its security posture and failed to detect the approaching American forces.

The surprise attack on Trenton

Double pincer attack

By about 0800hrs, Washington’s force launched its attack from both the north under General Greene and from the south under General Sullivan. First contact was with a Hessian outpost about a mile northwest of Trenton. The Hessian commander, Lieutenant Andreas Wiederholdt, sounded the alarm, and Hessian troops rushed into the street. Both sides exchanged volleys, and the Hessians realised they were outnumbered and at risk of being surrounded. The Hessians began a fighting retreat into Trenton, gaining some reinforcements as they fell back to the main position.

Fighting on the streets of Trenton

At about this time, the American southern column under General Sullivan broke into Trenton and cut off the Hessian withdrawal routes. Sullivan’s force rapidly drove out the Hessian outposts. The main Hessian forces in the town now formed for battle, with the Rall Regiment and Lossberg Regiment positioned on lower King Street and the Knyphausen Regiment positioned on Queen Street. American artillery on the far bank now began firing into the massed Hessian ranks. The Hessians managed to get some light infantry guns into action, but the American artillery rapidly neutralised these.

The Hessian Rall Regiment attempted an assault on Greene’s force but was beaten back with heavy losses. Colonel Rall was mortally wounded in the attempt. With American troops on all sides, all of their senior commanders either dead or wounded, their artillery destroyed, and losses mounting, the Hessian resistance rapidly collapsed. The Hessian force surrendered.

Outcomes of the Battle of Trenton

Losses

The Hessian commander, Colonel Johann Rall, was mortally wounded in the fighting, along with several of his regimental commanders and about 20 others. Nearly 1,000 Hessians were captured as prisoners of war. The prisoners were held in prisoner-of-war camps, and many eventually settled in America rather than return to a fairly brutal life in their German homelands.

Battle of Princeton

A week later, British reinforcements under Lieutenant Colonel Cornwallis gathered from around the state and attacked Washington’s army in Trenton, but the two forces fought to a draw. Washington then made a surprise march around Cornwallis’ Army to launch an attack on 3 January 1777 against the small British force at Princeton NJ, 12 miles to the north. Princeton was another significant victory for Washington. Although these were both relatively small battles, they revived the morale of the Continental Army and prepared it for greater efforts in the 1777-78 campaigns.

The Trenton battlefield today

The battlefield is in and around the urban area of Trenton NJ. ‘The Old Barracks’ in Trenton is a restored 1758-vintage military barracks, and is now home to an excellent visitor centre and museum. Some of the Hessian troops used the barracks during the battle. Washington’s crossing site, 9-miles (14 km) north of Trenton, is well-marked and is home to several monuments to Washington’s crossing and the American victory.

The site of the Battle of Trenton is preserved and commemorated through various historical landmarks and museums. The Trenton Battle Monument, erected in 1893, is a tribute to the American victory and the soldiers who fought there. The monument marks the spot where Washington’s artillery was positioned during the battle.

Annual reenactments and commemorative events are held to honour the battle and its impact on American history. These events allow the public to engage with the history of the Revolution and appreciate the sacrifices made.

Link to the Trenton Revolutionary War battle sites website

Additional images of Trenton battlefield

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Michael Prictor

Authored by Mick Prictor, a retired military officer with 40 years’ service, and a military historian specialising in terrain-focused analysis of tactics, doctrine, and command decision-making in land warfare. His work draws on extensive battlefield fieldwork—more than 280 sites worldwide—and one of the world’s largest private collections of historic military arms, uniforms, and equipment. About me

Sources & Further Reading

• Richard M. Ketchum (1991). The Winter Soldiers. Anchor Press.
• David Hackett Fischer (2006). Washington’s Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History). Oxford University Press.

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