The Battles in the Jerseys
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THE BA T TLE S I N THE JER SEYS THE SI G NI F I CA NCE OF EA CH momma of th e N ew J cm Socx c ty of the Sons of th e A men can ev ol uti on Pn b lub cd b y May 1 9 1 6 T HE BA TTLES IN THE jERSEYS A N D T H E SlG N l FlCA N CE O F EA CH NE characte ristic of the Ame rican Revolution is that the question at issue touched the bedrock o f human f rights as af ected by civil government . an I t was not a war for trade , or fo r nex a ti on m i nali en , or for race do inance ; it was fo r a a ll ble rights belonging to peoples , in all lands , throughout all times . Our Revolution stands pre' eminent also in the magn itude and permanency o f its resul ts both here - and abroad . It established a world power here ; abroad it was a strong factor in the French r Revolution . i t reacted favo rably on the gove n G ment o f reat B ritain . and it involved the separa tion of South Ame ric a from Eu ropean control . W 1 776 And hat is more . the influences started in are still at wo rk ; they have brought blessings on W l the human race in the past , they i l bring even s greate r blessing in the futu re . The war opened wi th splendid outbu rsts at Lexington and Bunker Hill ; but both sides ent renched at Boston and the result was a long a deadlock ending in compromise , the B ritish being allowed to sail away to Hali fax unmolest ed e provid d they le ft the city of Boston unha rmed . It i s the way o f the Anglo ' S axon to get into a war fi rst and then m ake hi s preparation a fter . 1 7 7 5 i wards From Ap ril . , to the follow ng us Aug t , both parties were mustering thei r resou rces and planning military and fi nancial measures on a large scale . These were months of earnest preparation , but as the hour for decisive conflict drew near , the superiority of our foes was i very evident in men , sh ps , arms , ammunition , and K ’ other military supplies . It was ing George s aim and hope to stamp out the rebellion in the fall 1 6 of 77 . The opposing commanders were Will iam Howe and George Washington . They had faced each other at B oston ; they were now to face each other ' in New Y ork and New Jersey . Howe had hi Y o men , and Was ngton had New rk City and Philadelphia were the p ri' es fought for . The campaign opened with the landing of Howe a 1 776 on Staten Isl nd in July , , and closed with the arrival of Washi ngton at Morristow n in the following January ; the military movements and battles during that interval , approximately five months , should always be viewed as one campaign , as a single series o f operations . The surprise at Trenton was not an isolated exploit , neither was the dash on Princeton , and never should they be so treated ; they were the master strokes of ' ictory at the end o f a long succession o f heartbreaking defeats . What a list of disastrous events for the Ameri can cause was crowded into the interval from 27th 25th August to December , a period o f one hundred and twenty days ' The leader of the Ameri cans was becoming known as a man of defeats and retreats . Oh , the danger of it , the - danger of it , that the psychology of a new born nation in the agony of its despai r might demand a change o f leaders . THE CON TE ST IN NE W Y OR K Washi ngton had men at B rooklyn . Howe , having trans ferred troops to Long Island , tu rned the Ameri can left flank and inflicted a loss o f men . Lord Sti rling o f New Jersey was one of the Ame rican offi cers who won laurels on - m that ill starred field . The Continental ar y was nh withdrawn secretly to the lower end o f Ma attan , ’ under cover o f darkness and a morn ing s fog . Again Howe tu rn ed the A meri can left by land ’ ’ i n K g at ipp s B ay , throwing Washington s vet era ns into pani c and flight and c ausing a retreat to Harlem Heights . Repeating the same strategy , Howe threatened to turn the American left by extending hi s lines northward along the B ronx r hi s i iver , aim being to entrap the Amer cans on Manhattan island . This movement forced Wash i n t on g to make a rapid retreat to Whi te Plain s . Here again Howe st ruck the left wing o f the Americans and drove i t from Chatterton Hill at a the in t the ay net . Retu rn ing t M anh t po o f b o m o tan , Howe dealt the A eri can cause another stag i ge ring blow by captu ring Fort Wash ngton . THE RE TREA T THROU GH THE J ERSEY S Washington crossed the Hudson at Peekskill with men and hurried to Hackensack . Y Howe , having secured New ork City , struck at once fo r Philadelphia by throwi ng men across the Hudson near Y onkers . Then began ' the famous retreat across the Jerseys . These ’ ' are the times that tried men s soul s . Washington abandoned Fort Lee , reached Newark on Novem 23 rd ' ber , passed through Eli abethtown on the 28th 29th and reached New B runswick on the , i o . w th men , of whom ver were sick Lord Stirling , whose division of men formed Am i the er can rearguard , left Princeton December 7th and crossed from Trenton to the west bank 8 1 6 . H ead uar of the Delaware on December , 77 q ew town ters were established at N , Pa . The retreat through the Jerseys was not a flight ; the movement was deliberate and orderly . The various retreats on Manh attan and in its vicinity were punctuated by five or si x battles ; but the retreat across New Jersey from Jersey at l s City to Trenton was attended by no b t e . Why hi ' r no was t s New Jersey , it is t ue , has moun tains lying across thi s path and therefore no strong l ine of fort s could be built to resist the invaders ; bu t rivers present excellent lines of defense and New Jersey had two good rivers for i that purpose , the Passaic and the Rar tan . Why did not Washi ngton make a stand at each of these ' Why did he let slip such good opportuni ' ties He might , at least , have interposed long x s delays and e acted heavy toll . Washington had troops . He had ordered Charles L ee to bring Continentals from Pee kski ll and j oi n him at once . Lee deliberately loitered on hi s way and kept hi s whereabouts con ceal ed l , paying not the s ightest attention to Wash ’ i ngton s repeated commands . He was prompted by an unholy ambition to supplant Washington as - i n- i commander ch ef . No stand could be made at the Jersey rivers because the two sections o f the Ameri can a rmy were not u ni ted ; Washington was in front o f the British , that is , on the west ; and Lee was on thei r right flank , that is , on the north . It was tragedy then but it makes one smile now i to think how it all ended , how th s schemer slept one night at a tavern outside hi s own lines and was taken prisoner the next mo rn ing by a troop o f light dragoons and hurried away half- dressed r t to the B i tish headquar ers at New B runswick . John Sullivan , who was next in command , made a swi ft march to Phi ll ipsbu rg and j o ined Washing ’ w 0 0 ton ith Lee s t r ps at Newtown . C harles Lee was utterly wi thout principle . Let i t be clearly un derstood concerning thi s man that there was not an hou r du ring any day o r night a fter he put on the Continental unifo rm when he was no t a potential traito r , when he would not have sold out to the B ritish for gold . THE B A TTL E OF TRE N TON Washington showed skill and forethought in his arrangements to prevent the B ritish from gaining a foothold in Pennsylvania ; he divided the western bank of the river into sections and placed an officer with a detachment of troops in charge o f each section ; he collected all the river craft and kept them under careful guard concealed in the mouths of creeks and behind islands . Those boats hm and those detac ents , originally intended for defense , were the very best means possible for coming back to New Jersey when Washington seized the initiative . He had the boats to come in , and the various regiments were already sta ti one - d at the proper cros sing places .