How good a general was George Washington? As Thomas Fleming observes, "If we consult the statistics as they might have been kept if he had been a boxer or a quarterback, the figures are not encouraging. In seven years of fighting the British, from 1775 to 1782, he won only three clear-cut victories—at Trenton, Princeton, and Yorktown. In seven other encounters—Long Island, Harlem Heights, White Plains, Fort Washington, Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth—he either was defeated or at best could claim a draw. He never won a major battle. Trenton was essentially a raid, Princeton was little more than a large skirmish, and Yorktown was a siege in which the blockading French fleet was an essential component of the victory." And yet Trenton and Princeton restored morale at the end of a disastrous year, and thereby saved the army and the Revolution? How did Washington do it?
Washington's Crossing is the location of George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River on the night of December 25–26, 1776 in the American Revolutionary War. This daring maneuver led to victory in the Battle of Trenton and altered the course of the war. The site, a National Historic Landmark, is composed of state parks in Washington Crossing, New Jersey, and Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, north of Trenton, New Jersey. The Washington's Crossing site is located north of Yardley, Pennsylvania and Trenton, New Jersey. The main commemorative sites are located north of the Washington Crossing Bridge spanning the river.
REQUIRED READING
FURTHER READING FOR THE TEN WEEKS
Here is a PDF document you can download and print with Prof. Thompson's reading for the whole quarter.