When you think of the year 1776, you probably think of the 4th of July and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. July 4th truly is a important date in American and world history. But a date just a important is December 25, 1776. Had things gone differently that Christmas, we might live in a different country today.
A couple years back I decided to read David McCullough’s 1776. I made this decision leading up to Independence Day hoping to have a greater appreciation for the Declaration of Independence and the men who crafted this incredible document. This wasn’t the right book for that story.
1776 instead tells the story of newly formed Continental Army from the time George Washington officially took command on July 3, 1775 to the end of 1776. While this wasn’t the story I had sought out, I’m happy it’s the one I read. McCullough has told an important story here that is far too often overlooked in the telling of the American story.
The glossy view of American history is one where the noble George Washington volunteered to lead an all volunteer army against the world’s then greatest military. We’re told how under the courage and wisdom of Washington, these brave patriots were able to fend off the British and secure America’s independence.
That’s all true but as usual it is far to clean and simple of a story. What really happened leading up to 1776 and in that year was far more complicated. The pretty picture we’re often taught wasn’t all that pretty. In fact it easily could have been a disaster. There was no reason for King George III and his Prime Minister, Lord North to believe that the rebellion in the American colonies wouldn’t have been snuffed out in 1776.
When George Washington arrived in Massachusetts and took command of the troops laying siege to the British forces in Boston, he found himself to be in an extremely weak position. He was greatly outnumbered and frighteningly short on ammunition. Fortunately the British didn’t know that. Sanitary conditions were deplorable, many soldiers were sick, and most did lacked military training and discipline needed to defeat the British.
Washington wrote in a letter on January 14, 1776 “Few people know the predicament we are in.”
It was only the bold action led by bookseller turned solider, Henry Knox, of bringing captured mortars and cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston that saved the day. After a treacherous journey from upstate New York to Massachusetts, Washington was able to place the artillery on the heights surrounding Boston in March 1776. The British soon evacuated the city, effectively surrendering it to the Continental Army.
Washington then took the army south to New York City. While there he learned that the Continental Congress had declared independence from the British Crown on July 4, 1776. However, the attempt to hold New York proved to be a bad decision, especially when he divided his forces between the island of Manhattan and Brooklyn, many which were terribly sick and unable to attend to their soldierly duties.
Washington and his generals misread of British troops movements and left vital flanks unprotected. This led to a British victory in Brooklyn that could have beaten the Continental Army. A tactical night retreat under the cover of a dense fog provided by Providence, allowed Washington to evacuate 9,000 soldiers across the East River to Manhattan without the loss of a single life.
The British however were on their heels and Washington was forced to abandon New York City altogether. Giving up New York, the Continental Army kept moving to stay ahead of the enemy. As 1776 closed, found themselves dispirited and encamped in Pennsylvania without much food. With enlistments set to expire at the end of the year, Washington found himself desperate for a victory and fearful his Army would simply cease to exist come 1777.
It was in these freezing and desperate conditions, that a daring action was planned. On the night of Christmas of 1776, Washington’s army crossed the Delaware River in stealth. The next morning the launched a surprise attack against the enemy encamped at Trenton, New Jersey. The American forces that had been near defeat, lost only five men in battle but killed 22 and captured 896 when Trenton was surrendered to them.
The Revolutionary War would continue until 1783, but that victory from the attacked launched on the Christmas of 1776, was pivotal to the survival of Washington’s army and these United States.
David McCullough closes 1776 writing:
The year 1776, celebrated as the birth year of the nation and for the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was for those who carried the fight for independence forward a year of all-too-few victories, of sustained suffering, disease, hunger, desertion, cowardice, disillusionment, defeat, terrible discouragement, and fear, as they would never forget, but also of phenomenal courage and bedrock devotion to country, and that too, they would never forget.
As we enjoy this Christmas, let us remember the valor of those who fought and those who died that Christmas so that we could live in this land of the free. Let us remember all those who have served and sacrificed on a Christmas to keep the torch of liberty alive. And let us definitely those remember who our serving us today on this Christmas.