rn bank. Howe, who had joined Cornwallis, decided that no more
could be done and placed the army in winter quarters. He divided it into
small detachments, and for the sake of protecting and encouraging the
loyalists, extended his line of communication for eighty miles. The
fortunes of the insurgents were at low ebb. Not only were the loyalists
strong in New Jersey, but crowds of the rebel party, many of them men of
high standing, took advantage of the amnesty which Howe was empowered to
offer. The Delaware would soon be frozen over, and, if the British
crossed it, Washington had not a sufficient force to hinder them from
marching on Philadelphia. The town was panic-stricken, and congress
removed to Baltimore. Washington's army dwindled. The period for which
his regular troops were enlisted would end on January 1, and as for the
militia, that "destructive, expensive, and disorderly mob" as he called
them, they came and went as they pleased. "The game," he thought, "was
pretty well played out."[118] The Americans' distress was heightened by
the capture of Lee, who was on his way to join Washington. They reckoned
him their ablest general, though his insubordination and self-seeking
rendered the loss of him an actual gain. About the same time Clinton
sailed to Rhode Island with Sir Peter Parker, and occupied Newport
without opposition.

Washington's only chance lay in immediate action. The foolish
disposition of the British army gave him an opportunity. Their central
cantonments, nearest to the enemy, were weak. Trenton was held by only
1,200 Hessians; their discipline was relaxed, they were hindered by
difference of language from gaining intelligence, and they lived in
careless security. Washington was reinforced by Lee's troops and by
three regiments from Ticonderoga, which Carleton's inaction had rendered
available for service in the south. On the night of December 25 he
crossed the Delaware, and before daybreak took Trenton by surprise. The
startled garrison could make no resistance; about 200 escaped and 918
were taken prisoners. Of the Americans only two were killed and six
wounded. Cornwallis, who was on the point of embarking for England,
hastened back to the Jersey army. Washington avoided a general
engagement, defeated two regiments employed in an operation for the
defence of Princeton, and before the middle of January, 1777, compelled
the British by a series of well-conducted movements to evacuate West
Jersey and