ld. The river was filled
with drifting cakes of ice, which imperiled the boats. The crossing was
extremely dangerous and it took more than ten hours to get the troops
and their guns on the other side. When he arrived, Washington found the
other two detachments had not started, so his forces alone surprised the
Hessians completely, captured Trenton and took a thousand prisoners!

Messengers were dispatched to call the army from the Hudson and to
gather the New Jersey militia. When these forces were assembled,
Washington again crossed the icy river into Pennsylvania, but returned
and occupied Trenton a few days later. Lord Cornwallis, who had come
down in a hurry from Princeton, planned to "bag the fox in the morning."
But he found the "fox" had been too sly for him, for Washington, leaving
his camp fires burning, had quietly led his army off at dead of night,
by a rough and roundabout way, to Princeton. At sunrise (Jan. 3, 1777),
he surprised and put to flight the regiment of British which had started
out from Princeton to help Cornwallis at Trenton.

Meanwhile, Cornwallis awoke to find his "fox" gone and he set out for
Princeton, arriving just as the patriots had completed the destruction
of the bridge leading to the town. Washington pushed on, destroying the
bridges as he went. His men were nearly exhausted when at last they
reached camp at Morristown, where Washington established headquarters,
so he could guard the road between New York and Philadelphia, and keep
Cornwallis shut up in New Brunswick and Amboy (New Jersey).

Congress thanked Washington, and great soldiers all over the world
praised him for the wonderful way in which he had led his soldiers out
of the enemy's pitfalls and turned defeat to victory. Many colonists,
who had seen no hope of success, now believed that Washington's
generalship would triumph. Congress gave him full military authority and
he issued a proclamation, ordering all who were loyal to the King to go
to the British camp and all others to take the oath of allegiance to the
United States.

CHAPTER V

RECAPTURE OF FORT TICONDEROGA BY GEN. BURGOYNE--BATTLE OF
BRANDYWINE--BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN--BURGOYNE'S SURRENDER AT
SARATOGA--WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE--ALLIANCE WITH
FRANCE--1777-1778

[Illustration: Marquis de La Fayette]

The fame of the American cause reached Europe and many foreign officers
came over, asking to be allowed to give their help. Among the