War in the Middle Colonies
“I could not believe my eyes. . . in about ten minutes the whole bay was full of
shipping as ever it could be. I declare that I thought all of London was afloat”.
These words were written in 1776 by a riflemen named Daniel McCurtin. McCurtin was a
colonial soldier stationed with the Continental Army in New York. The ships that he had spotted
were bringing General Howe and the British redcoats south to the Middle Colonies. This event
marked a new stage in the war for independence. Until that moment, all of the battles in the
revolution had taken place in New England. Now the heavy fighting would shift to the Middle
Colonies where the colonists would suffer through the most difficult period of the war.
Washington knew that Howe and his forces would be moving south to New York City.
What he did not know was precisely where they would land. Washington divided his forces to
keep watch for the enemy. Washington’s troops were out numbered by Howe’s army. Howe
commanded 34,000 redcoats and had the support of warships along with another 10,000 sailors.
Washington’s army was made up of only 20,000 men; the continental army was untrained and
undisciplined and had no navy.
Howe’s forces landed on Long Island and met resistance from American troops. Washington
lost 1,400 troops in the Battle of Long Island. The remainder of the Continental Army retreated to
Manhattan and then pushed north to avoid capture. Throughout the fall of 1776, Washington’s
army fought a series of battles against Howe’s forces. Washington played a cat and mouse
game with Howe’s much larger army. Each time they met the Continental Army would strike
quickly and then retreat in order to avoid capture.
Months of fighting took its toll on the
Continental Army. Supplies and moral were both
running low. Washington needed a new strategy:
he decided to make a surprise attack on the city of
Trenton. Washington led his army across the icy
Delaware River on Christmas night. On the other
side they crept through the heavy snow and
surprised the Hessian mercenaries who were
Washington crossing the Delaware River
guarding the city. The small Hessian force had
not expected an attack and patriot forces quickly took them prisoner. The Battle of Trenton was a
much-needed victory for American forces. It renewed their hope that they might be victorious.
The British General Charles Cornwallis was furious that Washington had been able to
capture Trenton. His led his army to retake the city, capture Washington and put an end to the
Continental Army. Late on January 2nd 1777, Cornwallis spotted the cooking fires of
Washington’s army. “At last we have run down the old fox”, he said. “We will bag him in the
morning”. Cornwallis did not realize that he had been tricked. Washington left the fires burning
and slipped away with his army. He led his forces behind the British lines and attacked the city
of Princeton. Victories at Trenton and Princeton gave the American forces new hope.
Task: Read the front of this notebook page and answer the following questions.
1. List TWO advantages that General Howe’s forces had over Washington’s forces.
2. Explain what is meant in this passage by the phrase “cat and mouse” game.
3. Think Question - What might have happened if Washington had stood his
ground against Howe’s army? What might the long term consequences be?
Immediate
Consequences:
Long-term
Consequences:
4. Think Question - Think from the perspective of General Washington. What do
you think his goal was at this point in the war?
5. Cornwallis refers to Washington as “the old fox”. Give TWO examples of why
this was an accurate description of Washington.