WASFIINGTON
STAGESA
SURPRISE
ATTACK
ON TRENTON
As Washingtonrsdeto Bostonto takecommandof his army,a messengerinformedhim
that a battlehad takenplace,knowntodayas
the tsattleof BunkerHill.GeneralGage had
sentGeneralWilliam
Howe'sBritishsoldiersto
take the hill heldby the militia.Threeattempts
weremadebeforetheAmericanswithdrew,but
one-thirdof HowelsffieFWBre
deadorwounded.
General WilliamrHowe
Howe had expectedan easywin, but the results shockedhirn.He was morecarefulafterthat.
Whenthe gunscaptured€itFt,Ticondero$a
arrived,rnilitiaputthemin place,onthe hills
overlookingBostonharbor.Gageorderedthe Britishnavyto takethe armyto Nova Scotia.
This gave Washingtontimeto organizehis army.In battfe,he woutddefend on1he men
recruitedby Congress,the Continentals.
Theywouldbe his 'lprofessionals."
Since each
colonY,had
its own militia,he wouldusethemas well,but he alwaysfearedthey couldnot
stand the_pressureof battle.His officerswere chosen by Congress,many for potiticat
reasons.Hismainprobfem
wasnottheEnglisharmy,butgettingiupplieshelneeded.The
FrenchsecretlysenttheAmericansgunsandamminitionlbutt[ere'wereoin"i;;"g;;
as well:food,clothjng,
shelter,andpayforthemen.Manysoldiers
deserted;Thomaspaine
called.them"sunshinepatriots."
washingtonguesseoil.rarrnlne;th;iliiJh J;r;
f.n.'
Canada,theirtargetwould
be NewYorkCity.Heput some,menon:Longlsland,ihe-"tn"iS
on Manhattan.
guessedright;GeneralHowelandedon Long lslandwith 32,o00
. .Washi!9ton
men,
sordiers.
sincemostoitn"."-*;;; il;H;;,
9?lT"iprofessionat
'::ll9'19_e,000
Arnericans
calledalltheGermansofdiersHessians.
At Longlsland,the Ameri""n* JiOnot
well, but a,heavyraincame, and Washingtonwas u6l" to *i1rot"* i; il;il;i;;.
19ht
j:,::? l:.y:: defearedagain-His men droppedtheirguns,and ran fromtne oncoming
Britishsoldiers.
Hetriedto turnthemaround,andwhenhe finallyrealizedtne' weie go;.,
he sat on hisnot::,lTucticallybeggingthe Britishto till nimon the spot.5nelf
ffi;#"}"
came:'back,
andled'the'horse
awiy.Ho*" didnotfi;il if'--'i* ,ln'J;ighiiilil;l]i;;
so|diers*s|9Pt,:aheavyfogdescended,.andWashingi;;;-;;;;."p"oagain.
' The British'spentthe winterwith theirarmyscattJredin New Vorr<ano ilew Jersey. So
tlev,hadwon allthe battles,but washingtontr".*iil io;;;;#;;ngerous-,Knowing
f3r,
thatGe.rman
troopsw.erq
gtTrentonandwereluretynotexpectingan attackin a snowstorm
on ChristmasEve,Washington's
men crossedthe DelawareRiver.The C"rr*o="Joo"f
wa: w:arnedof a possibleattack,but the notewas in English
nJ
"no
so he just put it inside,hiscoat.The battlewas swift,ano t ,400
"orld;i;;,;;d$,
Germans
wereeitherliil"o
o rca p tu red'Later,thenotew a s r e a d t o t h e d y in g c o | o n e i.
RESULTS:Trentonwasoneamo.ng
maty battles,butit gaveconfidence
to an u6f ,n",
had beentrouncedtirneaftertime.Manysoldierswho plannedto leave,stayed.New
men
joinedthe army.Forwashington,it was the beginningof a brighter
day.
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: CHALLENGES
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o '1. What British generalcapturedBunker Hill? How did he feel about his victory? :
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2. WhydidGageleaveBoston?
3.WhoweretheContinentals?
4. Whatdo you thinkPainemeantby "sunshine
patriots?,'
5. The Americans felt that God had spared them after the battles at Long lsland and
Manhattan.
Whydo yousupposetheythoughtthat?
6. Howdid Washingtonreactto the way hismenhandledthemselvesat Manhattan?Have
you everseena coachact that way?
7. How did the fact that the commanderat TrentonWAS Germanhelp Washington?
8. what problemsmadethe attackespeciallyhardfor washington'smen?
9. Howmanyprisonerswerecapturedthat day?
10.HowdidWashington's
troopsreactto thevictory?
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@ Vart<TwainMedia,Inc.,Publishers
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