December 26 = The Battle of Trenton.

On December 23, 1776 Thomas Paine wrote "these are the times that try men's souls." in his incendiary pamphlet "Common Sense". Surely it was so for George Washington's Continental army. They had been kicked out of New York and all of the Forts which they had erected on the Brooklyn Hieghts. And his army was literally disintegrating arround him his soldier's enlistment papers were due to expire at the end of the year. The men he had were in very poor shape, many of whom were "entirely naked and most so thinly clad as to be unfit for service" in Washington's own description, The only element in their favor was winter, which kept the Delaware River frozen, and safely between the Brits and the Americans. The British had settled into their winter quarters, hoping that either the freezing winter, or renewed hostilities in the spring, would end the rebellion. Indeed the Hessians (German mercenaries in the employ of the Brits) had settled down with a mere 1500 men at Trenton, just 9 miles down the road across the Delaware River. Washington Conceived a Bold Plan to keep his army together and in the field. Washinton refused to see himself as beaten no matter what William Howe (the General in charge of the British forces) thought. He now had the permission of the Congress to use the army in any way he thought productive, and this seemed to stimulate his thoughts."His Excellency George Washington" General Greene (below) would record later "never appeared to so much advantage as the hour of stress."

Washinington devised a daring plan to sting the British, and the Hessiaan mercenaries. capture a ton of much-needed supplies as well as give a huge boost to his Armies morale. ....... His plan was the reverse of what anyone expected. Instead of huddling in winter quarters like the Brits and their Hessian pals did, he proposed to ATTACK!................He would move his 2,400 man force, including horse and eighteen cannons, across the ice-choked Delaware River, divide his forces into two, one under Greene and one under Sullivan, to launch a pre-dawn attack. Sullivan would attack the town from the south, and Greene from the north at dawn on December 26. The task of ferrying everything across the Delaware River fell on Colonel John Glover and his tough, rugged band of Massachusetts fishermen. After revealing his plan at a council of war, Washington ordered as many boats as his men could lay ther hands on to be located and ferried to his position ten miles above Trenton. And the strictest silence had to be maintained. The freezing troops of the Continental Army were given meager provisions for three days and were not told the objective, only that the password was, “Victory or Death!"

Henry Knox, Washington’s Chief of Artillery recalled in a letter to his wife, "The moon was full on Christmas night. As men and material loaded into the transports.."Floating ice in the river made the labor almost incredible.” The river’s strong and swift current complicated matters, as did a nasty nor’easter which began pelting everyone with snow, freezing rain and sleet, accompanied by a steady and stiff wind. By 3:00 am, Washington’s troops were across. “Perseverance,” wrote Knox, “accomplished what first seemed impossible." Behind schedule because of the storm, the Americans arrived on the outskirts of Trenton around daybreak on the 26th. Washington split his force into two columns. One, commanded by Nathaniel Greene attacked from the north, while a second under John Sullivan attacked from the west to cut the line of retreat to the south. Recalling the assault, one American officer said, “I never could conceive that one spirit should so universally animate both officers and men to rush forward into action.”

As they marched, Washington rode up and down the line, urging his men to forward. General Sullivan sent a message to Washington that the weather was wetting his men's gunpowder. Washington ordered, "Tell General Sullivan to use the bayonet. I am resolved to take Trenton." The Hessian garrison, under the command of Colonel Johann Rall had been harassed by American militia for several weeks and were exhausted. Despite Washington engaging the pickets on the outskirts of town, Rall was taken completely by surprise. The Hessians attempted to form up at several spots but were unable to do so effectively. It became a running battle and the Americans quickly had the upper hand. Some of the Hessians did manage to escape, but most of them were captured.

The battle raged with the Americans pouring down their assault upon the suddenly awakened Teuonic enemies. The Hessians were never sufficiently able to mount an organized defense. At on point they pulled back in as orderly a fashion as they could through the streets of Trenton only to be surrounded by the Americans in a peach orchard on the outskirts. Hessian commander Col. Johann Rall attempted to rally his men, but it couldn't be done, as his men felt frightened by this surprise attack. Col. Rall wound up beeing mortally wounded. This left his troops demoralized and those who saw this through their weapons to the ground and surrendered. The Hessians lost 22 men killed in the fight with another 86 receiving wounds and close to 900 were taken prisoner. The Americans also seized much-needed supplies, including additional cannons and 1,200 muskets. The Americans suffered only five casualties, all only wounded. It was a major victory that proved a vital boost to the American cause when it desperately needed it. Washington had won a stunning victory. The army that the British thought was all but defeated had destroyed a major garrison with very light casualties, capturing critical supplies in the process. Striking on Washington took to cross and recross Delaware again over the next ten days, fighting a delaying action at the Battle of the Assunpink and winning another stunning victory at the Battle of Princeton. The Revolution had survived. Sources = https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/trenton..... https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/trenton..... https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/washington-wins-first-major-u-s-victory-at-trenton........ "1776" by David McCullough, Simon & Schuster, New York, 2005. "The American Heritage History of the American Revolution" by Bruce Lancaster, American Heritage Publising Co. New York, 1971...... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Trenton x x

December 14, 1911 = Amundsen Wins Race to the South Pole

On today's date, December 14 in 1911, Norwegian Roald Amundsen (below) became the first explorer to reach the South Pole, beating his British rival, Robert Falcon Scott by more than a month.

Amundsen, born in Borge, near Oslo, in 1872, was one of the greatest figures in the history of polar exploration. In 1897, he was first mate on a Belgian expedition that was the first ever to spend the entire winter in Antarctica. In 1903, he steered the 47-ton sloop Gjöa around the coast of Canada using the Northwest Passage and becoming the first navigator to accomplish that treacherous route. He was having some difficulty raising funds for a dash to the North Pole when he heard in 1909 that the Americans Frederick Cook and Robert Peary had already gotten there. Amundsen completed his preparations and in June 1910 sailed instead for Antarctica, secretly changing his plans. Without telling his financial backers or even his own crewmen at first, the Norwegian steered his ship Fram toward Antarctica and set his sights on reaching the South Pole. Before arriving, he sent a letter to Captain Robert Falcon Scott of the British Royal Navy(below)

who was preparing his own expedition in Australia. It read simply: “Beg leave to inform you Fram proceeding Antarctic. Amundsen.” Amundsen sailed his ship into Antarctica’s Bay of Whales and set up base camp 60 miles closer to the pole than Scott. Both explorers set up their means of trasportation Amundsen using sleigh dogs, and Scott employing Siberian motor sledges, Siberian ponies, and dogs. There was considerable press coverage to the two teams in what they called “race for the South Pole.” After spending the early part of 1911 laying down advance caches of food and supplies for their polar journeys, Amundsen and Scott’s expeditions took shelter and spent several months waiting out the dark and frigid Antarctic winter. Amundsen later tried to get a head start by beginning his journey early in September 1911, but was forced to turn back after temperatures fell as far as 68 degrees below zero. Finally, on October 20, 1911, conditions improved enough for his five-man team to begin their dash to the Pole. Scott got underway just a few days later on November 1. Amundsen and Scott relied on vastly different forms of transport during their journeys. Scott employed a combination of sled dogs, Manchurian ponies and even several motorized tractors. The machines fell victim to the arctic temperatures which quickly caused them to break down. Similarly, the cold caused his ponies to grow weak and they had had to be shot. After sending the dogs back to camp, he and his team were forced to spend much of their strength for their journey hauling their heavy supply sledges on foot. Amundsen, meanwhile, relied solely on skis and sled dogs to cross the tundra. The dogs helped his men save their strength, and the explorers later killed the weakest of the animals to supplement their food supply. Thanks to the speed of his dog teams, Amundsen’s party managed to race toward the Pole at a pace of over 20 miles per day. The Norwegians took a previouly untried route that forced them to navigate a dizzying icy trail of crevasses, mountains and glaciers, but by early December, they had penetrated farther into the interior of Antarctica than anyone in history. Amundsen would later summed up his feelings at this moment of triumph: “had the same feeling that I can remember as a little boy on the night before Christmas Eve—an intense

expectation of what was going to happen.” Finally, on December 14, 1911, he and his companions arrived at the South Pole. The men planted the Norwegian flag, (Pictured,above)smoked celebratory cigars and posed for snapshots, but they only remained for a few days before beginning the arduous trek back to their base camp. “The goal was reached,” Amundsen wrote, “our journey ended.” Scott's Team Arrives...Late Over a month later on January 17, 1912, Scott and his weary British team finally reached the Pole. And there they found that Scott had left him notes informing him that he had beaten them to their prize location by just over a month. Now Scott had to find their way back to their base camp. Having reached the South Pole late in the summer of the Antarctic. The Temperatures were dropping rapidly as Scott's weary company began its slow and laborious track to the north. But exhaustion from frostbite and not enough food began to spread throughout the weary group. Nevertheless Scott kept a diary of his travels almost the end. "Wednesday, 17 January Great God! this is an awful place and terrible enough for us to have labor to it without the reward of priority "Thursday 29 March Since the 21'st we have had a continuous gale from West Southwest and Southwest. We had fuel to make 2 cups of tea a piece and bare food for two days on the 20th. Every day have been ready to start for depot 11 miles away, but outside the door of the tent it remains a scene of whirling drift. I do not think can hope for better things now. We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more." "For God sake look for our people." The members of Scott's Scott’s group had a much tougher time on their return trek. Scott's dog teams were sent back while Scott and his four explorers continued on foot. On January 18, 1912, they reached the pole only to find that Amundsen had preceded them by over a month. Weather on the return journey was exceptionally bad–two members perished–and a storm later trapped Scott and the other two survivors in their tent only 11 miles from their base camp. Scott’s frozen body was found later that year. Sources = "The Mammoth Book of Eyewitness History" Edited by John B Lewis Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc. 1998. "The Treacherous Race to the South Pole" By Evan Andrews.... https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/amundsen-reaches-south-pole.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Amundsen.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amundsen%27s_South_Pole_expedition.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Falcon_Scott