under an ensign, was sent one or two miles in pursuit
of the retreating Americans, but failed to come up
with them. The picket at the junction of the upper
river road and the Pennington road was then strengthened
by about ten men, under Lieutenant Wiederhold,
making it up to a total strength of twenty-five men.
Rall made up his mind that all danger was over. He
had lately been warned that an attack was imminent,
and he took it for granted that the skirmish in which
the pickets had been engaged was the attack of which
he had been warned. Leslie, who commanded at
Princeton, had sent word that Washington was
preparing to cross the Delaware, but Rall gave no serious
heed. He only ordered his own regiment, which was
“of the day,” to stay in its quarters. There was,
indeed, ground for his feeling of security. It was known
to him that no large force of Americans was left in his
part of New Jersey. Washington's army lay beyond
the Delaware, a ragged, half-armed mob of poor devils,
who had lately been driven from state to state and
from river to river. Great cakes of ice floated to and
fro in the Delaware, drifting with the tide, and making
all crossing dangerous. The night was boisterous,
even for December, and before morning sleet and snow
were driving through the streets. But within all was
bright and cheerful. It was Christmas evening. The
Germans, comfortably housed in Trenton, could laugh
at the storm, and sleep securely.[1]
- ↑ It has frequently been said that Washington surprised the Hessians, still sleepy from the festivities of Christmas. In Germany it is always Christmas Eve that is celebrated, and the Hessians would, therefore, have had thirty-six hours to recover from the effects of their potations before eight o'clock on the morning of the 26th. Rall, himself, is said to have been a drinker.
