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00:00Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
00:30In battle after battle, the Colonial Army is sent running, overwhelmed by the British forces and their superior power.
00:43The two sides engage at Kipps Bay, then up Manhattan at Harlem Heights, and again north in White Plains.
00:51Only one lone American outpost prevents the total loss of New York and control of the Hudson River.
00:58Fort Washington, a garrison named after His Excellency George Washington himself.
01:04And now it is under a massive attack.
01:11George Washington watches the terrifying scene from just across the Hudson River.
01:17His last hold on New York is fading fast.
01:23Nearly all of his officers had recommended abandoning it.
01:27Fort Washington was not built to defend itself against such a sizable British onslaught.
01:35The Continental soldiers prepare themselves for a last stand, but they are in no shape for heroics.
01:42A month of steady defeats have left them exhausted.
01:46And now, again, they are outnumbered.
01:48Three thousand of them against eight thousand royals.
01:53It was Washington's most trusted general, Nathaniel Green, who had convinced the commander to defend the fort.
02:01Green, a young and talented Rhode Island officer, had, over time, become Washington's most trusted confidant.
02:10But this time, following his advice is a disastrous error in judgment for the rebel leader.
02:18Nathanael Green opines that he can hold that fort with the men he has available to him,
02:24and he recommends that course of action to Washington.
02:27Washington trusts this very capable and energetic subordinate, and Green was wrong.
02:36The British Army is unstoppable.
02:39Not only do they have the numbers, they put their big guns out in front.
02:45They unleash a fierce battalion of German fighters called the Hessians.
02:51The Hessians are unmistakable.
02:53From their armored helmets to their expertise with a bayonet,
02:57they are a near-mythical vision from the Old World.
03:02England has used foreigners for centuries to help fight their wars.
03:07But in America, the Hessians create a new specter.
03:11At once feared and hated, they are seen as outsiders in a conflict between brothers.
03:17They quickly gain a reputation as detested mercenaries.
03:22The Hessians did not regard themselves as engaged in a civil war.
03:27And wherever the German mercenaries went, oftentimes there were allegations of all sorts of brutality,
03:35ranging from sexual violence to stealing of supplies.
03:41These European fighters have been trained under a different set of ethics than the colonial army,
03:47an almost medieval sense of warfare.
03:51Plucked from society's cast-offs, and often pressed into service against their will,
03:56the Hessian soldiers are ruthlessly drilled into fighting machines.
04:02Their rewards, when they receive them, come in the form of pride,
04:06and a fair share of whatever plunder they can get their hands on.
04:11In America, they sang songs about their chance for treasure.
04:15Go with us to America. There will be enough for all.
04:19There will be silver, gold, and money.
04:21Everything that a man seeks in the world, all that a man seeks there, is in America.
04:27Essentially, the Hessians operated according to a code that made sense in Germany,
04:33but was very different from anything that Americans had been familiar with.
04:38On this day, the Hessians earn their worth.
04:41They lead the British in overwhelming Fort Washington in mere hours.
04:50By afternoon, the rebels lay down their weapons.
04:53Fort Washington is surrendered, and along with it, New York.
04:59The two sides now face each other up close.
05:03The king's army and their hired warriors
05:05get their first chance to gaze upon the faces
05:08of the exhausted rebel army they have pursued for months.
05:12It is a sight that leaves them shocked.
05:16A great many of them were lads under 15, and old men,
05:20and few of them have the appearance of soldiers.
05:29The king's men had been fighting a wretched army,
05:33a band of citizens with little training.
05:37As the smoke clears over the dead and wounded,
05:40an amazing sight takes both sides by surprise.
05:45A young woman sits by her dead husband's side,
05:49but she had not been an idle bystander.
05:53When John Corbyn fell from wounds,
05:55Molly Corbyn stepped up to the cannons,
05:58firing on the British with the rest of the patriots.
06:02The British quickly send Molly Corbyn home.
06:06There, after the war, she will die in obscurity.
06:11But on this day,
06:12the rebels will not forget the woman who evoked their cause.
06:15If this war is to persist,
06:18every citizen, man, woman, and child, will be called upon.
06:24I feel mad, vexed, sick, and sorry.
06:28This is a most terrible event.
06:31Its consequences are justly to be dreaded.
06:34General Nathaniel Green
06:36Half the army is captured at Fort Washington.
06:39New York and control of the mighty Hudson
06:43falls squarely into British hands.
06:46Some begin to wonder
06:48whether the rebels can actually deliver
06:50an independent America.
06:53I was never in such an unhappy,
06:55divided state since I was born.
06:58I am wearied to death.
07:00General George Washington.
07:02The Americans in 1776
07:04have encountered nothing but reverses.
07:07It's defeat followed by defeat
07:09withdrawal followed by withdrawal.
07:11This really negatively affects
07:13the morale of his force
07:14and perhaps more importantly
07:15affects the morale
07:16of some of his subordinate commanders
07:18who really now question
07:20whether or not Washington
07:21is the right man for this job.
07:25Between us,
07:26a certain great man
07:28is most damnably deficient.
07:30He has thrown me into a situation
07:32where I have my choice of difficulties.
07:35General Charles Lee.
07:37Some of Washington's own generals
07:39now take their aim
07:40at his reputation.
07:44Washington and the army,
07:46at their weakest and most vulnerable,
07:48will soon have to face another battle.
07:51A power struggle at the very top.
07:54The revolution is about to stumble.
08:05November, 1776.
08:08George Washington's Continental Army
08:10is in full retreat across New Jersey.
08:13He has just lost New York
08:15and with it, half his army.
08:19Washington cannot afford another confrontation.
08:23Hundreds had died.
08:25Many thousands more
08:26had been taken as prisoners of war.
08:34Enemy captives are not something
08:36the British had planned for
08:37in this rebellion.
08:39Now they are forced
08:41to confront the problem.
08:44after the defeat in New York,
08:46the British find themselves
08:48holding more American prisoners
08:50than they know what to do with.
08:51And so they're going to use
08:52the sugar hut
08:53and a number of other
08:54large structures
08:55that can quickly be made secure.
08:59They're also going to use prison ships.
09:03Of all the places of internment,
09:05the ships quickly become
09:07the most notorious.
09:12Thousands are thrown into the holds
09:14of decommissioned warships.
09:17There, with inadequate food,
09:20hygiene, and air,
09:21disease runs rampant.
09:24Starvation is common.
09:26Being here is almost worse
09:29than a quick death
09:29on the battlefield.
09:31Some of these ships
09:32would have a thousand men,
09:34a thousand prisoners,
09:35and perhaps a dozen a day
09:37would be taken out dead
09:39and buried in the shallow graves
09:42on the sandy shores of Brooklyn.
09:44I now found myself
09:45among a collection
09:46of the most wretched
09:47and disgusting-looking objects
09:48that I ever beheld
09:49in human form,
09:51now shriveled and surrounded
09:52with the horrors
09:53of sickness and death.
09:55Here, thought I,
09:56must I linger
09:57till death should terminate
09:58my sufferings.
10:01Ebenezer Fox, prisoner.
10:03To the British,
10:05these men are not just prisoners
10:06of war.
10:07They are traitors.
10:10Yet their punishment
10:11will not be swift.
10:13Instead of an executioner's hand,
10:15these rebels
10:16will be left to rot.
10:24Along Washington's retreat,
10:26there is no time
10:27for sympathy.
10:29No one knows
10:30what lies ahead for them.
10:32It is a minor consolation
10:34that they have become experts
10:35in at least one aspect
10:37of the military.
10:39I can only say
10:40that no lads
10:41ever showed
10:42greater activity
10:43in retreating
10:44than we have.
10:45Our soldiers
10:46are the best fellows
10:47in the world
10:47at this business.
10:49Colonel Samuel Webb,
10:51Continental Officer.
10:55With retreat
10:56comes more recrimination,
10:58this time
10:59from within
10:59Washington's own ranks.
11:03General Charles Lee
11:04is among those
11:05who revel
11:06in Washington's failures
11:07and secretly
11:09scheme against him.
11:10In late November
11:12of 1776,
11:13Lee steps up
11:14his campaign
11:15for the commander's job.
11:19Like Washington,
11:20Lee is ambitious
11:21for glory.
11:22But their similarities
11:24end there.
11:25Where George Washington
11:27has a famous grace,
11:28Charles Lee
11:29has an infamous coarseness.
11:32He was a slob.
11:35He didn't wash.
11:37He always had
11:38a pack of dogs
11:39going everywhere
11:40with him.
11:42He consorted
11:44with low women.
11:46He was not a gentleman.
11:48A corporal's wife
11:49would be his preference.
11:52Yet as a general,
11:53his prowess
11:54is undeniable,
11:55even intimidating.
11:57He had,
11:58after all,
11:58learned his skills
11:59in the best army
12:00in the world,
12:01the British.
12:04Lee is arguably
12:06the most qualified
12:08general officer
12:10in the American army
12:11in a strictly
12:12military sense.
12:13He fought
12:14in the French
12:14and Indian War.
12:15He fought
12:16in continental Europe
12:17during the Seven Years' War.
12:18He fought
12:18from Russia
12:19to Poland.
12:20He's exceptionally
12:21experienced.
12:22But this experience
12:23breeds some hubris.
12:25He thinks
12:26that he knows better.
12:28Passed over
12:29for promotion
12:30in England,
12:31Lee jumped ship
12:31for America.
12:35Only to find himself
12:36subordinate
12:36to George Washington.
12:39Now,
12:40Lee's sense of self-worth
12:41pushes him
12:42toward betrayal
12:42once again.
12:45This time,
12:46he wants
12:47what he deserves,
12:48command of
12:49the Continental Army.
12:51I foresaw
12:52all that has happened.
12:54Had I the powers,
12:56I could do much good.
12:59Confidence
13:00in General George Washington
13:01is at an all-time low.
13:04Lee's chance
13:05is at hand.
13:09Late November,
13:111776.
13:12The two generals
13:13now lead regiments
13:14in separate retreats.
13:17Washington,
13:18through the center
13:18of New Jersey
13:19with the main army.
13:21Lee,
13:22north,
13:23with a regiment
13:23of 4,000.
13:28As they move,
13:30Lee corresponds
13:30with all those
13:31who might be sympathetic
13:32to his personal cause.
13:37These include
13:37a once-faithful adjutant
13:39to Washington,
13:40a certain
13:40Colonel Joseph Reed.
13:44Dear General Lee,
13:45I do not mean
13:46to flatter
13:47or praise you
13:48at the expense
13:48of any other,
13:49but I do confess
13:51it is entirely
13:52owing to you
13:52that this army
13:53is not totally cut off.
13:55Reed, too,
13:57encourages a change
13:58in leadership.
13:58We are in
14:00an awful
14:00and alarming situation.
14:02I think yourself
14:03and some others
14:04should go to Congress
14:05to form the plan
14:06of the new army.
14:08Joseph Reed.
14:09Charles Lee
14:10has just such ambitions
14:12and lets many
14:13in Congress
14:14and the army
14:14know it.
14:15Only George Washington
14:17himself remains
14:18unaware
14:18of the plot
14:19at hand.
14:20That is about
14:21to change.
14:24Washington,
14:24by accident,
14:26opened a letter
14:26from Charles Lee
14:28to Joseph Reed
14:30and it was clear
14:32that the two men
14:33had been discussing
14:35Washington's fatal
14:37indecision of mind.
15:03was to write to Reed
15:06and say,
15:07I opened this by accident.
15:08and I thought it was
15:09official business
15:10and to just try
15:11to smooth it over.
15:12I think all
15:13of these moments
15:15really just highlight
15:16the extraordinary
15:19kind of equilibrium
15:20that he maintained.
15:23washington lets it pass.
15:26But he can have no doubt
15:27that his own power
15:28is weakening.
15:29His errors in New York
15:31are becoming widely known
15:32and those who once
15:34threw their support
15:34behind him,
15:35the army,
15:36and the cause
15:37of independence
15:37are now compelled
15:39toward doubt.
15:41A sense of doom
15:42gathers across America.
15:46Washington is devastated
15:47by his defeats.
15:48This public relations
15:49disaster means
15:51that the people
15:51don't support the army.
15:53They're back to
15:54maybe we should,
15:55maybe we shouldn't
15:56try a revolution.
16:00It is the opportunity
16:01the British
16:02have been waiting for.
16:04Into this vacuum
16:05of power
16:06and the flagging spirit
16:07for rebellion,
16:08they issue
16:09a proclamation.
16:11They offer leniency
16:13to those who pledge
16:14allegiance to the king.
16:15Those who will not
16:17shall be considered
16:18traitors.
16:20Every American
16:21had to choose.
16:23Do I support
16:24the patriots?
16:25Do I support
16:25the loyalists?
16:27Is there any
16:28neutral ground
16:29between them?
16:30How do you
16:31make this choice?
16:32People are not only
16:33making this choice
16:34according to their
16:35political beliefs
16:36or whether they,
16:37you know,
16:37really respect the king
16:40or not.
16:40They're often
16:41making this choice
16:42according to what's
16:43best for them.
16:45The soul of the revolution
16:47is now up for grabs.
16:49Who will come out ahead?
16:52General Charles Lee?
16:55George Washington?
16:58or the British Army?
17:02What each does next
17:04will determine
17:05the outcome.
17:07America's revolution
17:08hangs in the balance.
17:20December 1776.
17:22British are gaining
17:23control of New Jersey.
17:25Yet they find a populace
17:27unwilling to support them.
17:28With their massive army,
17:30food and supplies
17:31are critical
17:32to their efforts.
17:34Out of need
17:35and a hint of vengeance,
17:36the British turn
17:37to more forceful methods.
17:44They take what they need
17:46by whatever means necessary.
17:53It is a bitter taste
17:54of what America
17:55might look forward to
17:56under full British
17:57military occupation.
18:04They have taken hogs,
18:06sheep, horses
18:07and cows everywhere.
18:09Even children
18:10have been stripped
18:10of their clothes.
18:11In short,
18:12the abuse of the inhabitants
18:14is beyond description.
18:16Charles Wilson Peale,
18:18American soldier.
18:21Soon,
18:22the Hessian mercenaries
18:23join the fury,
18:24cutting their own path
18:25of plunder
18:26across the colony.
18:28along with them,
18:29stories of brutality
18:30spread far and wide.
18:32Allegations of torture,
18:34rape and murder.
18:37Such acts become
18:38a rallying point
18:39around which
18:40to sway colonists
18:41against the British.
18:45Patriot Newsprint
18:46quickly takes full advantage.
18:48They stripped them
18:49of their cash and clothes.
18:51Poor creatures,
18:52many of them died.
18:53The devil's not more cruel.
18:55It was a huge propaganda coup
18:58for the colonists
18:59who were able
19:00to isolate
19:01a few incidents
19:02of Hessian brutality
19:03and atrocities
19:05and project that
19:06as par for the course.
19:08It helped muster
19:10more support
19:11for the revolution
19:11and demonstrated
19:13to the Americans
19:14the extreme lengths
19:15to which the British
19:16were willing to go
19:17to put down
19:18this insurrection.
19:21The British had aimed
19:23to bolster loyalty
19:24in New Jersey.
19:26Instead,
19:27their actions
19:27stir up
19:28an infuriated population.
19:34Patriots and loyalists
19:35now take up arms
19:37against one another
19:37as the War of Independence
19:39descends into anarchy
19:41and civil strife.
19:50Washington can sense
19:51the mounting chaos.
19:54Both sides,
19:55loyalist and patriot,
19:56seem to have given up
19:58on the cause
19:59of the revolution.
20:00As Washington flees
20:02across New Jersey
20:03and people are unwilling
20:04to help him,
20:05he fully realizes
20:07that this revolution
20:08might be over.
20:09He's a commander-in-chief
20:10of an army
20:11that has shrunk
20:11drastically.
20:13He's on the run
20:14with the enemy
20:15on his heels.
20:16Congressmen write
20:17their wives
20:18and their friends' letters
20:18saying that the game
20:20is just about up.
20:21They're fearful
20:22that this war
20:23is shortly
20:23going to be over.
20:26Washington turns
20:27his focus
20:28toward Philadelphia,
20:29around which
20:30he will try
20:30to build a defense.
20:33But General Charles Lee's
20:34troops are still
20:3550 miles north.
20:37Without them,
20:38Washington's numbers
20:39are inadequate.
20:40like it or not,
20:42he needs Lee.
20:46Lee has other plans
20:48and they don't include
20:50helping Washington.
20:52He ignores the commander's
20:54almost daily pleas
20:55to rejoin the main army.
20:59December 1.
21:01Dear sir,
21:02the enemy are advancing
21:04and from information
21:05not to be doubted,
21:06mean to push
21:07to Philadelphia.
21:10I must entreat you
21:11to hasten your march
21:13as much as possible
21:14or your arrival
21:15may be too late
21:16to answer any valuable purpose,
21:18General George Washington.
21:21Technically,
21:22Washington could order,
21:23could have ordered
21:24Charles Lee
21:25to do what
21:27he wanted.
21:29Dear sir,
21:30having wrote you fully
21:31both yesterday and today
21:32of my situation,
21:33you will readily agree
21:35that I have sufficient cause
21:36for my anxiety
21:37and to wish for your arrival
21:38as early as possible.
21:40Perhaps Washington thought
21:41that with a loose cannon
21:44like Lee,
21:46perhaps the best way
21:47was not force
21:49but to conjole him
21:50into seeing things
21:53the same way.
21:57Friday the 13th, 1776.
22:04General Charles Lee
22:05has no intention
22:06of coming to Washington's aid.
22:08Instead,
22:09he stops his retreat
22:10and takes residence
22:11in a comfortable tavern.
22:13There,
22:14Lee makes his final move.
22:16It won't be a good one.
22:19Lee works over
22:20his correspondences
22:21denigrating George Washington.
22:23Yet,
22:24he remains unaware
22:24of the scene
22:25just outside his window.
22:27British scouts
22:28have tracked Lee
22:29to the tavern
22:30and will take him
22:31by surprise.
22:33The scene
22:35was almost comical
22:36if it hadn't been
22:37so tragic.
22:38Lee was surrounded
22:39by a British cavalry
22:41in his dressing gown
22:42and slippers,
22:43basically.
22:48Lee puts up
22:49no fight.
22:51In one brazen
22:53and sloppy moment,
22:54his campaign
22:55for leadership
22:56of the Continental Army
22:58comes to an abrupt halt.
23:05London celebrates
23:07the capture.
23:08The traitor Lee,
23:10some say,
23:11is the only rebel general
23:12they had cause to fear.
23:14Even the stock market
23:16goes up
23:16on the belief
23:17that this is the coup
23:18that will end the war.
23:22But Washington
23:23is not so easily phased.
23:26A political rival
23:28out of the way
23:29and his absent troops
23:30now marching toward him,
23:32Washington regains
23:33his sense of mission.
23:36His own officers,
23:38like General Nathaniel Green,
23:39take notice.
23:41His excellency,
23:43George Washington,
23:44never appeared
23:45so much advantage
23:46as in the hour
23:47of distress.
23:49again it falls
23:50to Washington
23:51to turn the fortunes
23:52of the war
23:53if it isn't too late.
24:01New Jersey
24:02is now a battlefield,
24:04not only for the two armies,
24:05but for the colonists
24:06themselves.
24:09Amidst the tension,
24:11citizens weigh
24:11their loyalties.
24:14Should they side
24:15with the fleeing
24:15continentals
24:16or with the British
24:18occupiers,
24:19whose very presence
24:20has created fresh hostility
24:22in the colony?
24:24And this is what happens,
24:25right,
24:25when you put military men
24:27in the charge
24:28of what is also
24:30a delicate political operation.
24:33And in this respect,
24:35I think one has to be
24:37a little sympathetic
24:37to the British government.
24:39Putting down
24:40on a anti-imperial,
24:42anti-colonial uprising
24:45is not something
24:46anyone had much experience
24:47with in the 18th century.
24:51As winter sets in,
24:53both sides retrench.
24:55The British occupy
24:56more of New Jersey
24:57by spreading smaller units
24:58throughout the territory.
25:01Washington, meanwhile,
25:03escapes into Pennsylvania,
25:04where he hopes
25:05to prevent an attack
25:06on Philadelphia,
25:08the seat of Congress.
25:12Mid-December, 1776.
25:15The mood of despair
25:17has crept into
25:18his own soldiers as well.
25:20Many simply decide
25:21it is time to go home.
25:24Faith in the revolution
25:25is falling as fast
25:27as the temperature.
25:29It's been a wretched year
25:31for them.
25:33Conditions have been harsh.
25:35smallpox has broken out
25:36in the Army.
25:37That's in addition
25:38to the other camp diseases
25:39that ravage the Army
25:41at regular intervals.
25:43Militarily,
25:44things have been disastrous.
25:45There's not a lot
25:46of incentive
25:47for them to stay.
25:50One man watches in horror.
25:53Thomas Paine
25:54had joined Washington's Army
25:56as one of the revolution's
25:57first war correspondents.
26:00Now, the young author
26:01of Common Sense,
26:02who helped spark
26:03independence only a year earlier,
26:05knows he must once again
26:07take up his pen.
26:10This time,
26:11he will not aim his words
26:13at the enemy,
26:14but directly at the hearts
26:15of American patriots.
26:20These are the times
26:21that try men's souls.
26:23The summer soldier
26:25and the sunshine patriot
26:26will, in this crisis,
26:28shrink from the service
26:29of his country,
26:31Thomas Paine.
26:41With a sense
26:42that the war rides
26:43as much on his words
26:44as on the musket ball,
26:46Paine rushes to Philadelphia
26:48to print his new manifesto.
26:55There, Paine finds his hometown
26:57in chaos.
26:58Fear and rumor
26:59are spreading like a virus.
27:02Citizens are convinced
27:03that Washington's forces
27:04won't be able
27:05to defend Philadelphia.
27:09In response,
27:10people flee.
27:11A steady stream
27:12of Philadelphians
27:13take their belongings
27:14and head elsewhere,
27:16leaving their empty homes
27:17and closed-up shops
27:18to the British
27:19if they should come.
27:23The citizens
27:24are not alone.
27:26Continental Congress
27:27and all its members
27:28have evacuated too,
27:30heading further south
27:31to Baltimore.
27:35Against this backdrop,
27:37Thomas Paine gets to work.
27:42In a span of ten days,
27:44the young author
27:45and printer,
27:45the man who arrived
27:46in America
27:47only a few years ago
27:48full of hopes
27:49to begin a new world
27:50in these raw colonies,
27:52sets his thoughts
27:53to print.
27:56He titles it
27:57American Crisis.
27:59As quickly and widely
28:01as common sense
28:02had spread,
28:02so too does this book.
28:04It begins to work
28:06its magic instantly.
28:09What we obtain
28:10too cheap,
28:11we esteem
28:12too lightly.
28:13And it would be
28:14strange indeed
28:15if so celestial
28:16an article as freedom
28:17should not be
28:18highly rated.
28:20Thomas Paine.
28:22This was really
28:23the low point
28:25for the Americans.
28:26Washington's reputation
28:27was really at stake
28:29and with that reputation,
28:31the ability
28:32to round up
28:34fresh recruits
28:36for the army.
28:37so it was a really
28:39do or die moment
28:41in New Jersey.
28:43Paine's words
28:44only go so far.
28:46Washington must alter
28:48his entire approach
28:49to the war.
28:50He must make
28:51some bold move
28:52that will restore faith
28:53in him
28:53and in the durability
28:56of the revolution.
28:57He makes up his mind,
28:59I've got to shift tactics.
29:01He thinks that it isn't
29:02necessary to win the war
29:04on the battlefield.
29:05He just can't lose it.
29:07The most important thing
29:09is to keep the army together.
29:11At the same time,
29:12back home,
29:13convincing the mothers
29:15and wives
29:16and children
29:16of British soldiers
29:18that the cost of this war
29:19is too high
29:21in deaths,
29:22casualties
29:23and for parliament too
29:24in money.
29:27For the British commander,
29:29William Howe,
29:30things are not going
29:31as planned.
29:33The occupation of New Jersey
29:35has spread his forces thin.
29:37In London,
29:38people are asking
29:39why the war
29:39is not yet won.
29:41He needs time
29:42to think.
29:45Howe has his army
29:46dig in for the winter.
29:48To guard against rebel attacks,
29:50he places Hessian forces
29:51at key junctions
29:53along the Delaware River,
29:54places like Burlington
29:56and Trenton.
29:57As the cold sets in,
29:59the British expect
30:00to catch their breath
30:01before the next season
30:02of fighting begins.
30:07Howe's command
30:08along the Delaware River
30:09falls to Hessian colonel
30:10Johann Rahl.
30:13Rahl has been
30:15on constant alert,
30:16but now,
30:17holed up in Trenton,
30:18he is finally
30:19beginning to relax.
30:20An attack is unlikely
30:22as the weather
30:23turns grim
30:24and a blizzard
30:25blows outside his window.
30:30Rahl lets his guard down
30:32and waits for reinforcements
30:34due any moment.
30:41Christmas Eve, New Jersey.
30:45Rahl's Hessian reinforcements
30:47have made
30:47an unscheduled stop.
30:52Their commander,
30:53Colonel von Donop,
30:54has decided
30:55to spend the night
30:56with a fair widow
30:57in Mount Holly,
30:58just 20 miles
31:00from Trenton.
31:01The colonel,
31:02who was exceedingly devoted
31:04to the fair sex,
31:05had found the beautiful
31:06young widow of a doctor.
31:07He wanted to set up
31:09rest quarters
31:09in Mount Holly,
31:10which, to the misfortune
31:12of Colonel Rahl,
31:13he was permitted
31:14to do.
31:15Captain Johann Ewald,
31:17Hessian officer.
31:20Von Donop's rest
31:21will have consequences
31:22he cannot imagine.
31:24And history will soon record
31:26the contribution
31:27to the revolution
31:28made by the mysterious
31:30widow of Mount Holly,
31:31whose identity
31:32will never be known.
31:34Some believe
31:35she may have been
31:36Betsy Ross,
31:37the future creator
31:38of the American flag.
31:45Scouts soon report
31:46to Washington
31:47that the Hessian army
31:48has left its defenses down.
31:51Washington hatches
31:53his plan.
31:54He will attack.
31:57It may well be
31:58his last shot,
31:59a final effort
32:00to revive his reputation,
32:02the spirit of his soldiers,
32:04and the survival
32:04of the revolution.
32:19In the last cold days
32:21of 1776,
32:23Washington prepares
32:24his army for what may be
32:26the final gambit
32:27in the War of Independence.
32:31Few believe
32:32he can still be victorious.
32:35His own soldiers
32:36regularly leave the army
32:37as their commissions
32:39come up.
32:40and urgency
32:40creeps into everything
32:42and everyone.
32:44We are all of the opinion,
32:46my dear General,
32:47that delay
32:47is now equal
32:49to a total defeat.
32:50Some enterprise
32:51must be undertaken
32:52in our present circumstances
32:53or we must give up
32:55the cause.
32:56Joseph Reed,
32:57Continental Officer.
32:58By the time
32:59Christmas of 1776
33:01approaches,
33:02everything has bottomed out.
33:04His army has shrunk
33:05to only about 5,000 men.
33:07He's lost the support
33:09of a lot of the people
33:10and it all appears
33:11to be lost.
33:13It truly is
33:14a do-or-die situation.
33:17Washington makes
33:18a bold decision.
33:19He will strike
33:20the enemy
33:21at Trenton.
33:26On Christmas Day,
33:27Washington tells
33:28his army to prepare.
33:30After months
33:31of defeat
33:32and loss,
33:33they understand
33:33his purpose.
33:34the army will now
33:36take the offensive.
33:38They will be crossing
33:40the Delaware
33:40back to New Jersey.
33:43Shortly before departing,
33:44Washington has
33:45American crisis
33:46read aloud.
33:49Let it be told to the future world
33:51that in the depth of winter,
33:53when nothing but hope and virtue
33:55could survive,
33:56that the city and the country,
33:58alarmed at one common danger,
34:01came forth to meet
34:02and to repulse it.
34:03time hath found us.
34:06Thomas Paine
34:07It will be
34:09a monumental task.
34:11Washington's men
34:12must ford
34:13a near-frozen river
34:14in a blizzard
34:15and get across fast enough
34:17to take the enemy
34:18before dawn
34:19by surprise.
34:29Yet Washington's leadership,
34:31his army,
34:31and the revolution
34:32all ride on the success
34:34of this singular mission.
34:37Washington himself
34:38will lead the soldiers
34:39into battle
34:40for the first time
34:41in the war.
34:43The general knows
34:44that if they fail,
34:45there will be
34:46no more chances.
34:51At 11 p.m.,
34:53the boats begin to cross.
34:54It will be harder
34:55than they had even imagined.
34:58Every school child
34:59in America
34:59is familiar
35:01with the painting
35:01of Washington crossing
35:03the Delaware
35:03when he's boldly
35:05in the front of the boat
35:06standing up,
35:08looking heroically
35:09towards the eastern shore
35:10of the river.
35:11It would have been nice,
35:12but it didn't happen like that.
35:13Nobody stood up that night,
35:15wisely so.
35:17It was as severe a night
35:18as I ever saw.
35:20The frost was sharp,
35:22the current difficult
35:22to stern,
35:23the ice increasing,
35:24the wind high,
35:25and at 11,
35:26it began to snow.
35:27It was only with
35:28the greatest care
35:29and labor
35:30that the horses
35:31and artillery
35:32could be ferried
35:33over the river.
35:34Captain Thomas Rodney,
35:36Continental Officer.
35:38It takes most of the night
35:39to get the army over.
35:41It costs them severely
35:42in time.
35:48As dawn approaches,
35:50this surprise attack
35:51on the Hessian forces
35:52at Trenton
35:52grows nearly impossible.
35:55For a moment,
35:56Washington considers
35:57turning back.
35:59It made me despair
36:01of surprising the town,
36:02as I well knew
36:03we could not reach it
36:04before the day
36:05was fairly broke.
36:06I determined to push on
36:07at all events.
36:09General George Washington.
36:135 a.m.
36:15The weather worsens
36:16and the temperatures
36:17drop even further.
36:20The soldiers,
36:21some with only rags
36:22on their feet,
36:23begin to succumb
36:24to the elements.
36:26I was so benumbed
36:28with cold
36:28that I wanted
36:29to go to sleep.
36:30Had I been passed
36:31unnoticed,
36:32I should have frozen
36:32to death
36:32without knowing it.
36:34But as good luck
36:35attended me,
36:35Sergeant Madden
36:36came and made me
36:37walk about.
36:38John Greenwood,
36:39Continental Pfeiffer.
36:42Not all are so lucky.
36:46Two soldiers
36:48lay down in the snow,
36:50never to get up again.
36:54The others press on.
37:03Everything now depends
37:05on speed and stealth.
37:08It is Washington's
37:09new way
37:10of waging war.
37:12If he's victorious,
37:13fine.
37:13If he's defeated,
37:15escape as fast
37:16as you can
37:16and keep your army
37:18together.
37:19Move fast.
37:20Sneak attacks,
37:22surprises,
37:23midnight escapes.
37:25Any trick a magician
37:26could pull out
37:27of his hat.
37:27That's how he's
37:28got to fight.
37:29Washington had learned
37:30his lessons
37:31the hard way.
37:32Now he will
37:33change the rules.
37:40In a swift move,
37:42he catches
37:42the Hessians
37:43off guard.
37:43It sets off
37:45a fierce battle.
37:49Hessian soldiers
37:50scramble to grab
37:51their muskets
37:52and meet the enemy.
38:07colonel Rall wakes up
38:08to a battle
38:09already underway.
38:10He had been expecting
38:11something from the rebels,
38:13but nothing of this scale.
38:15Turn!
38:19Nor is this the same army
38:21the Hessians once met
38:22in New York.
38:27Now the Continentals
38:28fight with fierce spirit.
38:30In bloody,
38:31chaotic engagements,
38:32they hold their own.
38:38Trenton is a small
38:39battle in numbers,
38:40but it is a vicious
38:41and closely fought one.
38:45Battle of Trenton
38:46is a brutal encounter.
38:48The Americans
38:48surprise the Hessians
38:49who tumble out
38:50of their barracks,
38:51grab their muskets,
38:52and attempt
38:53to defend themselves.
38:54The battle lasts
38:55less than an hour,
38:56though.
38:57The Hessians
38:57don't have a chance
38:58because they're surprised.
39:01Here conceived
39:02a scene of war
39:03of which I had often
39:04conceived
39:05but never saw before.
39:07The hurry,
39:09the fright,
39:09and confusion
39:10of the enemy
39:10was not unlike
39:11that which will be
39:12when the last trump
39:13shall sound.
39:15Colonel Henry Knox,
39:16Continental Officer.
39:19In the midst
39:20of the fighting,
39:21the Hessian colonel
39:22Rall is shot twice.
39:26As he dies in bed,
39:28the leaderless Hessians
39:29lose their will
39:30to go on.
39:32The path
39:33that had taken them
39:34from victory
39:35in New York
39:35ends with defeat
39:37at Trenton.
39:39A thousand Hessians
39:40are captured or killed
39:41out of only
39:421,500 present.
39:49It is Washington's day.
39:51Trenton sends
39:52a resounding message.
39:54The Continental Army
39:56is back
39:56and Washington
39:58is their undisputed leader.
40:00In a year
40:01of hardships
40:02and loss,
40:03he has now learned
40:04how to fight
40:05this war.
40:07Trenton illustrates
40:08the genius
40:09of George Washington.
40:11Here is an opportunity
40:12to strike the enemy
40:14where he's weak,
40:15when he's weak.
40:16This is going
40:17to establish
40:18the pattern
40:18for the rest
40:19of the war
40:20in which
40:21the Continental Army
40:22will always live
40:23to fight another day,
40:25pick low-hanging fruit,
40:26frustrate the British,
40:28and continue
40:29to provide a thwart
40:30in the side
40:31of the different
40:31British commanders.
40:35Yet Washington
40:36faces one more challenge
40:37before 1776
40:39is over.
40:47December 31st
40:49marks the last day
40:50of many soldiers'
40:51commissions.
40:53Many,
40:54if not all,
40:55are eager
40:56to return
40:56to their citizen lives.
41:01At the end
41:02of December,
41:03a lot of enlistment
41:04terms run out.
41:06Those men
41:07want to go home.
41:08he goes back
41:09onto the field
41:09and he tells them
41:11as heartfelt
41:12as he can
41:12that you've done
41:14everything
41:14that America
41:15could ask of you.
41:17You've risked your lives,
41:18you've been in fierce encounters,
41:20and now I'm asking you
41:21to do it
41:21just one more time.
41:23And he waits,
41:24and nobody moves.
41:28The men
41:28have given
41:29all they can.
41:30Now,
41:31it is Washington's turn.
41:33To anyone
41:34who will re-enlist,
41:35Washington makes
41:36an offer
41:37of an additional
41:38$10 pay,
41:39more than a month's salary.
41:42My brave fellows,
41:45you have done
41:45all I have asked you
41:46to do
41:47and more than
41:48could be reasonably
41:48expected.
41:50But your country
41:51is at stake.
41:53we know
41:54not how
41:54to spare you,
41:56General George Washington.
42:00And then
42:00one soldier
42:01grumbles,
42:02well,
42:02I might as well
42:03keep fighting.
42:04He steps forward.
42:06Then others
42:07follow him.
42:08And eventually
42:09a little bit more
42:09than half the men
42:10in the army
42:11stay
42:12for the $10.
42:13but he doesn't
42:14have the $10.
42:17Washington writes
42:18to Congress
42:18to request
42:19the emergency funds.
42:21For this trifling sum,
42:23the army holds together
42:25and grows
42:26as news of Trenton
42:28brings new recruits.
42:30At the very end
42:31of this dark year,
42:32Washington has revived
42:34the revolution.
42:37Through most
42:38of the fall,
42:39there have been
42:39a number of officers
42:41who thought
42:41they could do
42:42his job better
42:43than he could
42:44and a number
42:44of members
42:45of Congress
42:45who thought
42:46the same.
42:48That changes
42:49after Trenton,
42:52that that criticism
42:53evaporates,
42:54at least for a while.
42:58And it seems
42:59that the tide
43:00has turned.
43:01At least the army
43:01is going to continue
43:03to exist.
43:04And the army
43:05is the revolution.
43:111776,
43:12the year America
43:13is born
43:13and a grueling test
43:15for the new nation.
43:16Liberty is embraced
43:18and then
43:19very nearly lost.
43:20Washington has saved
43:21the revolution,
43:22but the biggest battles
43:24still lie ahead.
43:26With cautious optimism,
43:28a friend of George Washington
43:30writes him
43:30a New Year's card.
43:32The year 1776
43:34is over.
43:35I am heartily
43:36glad of it
43:37and hope
43:37neither you
43:38nor America
43:39will be plagued
43:40with such another.
44:04of the number
44:05.
44:05.
44:05.
44:06Merci.
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