Book Report Essay

Submitted By el186809
Words: 501
Pages: 3

Washington’s Crossing
Washington’s Crossing explores the importance of Trenton, as it is one of the most important days for the creation of the United States, as without this event, the Revolution would have likely collapsed. Throughout the book, one of the most prevalent themes is that of the contrasts between order and discipline between the armies and their impact. Washington believed that the distinction between a well-regulated army, and a mob, is the good order and discipline of the first, and the licentious and disorderly behavior of the latter. Washington felt that the American army he saw while on Long Island looked like a mob. There are many associations with the Americans as unruly and disorganized soldiers and the losses that they suffered. On the other hand, the British and Hessians who were highly organized and disciplined soldiers won at every opportunity up until Trenton. On December 1776 Washington realized that he needed to gain the initiative. On Christmas night, Washington and his army made a risky crossing of the frozen Delaware River. Attacking Trenton, which was guarded by a force of Hessians, he managed to win control of the town before retreating back across the river. Early in the new year he stunned a combined force of British and Hessian soldiers once again at Trenton and then a day later captured a key British base at Princeton. David Fischer, the author, argues that these battlefield successes, coming after a series of defeats, revitalized the American cause. After Washington led his men to winter quarters, militia groups began prowling the countryside in New Jersey, attacking British and Hessian units seemingly at will in what later became known as the "forage war." Overnight the British were forced to concentrate their forces, leaving wide swaths of territory under the control of the rebels.
The book 1176 by David McCullough is related to