Pennsylvania at his back and New Jersey before him across the Delaware were less than half loyal to the American cause and probably willing to accept peace on almost any terms.
Never was a general in a position where greater risks must be taken for salvation.

As Washington pondered what was going on among the British across the Delaware, a bold plan outlined itself in his mind.

Howe, he knew, had gone to New York to celebrate a triumphant Christmas.

His absence from the front was certain to involve slackness.

It was Germans who held the line of the Delaware, some thirteen hundred of them under Colonel Rahl at Trenton, two thousand under Von Donop farther down the river at Bordentown; and with Germans perhaps more than any other people Christmas is a season of elaborate festivity.