The winter of 1776 held no Christmas joy for the colony's cold, ragged troops. Defeat after defeat left them in terrible circumstances. British generals assumed the Americans were finished and took a winter break from fighting.
General George Washington finally came up with an offensive strike that his advisers and generals could agree to. They crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night, attacked Hessian mercenaries, and won a famous victory that changed the war.
How tough were those troops and officers? They were already in bad shape when they crossed the half-frozen river in the night. Two froze to death. A lot of suffering precedes death.
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