Why Did General Washington Win The Revolutionary War

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After coming off the battle of long island General Washington and his troops had been defeated badly, Washington had lost almost 4,000 troops. Winter and the end of the year were slowly approaching. Washington had three options either attacked New Jersey, move to winter quarters and rebuilt the army or disband the army and rely solely on the militia. At this point, morale amongst the troops was low, and the contracts were set to expire at the end of the winter. Washington decided to attack New Jersey; this was a highly risky because winter had approached the only way to reach New Jersey was to cross the Delaware River. The Delaware River would be frozen and almost impossible to cross. If the Washington were to win, this would boost morale amongst troops and help requirement of the war during the spin. The success of the battle wasn’t on Washington 's side with British regulars being well trained and having supplies. Washington 's troops lacked adequate supplies for the winter making the attack even more difficult.

General Washington decided to play offense and crossed the Delaware River under the cover of darkened on Christmas night. During the ambush of Trenton, the continental army managed to capture approximately 1,000 Hessian troops. At this point British commander Cornwallis tried to retake Trenton, Washington successfully outmaneuvered Cornwallis and successfully attacked the British fortifications at Princeton a week later after attacking Trenton. Washington had successfully defeated the British and retook the colony of New Jersey from the British. Since Washington lacked common sense and tactfulness during his campaign on long island, he needed to renew himself. Washington changed that by the success of the New Jersey Campaign. He was successful that he was able to keep the continental army still alive and to force the British to withdraw from New jersey. The success of the New Jersey campaign was able to keep the revolution alive. During the ambush of Princeton and Trenton Washington relied of the help of militiamen from Pennsylvania. The success of the militia would not impact the outcome of the mission if the militia were to fail their mission. This experience Washington gained during Trenton and Princeton carried him through the revolutionary war. He learned how to incorporate the militia within the regular army. Washington implemented new techniques of understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the militia. When Washington retreated into Delaware, he left spies in order to gain information of the British fortification. One known source was john Honeyman of Girggstown, New Jersey. Honeyman had been a solider during the french and Indian war. Honeyman was aware of the fort manned at Trenton by the
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Washington showed courage by attacking across the Delaware into Trenton. He was able to maintain the public morale of the continental army, which is vital to any army campaign. If the people don’t support the troops then, the war is already lost. Washington displayed personal courage when he rode in on horseback at a critical point during the ambush and rallied the troops. George Washington took a gamble when he attacked the British during the harsh winter conditions with a less than sub-par army. The victory was a strategic victory Washington use the element of surprise and key reconnaissance to his

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