A history of the United States . is was done under a prom-ise of full pardon and protection to all who should abandon theContinental cause. More than three thousand persons, believ-ing there was no possibility of success for the Americans,yielded to these allurements and deserted to the British. To-ries everywhere now emerged from their obscurity and boldlyasserted their allegiance to the king. Washington could notventure battle with his inferior force, but, with masterly skill,he slowly withdrew his army, crossing stream after streamwith the British close on his heels. Even the broad waters o
A history of the United States . is was done under a prom-ise of full pardon and protection to all who should abandon theContinental cause. More than three thousand persons, believ-ing there was no possibility of success for the Americans,yielded to these allurements and deserted to the British. To-ries everywhere now emerged from their obscurity and boldlyasserted their allegiance to the king. Washington could notventure battle with his inferior force, but, with masterly skill,he slowly withdrew his army, crossing stream after streamwith the British close on his heels. Even the broad waters of 128 THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1775 AND 177G. [§169 the Delaware did not baffle him. Pressed hard by superiorforces, he threw his army across the river and destroyed all theboats on the opposite bank for nearly one hundred miles. Hisopponents found it impossible tofollow, and decided to wait forthe river to freeze over. 169. Washington turns uponhis Enemy. — Howe and Corn-wallis thought the war practicallyat an end. Deciding to leave. their army east of the Delaware, with its center at Trenton 9,ndits wings at Burlington and Princeton, they returned to NewYork for the festivities of the holidays, where Howe was tocelebrate the knighthood conferred upon him for the captureof New York. But Washington had a Christmas surprise instore for them. Including the forces of Gates and Sullivan,he now commanded about six thousand men. The loose dis-position of Howes troops gave him an opportunity which he § 170] THE WAR IN NEW JERSEY 129 immediately turned to account. He decided by a secret move-ment to strike a hard blow at the British center. His plan wasto cross the Delaware in three divisions. The right wing,under Gates and Cadwalader, was to attack the Hessiansunder Donop at Burlington ; Ewing was to cross and attack thecenter at Trenton; while Washington himself, with the leftwing six miles up the river, was to cross at that point andmarch down on the other side to attack the British fla
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