Washington's crossing by Fischer David Hackett 1935-

Author:Fischer, David Hackett, 1935-
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Washington, George, 1732-1799, Washington, George, 1732-1799, Washington, George, Amerikaanse Vrijheidsoorlog, Keerpunten, Veldslagen
Publisher: Oxford, England ; New York : Oxford University Press
Published: 2004-03-23T05:00:00+00:00

The Battle at Princeton

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77i£ Z)^/z of General Hugh Mercer, a sketch by John Trumbull (1786). The defiant American leader refused British orders to surrender and was bayoneted on the battlefield. Here again Trumbull's sketches were more dynamic and more true to the event than his finished paintings. Princeton University Library.

dead. One officer who was shot from his horse lay in a hollow place in the ground rolling and writhing in his blood, unconscious of anything around him." Blood was everywhere in the orchard and fields, flowing bright across the icy surface of the snow. Veterans of many battles had never seen it that way. One remembered that "the ground was frozen and all the blood which was shed remained on the surface." It added to the horror of this scene. 22

Mawhood watched for the right moment, then ordered his regiment to charge bayonets. The British infantry came forward into the orchard, emerging from clouds of white powder-smoke with their blood-red coats and long bayonets, full of rage and fury. Mercer's riflemen had no bayonets. They had stood bravely against musketry and artillery, but in the face of a British bayonet charge they recoiled in confusion. Mercer's gray horse was hit, then Mercer himself. As he went down, he cried, "Retreat!" Many of his men fell back, but Mercer was caught by British troops. One knocked him down with a musket-butt, inflicting a mortal blow. Mercer was handsomely uniformed, even to a cravat, and the British infantry thought they had taken Washington. They gathered round him, and one shouted, "Call for Quarters, you damned rebel." Mercer replied

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