Advanced Placement-Style United States History
  Question of the Day--Answer and Explanation

  "Passage of the Delaware" depicting Gen. Washington
leading the American troops at Trenton by Thomas Sully (1819)
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Question 1000:

Which of the following is not true of the December 26, 1776 battle of Trenton in the American Revolution?

        (A) the vast majority of the Hessian defenders surrendered to the American forces
        (B) General Washington led the troops in a dangerous crossing of the Delaware River to attack the Hessian forces
        (C) the battle served as an inspirational victory for the colonists who had previously largely been on the retreat since abandoning New York
        (D) the American forces suffered very few casualties
        (E) it represented the largest surrender of British forces in the entire Revolutionary War
Answer:
       (E) it represented the largest surrender of British forces in the entire Revolutionary War
Explanation:
Over 5800 men surrendered at Saratoga in 1777 under the command of British General Burgoyne. General Washington's victory at Trenton provided a huge morale boost for the American forces. Using an early-morning crossing of the Delaware River to reach the mercenary Hessian troops stationed at Trenton, the American forces scored an easy victory and captured over 800 prisoners while suffering very few casualties. Thomas Paine, an important pamphleteer for the Americans, penned The Crisis three days before the battle, when Washington's fortune seemed much less positive. Paine wrote:  "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."
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