Two hundred years ago, the American people had already declared their Independence. But as they had discovered quickly, it was one thing to declare it and another to secure it. Since July, the Continental Army had been driven from New York and the Hudson River and clear across New Jersey. It had been beaten wherever it had tried to make a stand. Now a few thousand men were left, huddled against the cold on the Pennsylvania shore of the Delaware River, short of food and clothing, waiting in misery for their enlistments to expire. “I think,” wrote General Washington in despair, “the game is pretty near up.”

But then came Christmas night, 1776, a desperate plan of surprise counterattack, Marbkhead boatmen ferrying the army back across the ice-choked river, and exhilarating victory at Trenton. The capture of the Hessian garrison there, and the triumph at Princeton a few weeks later, saved the American cause at the last hour and persuaded many faint hearts—soldiers and civilians—to fight on.

Not at well known as the famous crossing by the units with Washington was the aborted attempt by other troops that same night to get across the river farther south so as to hit Trenton from below, cut off the Hessians’ retreat, and also create a diversion at Bordentown. Same of those troops under Colonel John CaAwalader got across. But when their artillery could not land because of the ice, they had to return to the Pennsylvania shore.

A few days later, Thomas Rodney, a captain in the Delaware militia under Cadwalader, sent an account of the frustrated crossing in a letter to his brother Caesar—a prominent patriot who, as a member o/ the Continental Congress in July, had gained celebrity by a hasty night ride to Philadelphia to swing the Delaware delegation, two to one, for Independence and make the thirteen colonies’ decision unanimous for the break with England.

Here is Captain Rodney’s account of that historic and stormy December night of 1776:

… On the 25th inst. in the evening, we received orders to be at Shamony ferry as soon as possible. We were there according to orders in two hours, and met the rifle-men, who were the first from Bristol; we were ordered from thence to Dunk’s Ferry, on the Delaware, and the whole army of about 2000 men followed as soon as the artillery got up. The three companies of Philadelphia infantry and mine were formed into a body, under the command of Captain Henry (myself second in command), which were embarked immediately to cover the landing of the other troops.

We landed with great difficulty through the ice, and formed on the ferry shore, about uoo yards from the river. It was as severe a night as ever I saw, and after two battalions were landed, the storm increased so much, and the river was so full of ice, that it was impossible to get the artillery over; for we had to walk i oo yards on the