%141.  The Surprise at Trenton.%—­Lee crossed the Hudson and went to Morristown, where a just punishment for his disobedience speedily overtook him.  One night while he was at an inn outside of his lines, some British dragoons made him a prisoner of war.  The capture of Lee left Sullivan in command, and by him the troops were hurried off to join Washington.  Thus reenforced, Washington turned on the enemy, and on Christmas night in a blinding snowstorm he recrossed the Delaware, marched nine miles to Trenton, surprised a force of Hessians, took 1000 prisoners, and went back to Pennsylvania.

The effect of this victory was tremendous.  At first the people could not believe it, and, to convince them, the Hessians had to be marched through the streets of Philadelphia, and one of their flags was sent to Baltimore (whither Congress had fled from Philadelphia), and hung up in the hall of Congress.  When the people were convinced of the truth of the report, their joy was unbounded; militia was hurried forward, the Jerseymen gathered at Morristown, money was raised; the New England troops, whose time of service was out, were persuaded to stay six weeks longer, and, December 30, 1776, Washington again entered Trenton.

Meantime Cornwallis, who had heard of the capture of the Hessians, came thundering down from New Brunswick with 8000 men and hemmed in the Americans between his army and the Delaware.  But on the night of January 2, 1777, Washington slipped away, passed around Cornwallis, hurried to Princeton, and there, on the morning of January 3, put to rout three regiments of British regulars.  Cornwallis, who was not aware that the Americans had left his front till he heard the firing in his rear, fell back to New Brunswick, while Washington marched unmolested to Morristown, where he spent the rest of the winter.

%142.  The Capture of Philadelphia.%—­Late in May, 1777, Washington entered New York state.  But Howe paid little attention to this movement, for he had fully determined to attack and capture Philadelphia, and on July 23 set sail from New York.  As the fleet moved southward, its progress was marked by signal fires along the Jersey coast, and the news of its position was carried inland by messengers.  At the end of a week the fleet was off the entrance of Delaware Bay.  But Lord Howe fearing to sail up the river, the fleet went to sea and was lost to sight.  Washington, who had hurried southward to Philadelphia, was now at a loss what to do, and was just about to go back to New York when he heard that the British were coming up Chesapeake Bay, and at once marched to Wilmington, Del.

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It was the 25th of August that Howe landed his men and began moving toward Washington, who, lest the British should push by him, fell back from Wilmington, to a place called Chadds Ford on the Brandywine, where, on September 11, 1777, a battle was fought.[1] The Americans were defeated and retreated in good order to Chester, and the next day Washington entered Philadelphia.  But public opinion demanded that another battle should be fought before the city was given up, and after a few days he recrossed the Schuylkill, and again faced the enemy.  A violent storm ruined the ammunition of both armies and prevented a battle, and the Americans retreated across the Schuylkill at a point farther up the stream.