Miracle of Christmas – 1776

[oriskany 60789xp 5]

Battle of Trenton (American Revolution – Christmas 1776)

The American Crisis

“It is a dark time for the rebellion.”

The year 1776 had not been a kind one for the Patriots of the American Revolution.  In the wake of successive British offensives under the command of General Sir William Howe, New York was gone, along with 90% of the Continental Army.  Exhausted and starving, the 2,000 men Washington had left retreated into New Jersey.  The cause of the American Revolution, so proudly proclaimed just six months before with the Declaration of Independence, was now a flickering candle just a breath from being snuffed out.

We withdrew across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania, but even this would bring only brief respite.  As soon as the December weather grew cold enough, the Crown’s soldiers would walk across the ice and end the war in a final stroke.  Faced with annihilation, Washington decided on what seemed like an insane course:  Attack.

On Christmas night, Washington led us back across the Delaware into New Jersey.  Under cover of darkness, we forced-marched on Trenton through a sleet storm.  Here, a detachment of 1,200 Hessians (troops from modern-day Germany) had been stationed to keep an eye on us, but they had no idea we’d come back across the river.

We hit the Hessians shortly after dawn on December 26, 1776.  Against all odds, surprise was total.  The German commander (Johann Rall) was mortally wounded, and soon after the Hessians surrendered.  They’d lost 23 killed, 83 wounded, and all 900 survivors were taken prisoner.  We lost only two dead from exposure, and a handful of wounded.

Stunning as it may have been, victory at Trenton marked only the first step back from the abyss, by no means was Washington now “winning the war.”  In fact, his army was about to disintegrate because most of our enlistments were due to expire on December 31.  Even now, the Revolution’s survival hung by the slenderest of threads.

 

[oriskany 60789xp 2]

Additional screenshots from this experimental game of Sons of Liberty:

 

[rasmus 8879xp 1]

@oriskany Thank you for the great extra Xmass present from you

[oriskany 60789xp 1]

No worries at all @rasmus – If it’s a gift, it’s a regifted one, as these images went out with the 2015 American Revolution series and subsequent forum thread.

A real life Christmas battle, and a real life underdog victory … and one of the few  real moments when history really “turned on a dime.”

[elessar2590 18232xp 1]

Great to see gaming’s still going strong over Christmas @oriskany

[oriskany 60789xp 1]

Thanks very much, @elessar2590 – but “sadly” these were old pics from a game run some time ago.  I just tossed them up because they were “lost” in old BoW 1.0 forums and the December 25-26 date was appropriate for the Battle of Trenton. 😀

[cpauls1 8957xp 1]

It’s great to dive into a boardgame and counters every once in a while. Not only is it nostalgic, but it’s also a welcome break from painting hoards/hordes of models at a go!

Thanks for this @oriskany !

[oriskany 60789xp 0]

Thanks, @cpauls1 – I agree 100%.  Counters get old, miniatures get old, so shifting back between the two keeps either of them from getting old.  🙂

I see your e-mail, I promise to get back to you today.  End of month/ year at work. holidays, and of course Darkstar rule book … it’s all cylinders all the time … at least for another couple of days.

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