General Orders, 25 December 1776
General Orders
[Bucks County, Pa., 25 December 1776]
Each Brigade to be furnish’d with two good Guides.
General Stevenss Brigade to form the advanced party & to have with them a detachment of the Artillery without Cannon provided with Spikes and Hamners to Spike up the enemies Cannon in case of necesity or to bring them off if it can be effected. the party to be provided with drag ropes for the purpose of dragging off the Cannon. General Stevens is to attack and force the enemies Guards and seize such posts as may prevent them from forming in the streets and in case they are annoy’d from the houses to set them on fire. The Brigades of Mercer & Lord Stirling under the Command of Major General Greene to support General Stevens, this is the second division or left wing of the Army and to march by the way of the Pennington Road.1
St Clairs Glovers & Sargents Brigades under Major General Sullivan to march by the river road, this is the first division of the Army and to form the right wing.2 Lord Stirlings Brigade to form the reserve of the left wing and General St Clairs Brigade the reserve of the right wing. These reserves to form a second line in Conjunction or a second Line to each division as circumstances may require—Each Brigadier to make the Colonels acquainted with the posts of their respective Regiments in the Brigade and the Major Generals will inform them of the posts of their Brigades in the Line.
Four peices of artillery to march at the head of each Column, three peices at the head of the second Brigade of each Division and two peices with each of the Reserves.3 The troops to be assembled one Miles back of McKonkeys ferry and as soon as it begins to grow dark the troops to be March’d to McKonkeys ferry and embark onboard the boats in following order under the direction of Colonel Knox.
General Stevens Brigade with the detachment of Artillery men to embark first General Mercers next; Lord Stirlings next, Genl Fermoys next who will march in the rear of the Second Division and file off from the Penington to the Princeton Road in such direction that he can with the greatest ease & safety secure the passes between Princeton & Trenton. the Guides will be the best judges of this. he is to take two peices of artille[r]y with him.4
St Clair Glover & Sargents Brigades to embark in order. Immediately upon their debarkation the whole to form & march in Subdivisions from the Right.
The Commanding Officers of Regiments to observe that the Divisions be equal & that proper officers be appointed to each—a profound silence to be enjoyn’d & no man to quit his Ranks on the pain of Death—each Brigadier to appoint flanking parties—the reserve Brigades to appoint the rear Guards of the Columns—The heads of the Columns to be appointed to arrive at Trenton at five oClock.
Capt. Washington & Capt. Flahaven with a party of 40 men each to march before the Divisions & post themselves on the road about three miles from Trenton & make prisoners of all going in or coming out of Town.5
General Stevens will appoint a Guard to form a chain of centries round the landing place at a sufficient distance from the river to permit the troops to form This Guard not to suffer any person to go in or come out—but to detain all persons who attempts either this Guard to join their Brigade when the troops are all over.
Df, in Henry Knox’s writing, NNGL: Knox Papers. Knox docketed the manuscript: “Order of march to Trenton Decr 25 1776.” The last page of the manuscript includes a rough sketch map, which, although it is untitled and has no labeled features, is clearly a map of Trenton (see fig. 1).
In a letter written to Leven Powell of Loudoun County, Va., on 29 Dec. at McConkey’s Ferry, Maj. George Johnston enclosed a shorter and somewhat variant copy of these orders, which apparently was the version that was issued to the brigade commanders. Although no manuscript of that copy of the orders has been found, it is printed without date in , 45–46. It reads: “Every Brigade to be furnished with the following orders:—Gen. Stephens’ Brigade to form the advance party, and to have with them a detachment of artillery without cannon, furnished with Spikes and Hammers to spike up the Enemy’s Cannon, in case of necessity, or to bring them off, if that can be effected; this party to be furnished with drag Ropes for the purpose of dragging off the Cannon. Gen. Stephens is to attack and force the Enemy’s guards, and seize such posts as may prevent their Main Body from forming in the streets; and in case they are annoyed from the houses, to set them on fire. The Brigades of Genls. Mercer and Ld. Stirling, under the command of Major Gen’l Green, to support Gen’l Stephen’s. This is the Second Division, or left, wing, of the army, and to march by way of Penny Town road.
“St. Clair’s, Glover’s and Sergeant’s Brigades, under command of Maj. Gen’l Sullivan to march by the River road. This is the 1st Division of the Army and forms the right wing. Ld. Stirling’s Brigade to form the reserve of the left wing, and Gen’l St. Clair’s, the reserve to the right wing. These reserves to form a second line in conjunction or a second line to each Division, as circumstances may require.
“Each Brigadier to make the Cols. acquainted with the posts of their Respective Regiments in the Brigade, and the Major Genls. will inform them of the posts of their Brigades in the line. Four pieces of Cannon to march at the head of each Column, 3 pieces at the head of the 2d Brigade of each Division, and two pieces with each of the reserves. The Troops to be assembled a mile back of McKonkey’s Ferry. Gen’l de Fermoy’s Brigade, who will march in the rear of the 2d Division, will file off from the Penny Town to the Princetown road, in such a direction that he can with the greatest ease and safety secure the passes between Princeton and Trenton, he will take 2 pieces of Cannon. A profound silence to be observed, and no man to quit his Ranks on pain of Death.
“The heads of the columns to be appointed to arrive at Trenton at 5 o’clk. The Officers to have a white paper in their Hats to be distinguished by.
“Capt. Washington and Capt. Flaharan with a party of 40 men each, to march before the Divisions, and post themselves on the roads about 3 miles from Town, and make prisoners of all going in or coming out of Town.” For the brigade orders that Brig. Gen. Hugh Mercer issued to Col. John Durkee of the 20th Continental Regiment on 25 Dec., see , 359–60.
1. Brig. Gen. Adam Stephen’s brigade, which consisted of the 4th, 5th, and 6th Virginia regiments, had an effective strength of 549 officers and men on 22 December. The effective strength on that date of Brig. Gen. Hugh Mercer’s brigade, which consisted of the 20th and 27th Continental regiments, the 1st Maryland Regiment, the remnants of Lt. Col. Moses Rawling’s Maryland and Virginia rifle regiment, and Col. Philip Burr Bradley’s Connecticut regiment, was 838 officers and men. Lord Stirling’s brigade, which consisted of the 1st and 3d Virginia Regiments, the 6th Maryland Regiment, and Col. John Haslet’s Delaware Regiment, had an effective strength of 673 officers and men on 22 Dec. (see the general return of GW’s army, 22 Dec., DNA: RG 93, Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775–83; see also , 5th ser., 3:1401–2; , 43; and , 351–53).
2. Brig. Gen. Arthur St. Clair’s brigade, which consisted of the 2d, 5th, 8th, and 15th Continental regiments, had an effective strength of about five hundred men at this time (see ibid., 354). Col. John Glover’s brigade, which consisted of the 3d, 14th, 19th, 23d, and 26th Continental regiments, had an effective strength of 977 officers and men on 22 December. The effective strength on that date of Col. Paul Dudley Sargent’s brigade, which consisted of 13th and 16th Continental regiments, the 1st and 3d New York regiments, and Col. Andrew Ward’s and Col. John Chester’s Connecticut regiments, was 827 officers and men (see the general return of GW’s army, 22 Dec., DNA: RG 93, Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775–83; see also , 5th ser., 3:1401–2; , 43; and , 354–56).
3. For a listing of the artillery forces under Col. Henry Knox’s command, see ibid., 356–58.
4. Brig. Gen. La Rochefermoy’s brigade, which consisted of the 1st Continental Regiment and the German Battalion, had an effective strength of 638 officers and men on 22 Dec. (see the general return of GW’s army, 22 Dec., DNA: RG 93, Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775–83; see also , 5th ser., 3:1401–2; , 43; and , 352).
5. William Washington (1752–1810), a cousin of GW who had been commissioned a captain in the 3d Virginia Regiment in February 1776, was wounded during the fighting at Trenton the next day (see GW to John Cadwalader, 27 December). William Washington was appointed major of the 4th Continental Light Dragoon Regiment on 27 Jan. 1777, and in November 1778 he became lieutenant colonel commandant of the 3d Continental Light Dragoon Regiment, which was sent to the southern department in the spring of 1779 and remained there until 1782, being reorganized and redesignated at the 3d Legionary Corps on 1 Jan. 1778. William Washington was wounded at the Battle of the Cowpens on 17 Jan. 1781, and on 9 Mar. 1781 Congress voted him a silver medal for his conduct during that battle (see , 19:247). Wounded again and captured at the Battle of Eutaw Springs on 8 Sept. 1781, William Washington was a prisoner on parole until the end of the war. After the war he settled in South Carolina.
John Flahaven, who had been appointed a second lieutenant in the 1st New Jersey Regiment in December 1775, apparently was named a captain the new 1st New Jersey Regiment about this time (see General Orders, 24 Feb. 1777). In April 1777 Flahaven was captured by the British while making an unauthorized and illadvised attack on their lines in northern New Jersey with a small detachment of volunteers (see Adam Stephen to GW and GW to Stephen, both dated 26 April 1777, DLC:GW). Flahaven apparently was exchanged sometime during 1778, and on 21 Jan. 1779 he resigned his commission (see Flahaven to GW, that date, DNA: RG 93).