and no more would turn out, despite Washington's earnest appeals.
All that remained of the American Revolution was the little
Continental army and the man who led it.

Yet even in this dark hour Washington did not despair. He sent in
every direction for troops. Nothing was forgotten. Nothing that
he could do was left undone. Unceasingly he urged action upon
Congress, and at the same time with indomitable fighting spirit
he planned to attack the British. It was a desperate undertaking
in the face of such heavy odds, for in all his divisions he had
only some six thousand men, and even these were scattered. The
single hope was that by his own skill and courage he could snatch
victory from a situation where victory seemed impossible. With
the instinct of a great commander he saw that his only chance was
to fight the British detachments suddenly, unexpectedly, and
separately, and to do this not only required secrecy and perfect
judgment, but also the cool, unwavering courage of which, under
such circumstances, very few men have proved themselves capable.
As Christmas approached his plans were ready. He determined to
fall upon the British detachment of Hessians, under Colonel Rahl,
at Trenton, and there strike his first blow. To each division of
his little army a part in the attack was assigned with careful
forethought. Nothing was overlooked and nothing omitted, and
then, for some reason good or bad, every one of the division
commanders failed to do his part. As the general plan was
arranged, Gates was to march from Bristol with two thousand men;
Ewing was to cross at Trenton; Putnam was to come up from
Philadelphia; and Griffin was to make a diversion against Donop.
When the moment came, Gates, who disapproved the plan, was on his
way to Congress; Griffin abandoned New Jersey and fled before