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In 1776, the British army chased General Washington and the Continental army out of New York City, taking his fortifications and many prisoners. Most of the army escaped by a small boat journey, covered by a near-miraculous fog. Many of the boats were rowed by Marbleheaders, part of the Massachusetts regiments from the region of Marblehead, where they were lobstermen and fishermen and used to small boats on the ocean. The success of the Revolution was very much in doubt, as the American army subsequently fled across New Jersey and crossed the Delaware River to safety in Pennsylvania. Part of the British army encamped at Trenton, New Jersey, guarding against an American counter-attack that they did not expect. It was winter, and cold, and armies at that time usually rested during the winter, in preparation for the spring campaign. But His Excellency, General George Washington, had a plan to cross back and fight.
Twelve Days Till Trenton, by John Duncan, is a historical novel covering the twelve days leading up to the Battle of Trenton, which saved the Revolution from a premature death. It is interesting in that it shows, using the example of two boys, one from Marblehead, Massachusetts, and one from Virginia, how the army brought the colonists together and helped form one country out of thirteen separate colonies. Just like in the escape from New York City, the Marbleheaders were key to the safe re-crossing of the Delaware River, by soldiers and cannons, with their skill with small boats and icy waters. The story hits its peak with the battle itself, in which the cannons led by Henry Knox, who got many of them from Fort Ticonderoga (see Guns for General Washington), played a key role in defeating the British and Hessian mercenaries at Trenton, New Jersey. This novel is a very nice middle school book.