Questions to Focus Inquiry: The Times That Try Men's Souls

The questions below will focus your attention during the video. They will help you understand George Washington's actions and motives during the six months following the signing of the Declaration of Independence. They also focus on other issues that were important at this time.

1. Describe the impact of the Continental Congress's declaration of independence from Britain. How did it affect people on both sides of the conflict?

2. Why did the ministers in England send a large military force to New York City in July 1776?

3. What is the meaning of the phrase "the times that try men's souls"?

4. Explain several reasons why Thomas Paine's words about these times were appropriate for colonists at this moment of the war.

5. What are at least three differences between the soldiers that Washington had at the Battle of Long Island and those that he wanted in the Continental army?

6. Following the Battle of Long Island, what did Washington view as his primary job as commander of the Continental army?

7. Give several reasons why members of the Continental Congress feared a standing army.

8. What were some of the colonists' reactions to Washington's victory at Trenton?

Student Resource 3-B

Context and Overview: The Times That Try Men's Souls

The description below is an overview of the video entitled "The Times That Try Men's Souls". It follows the story in the video, but expands the context and focuses of the general moods and attitudes of the men and women involved in these events.

Until passage of the resolution on July 2, 1776, declaring the colonies to be free and independent from the rule of England, nearly every colonist still considered themselves British citizens. The vast majority still expected some agreement to be reached and that the problems in recent years would be resolved, forgiven and forgotten. However, the news of the declaration of independence changed many people's minds. King George III, nearly all members of Parliament and nearly all the generals in the Crown army thought the notion that the colonies could consider themselves independent was something foolish and amusing. Meanwhile, among the colonists, the news lead them to think of themselves as Americans who were now fighting as Americans, not as rebels. Yet most still viewed their efforts as being in defense of the particular colonies where they lived rather than the United Colonies. It was up to General George Washington to build an army while he was fighting a war against the most powerful army and navy in the world.

On July 9, 1776, General George Washington's troops heard the news that the Continental Congress had just voted to make the colonies independent of Britain. At this same time a massive Crown army and naval force arrived off the coast of New York City. This invasion force included 30 fully armed battleships, 30,000 soldiers (including 9,000 Hessians), 10,000 sailors and 1,200 cannons. This was the largest military invasion by the English until the twentieth century. The size of this force made it clear that Parliament and King George were not going to give up the colonies. If the colonies wanted to govern themselves, they would have to defeat the army and navy considered to be the world's best. They also hoped that the size of the force in and of itself might frighten enough colonists so that they would want to end the conflict with no further fighting. The Crown forces' first acts were designed to intimidate the colonial army into surrendering. If the colonial army did not surrender, the Crown hoped that many Continental soldiers would desert so that those who remained would be easier to defeat in battle.

Washington moved his army from outside of Boston to New York City because spies had told him where the Crown generals were heading. They had decided that the New England area was too difficult to capture and put under direct authority of the royal government. New York, moreover, was more centrally located. The communities outside of New York City were seen as being friendlier to the Crown. In addition, the Crown could send troops more quickly along the inland rivers from New York City. To stop the Crown forces, the Continental Congress insisted that Washington do whatever was needed to prevent the capture of New York City. Washington obeyed their orders. The city itself was indefensible. There was no practical way to defend it, especially when Washington had no navy and the Crown had thirty heavy warships and many light warships floating a short distance offshore. Washington's army was outnumbered almost four to one. It was not trained or even ready for a full-scale battle. Yet he prepared to stop the Crown troops from taking the city. Washington moved almost his entire army to fight the Crown troops on Long Island. If his troops could not stop the Crown army, it would have been destroyed or forced to surrender. If either event occurred, the colonists would have had to form another army under a new general. Even worse, such a defeat might lead many colonists to demand an end to the war. As a result, the vote for independence would have been of no value.

There was a two-month delay in movement by the Crown forces as they unloaded all their supplies and prepared for action. During this time, leaders and soldiers on both sides re-evaluated their opponents. The Crown leaders, General William Howe and Admiral Richard Howe did not consider Washington to be a general or even capable of leading his troops. They remembered his days in the military during the French and Indian War. In addition, they had little respect for an ill-trained citizen army hastily assembled and without sufficient equipment or supplies. The Howes hoped for one massive attack that would destroy the Continental army and Washington. This seemed likely because they could not escape the island surrounded by Crown ships.

The battle began. The Crown troops had some difficulty advancing against the Continental army. Then 10,000 Crown troops followed an unguarded path and came up behind the Continentals. The Continental soldiers were almost surrounded. They could not hold their lines. They ran for their lives. Crown and Hessian troops slaughtered them. They crossed a swamp and reached a safe place along the shore line. They were cornered. Yet just at the moment when the Crown soldiers could attack these last survivors, General Howe ordered a stop to their advance. The battle was won. He wanted to end the bloodshed. Given the tradition of warfare at the time, he expected Washington to surrender the next morning.

But during the night, under cover of fog, Washington evacuated Long Island by small boats and rafts. He ordered large bonfires burned to give the impression that his entire army was still in camp. In the early morning, the Crown troops found no one in camp. Washington's escape plan was successful. General Howe ordered the occupation of the rest of New York City. His soldiers had little difficulty in defeating the Continental army and local militia groups they faced. The Continental army retreated and retreated. The retreat was organized less often than not. The Crown troops showed little mercy towards their enemies. In the meantime, the Howes found that most New Yorkers were strongly loyal to the Crown. They were warmly welcomed by the citizens of the city. Many in the city saw themselves saved from rebels' rule. New York City became the primary headquarters of the Crown military operations for the rest of the war. General Howe then ordered his troops to follow after Washington's forces and to capture key fortified colonial positions outside the city. His troops aided by the Hessians accomplished these missions with little trouble. Everywhere the colonists lost. And they retreated further and further from the city.

With this series of defeats, Washington realized that he needed a permanent army--an army with men who would stay and fight for a year or more. He could not defeat the Crown forces with an army of volunteers who came and went much as they pleased. He asked congress for a permanent army. Reluctantly, the members of congress approved it. They feared that a permanent standing army made up of long-term soldiers might turn against the civilian government. They feared that, in the wrong hands, the army would support their generals rather than the congress. Under some men, this might have happened. But Washington had no ambitions to be leader of an army against congress. In fact, over the next five years of the war, he resisted every opportunity to increase his power. His concern was to have an army of men whom he could train to be as skilled as those in the Crown forces. In time he would have such an army.

By early December 1776, less than five months since the Howes arrived off the coast of New York City, the Crown controlled all of New Jersey and much of New York, including the city. The colonists had not come close to winning a battle and continued to retreat. They stopped retreating only when the Crown troops quit advancing. It appeared they had no way of defeating, much less halting, their opponents. Then, as was customary in European warfare, the Crown forces settled down for the winter. They would get a long rest and wait until spring before continuing their advance. It seemed but a matter of time--a short time--before the war was over. They also assured themselves of their abilities to defeat the colonists.

The defeats left many colonists wanting peace. Surely if their commanding general and the colonists' largest army could not stop the advancing troops, there was no use in continuing the war. They wanted peace under the best terms possible as soon as possible. Yet the Continental Congress and Washington would not seek peace. Part of their reason for doing so was their commitment to the colonial cause. Another factor was the uncertainty as to what would happen to them, their families and property if they were to surrender. Already labeled as traitors and rebels, they knew all too well what the British did to traitors.

In the midst of this period of despair and defeat, Thomas Paine wrote a new essay. In The American Crisis, he declared, "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country." He went on to encourage people to continue their efforts and said that they would surely win to save their liberty and defeat the tyrants. His words inspired hundreds of thousands to continue the war effort and many thousands to join the Continental army. Washington ordered it read to all of his troops.

Washington knew he needed to change the emotional dispositions of his army and perhaps the colonists as well. He wanted to win at least one battle to give the colonists hope. It also might help many colonists to spend their winters talking about the colonial victory rather than all their defeats and retreats. More importantly, Washington knew that the terms of many of his men would end on December 31, and he did not know how many men he would have left after that date. If he was going to win a battle, it had to be before that date.

On Christmas Eve, 1776, Washington joined 2,500 of his men in a crossing of the Delaware River. That evening they surprised the Hessians at Trenton. They won the battle and took 1,000 Hessians prisoner. Shortly afterwards, they captured Princeton. The year ended with two victories for the colonists. While these were not major victories, they gave the colonists hope. Many colonists who earlier that fall had signed loyalty pledges to the Crown changed their minds. Volunteers from all thirteen colonies suddenly began to arrive in Washington's camp. From this point on, Washington seemed unable to do anything wrong.

Meanwhile, the British leaders were not alarmed by these minor defeats. Given that they had captured all of New Jersey and part of New York, the capture of two small forces in New Jersey was not a major concern for them. They spent the winter in New York City very confident that the next spring would bring certain victory over Washington's army. With this victory, surely the colonists would give up their opposition to the Crown and Parliament.

Questions:

1. The news of the decision to be independent of Britain was read to the men in Washington's army on July 9, 1776. Describe at least four of their reactions to this news.

2. The Crown sent a massive force to New York City in July 1776. What did the Crown hope to accomplish with this large force?

3. What reasons might Washington have given for choosing Long Island as the place to stop the Crown forces from capturing New York City?

4. General Howe was used to fighting battles and wars according to traditions established in previous European wars. What were two situations where following these traditions cost his Crown forces victories?

5. What were at least positive three effects Thomas Paine's essay The American Crisis had on the colonists in continuing the struggle?

6. What are at least three reasons Washington had for trying to capture Trenton before the end of December 1776?

7. What effects did Washington's victories at Trenton and Princeton have on the colonists' attitudes and actions?

Student Resource 3-C

Noteworthy Quotations: The Times That Try Men's Souls

This exercise provides quotations illustrative of the various moods and feelings during the period from July 1776 to February 1777. You should be able to interpret each quotation in the context of the person and situation within which the words were stated.

"We have no resources, our army is in shambles, we have little hope of help from foreign powers, and now we are faced with the prodigious powers and resources of our enemy. . . . In spite of all this they signed, they signed! The bravery of those delegates!"

-- Dr. James Thatcher, colonist, July 1776

"We heard that [the Continental] Congress has announced that the colonies are to be independent states. The madness of these deluded people!"

-- Ambrose Serle, secretary to Admiral Howe of the Royal Navy, July 1776

"[Washington is] an honest man, no vices, except, of course, ambition. He's not well educated, he doesn't speak very well, but there is something about him that makes people close to him very loyal. Look at how he has managed to hold together all those stubborn, headstrong groups he has to work with!"

-- Nicolas Cresswell, a traveler from England in the colonies during the war

"They put me in this regiment, half New Englanders and half Pennsylvanians. Folks as different as night and day. Myself, I'd rather be fighting with a tribe of Indians than with these Southerners. They're foreigners, can't hardly speak English. They don't like me either. They call me 'that damn Yankee.'"

-- Joseph Martin, fifteen-year-old Connecticut farm boy and enlistee in Washington's army, 1776.

"You can't imagine the joy of the [New York] city's inhabitants when we march in. . . . They carry the king's officers on their shoulders. A woman . . . pulls down their [the rebels'] hated flag and stamps on it with contempt and indignation."

-- Ambrose Serle, secretary to Admiral Howe, on entering New York City, July 1776

"Remember, soldiers, you are free men, fighting for the blessings of liberty. Remember that you and your descendants will become slaves if you don't acquit yourselves like men. Remember Boston and Charlestown. The enemy discovered at great cost what a few brave men fighting for their own land, for the best of causes, could do against soldiers for hire."

-- General George Washington, shortly after the Battle of Long Island, July 1776

"If I quit, all will be lost. In confidence, I tell you that I have never been in such an unhappy, divided state since I was born."

-- General George Washington, shortly after the British captured Fort Washington, September 1776

"Those volunteers from the southern colonies--Virginia, Maryland--they're no more fighters than the Yankees. Their army is all broken in pieces, and the spirit of their leaders is broken also. We will be headed for Philadelphia. I expect on no opposition at all. I think we can safely conclude that it is just about over for them."

-- Lord Francis Rawdon, British officer with General Howe, fall 1777

"You can't expect to get good soldiers to defend our inalienable rights when fighting for them [these rights] will bankrupt themselves and their family."

-- General George Washington on problems faced by lack of pay and supplies for his army, fall 1777