Levin Jack E. - George Washington: Crossing, The

Thank you for downloading this Threshold Editions eBook.

Join our mailing list and get updates on new releases, deals, bonus content and other great books from Threshold Editions and Simon & Schuster.

C LICK H ERE T O S IGN U P

or visit us online to sign up at
eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com

We hope you enjoyed reading this Threshold Editions eBook.

Join our mailing list and get updates on new releases, deals, bonus content and other great books from Threshold Editions and Simon & Schuster.

C LICK H ERE T O S IGN U P

or visit us online to sign up at
eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com

I dedicate this book to my wife, Norma, and to my family and all the families who love the United States of America.

Threshold Editions

A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 2013 by Jack E. Levin

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Threshold Editions Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Threshold Editions hardcover edition June 2013

THRESHOLD EDITIONS and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Jacket design by Alan Dingman

Image copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY

Washington Crossing the Deleware By Emanuel Leutze

Author photograph of Mark R. Levin by ABC Radio Network

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

ISBN 978-1-4767-3193-3

ISBN 978-1-4767-3194-0 (ebook)

T his book, George Washington: The Crossing , is written and designed by my most important mentor, my father, about one of the greatest statesmen past or present, George Washington, respecting one of the most improbable yet consequential battles in American history, the Battle of Trenton.

My father, Jack, is eighty-eight years old and shows no sign of slowing. He has now authored three books, two in the last two years. His great passion is American history. His knowledge is extensive and he is mostly self-taught. From the earliest days, when our family gathered around the table for breakfast and dinner, my father would introduce various historical facts and events to us, hoping to pique our curiosity about our country. As we grew into teenagers, our discussions would frequently turn into vigorous debates, often requiring moderation from my mother, Norma. Indeed, my brothersDoug and Roband I quickly figured out that we had better do some of our own independent research if we were to have any chance of holding our own at the table. It is from this experience that my brothers and I have acquired a lifelong fascination with the American heritage. Like my father, I cannot digest enough information about those who came before us and built this magnificent nation. There is so much to learn and only one life in which to learn it!

Having written about Abraham Lincoln in Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg AddressIllustrated , my father has now turned his attention to George Washington. There is so much that can be said about Washington. In fact, many books have been written about him. However, my father believes that it is particularly important at this time in our history, when so many of our fellow Americans are anxious if not fearful about the countrys future, that he help focus our attention on one of Washingtons most remarkable achievementsthe American victory at the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War.

On June 15, 1775, the Second Continental Congress elected Washington commander of the nascent Continental Army. According to the Journals of the Continental Congress: The congress met according to adjournment. The president from the chair informed Geo. Washington Esqr. that he had the order of the Congress to acq[ain]t him, that the Congress had by a unanimous vote made choice of him to be general and com[mander] in chief to take the supreme command of the forces raised and to be raised, in defence of American Liberty, and desired his acceptance of it.

Washington responded: Tho I am truly sensible of the high Honour done me, in this Appointment, yet I feel great distress, from a consciousness that my abilities and military experience may not be equal to the extensive and important Trust: However, as the Congress desire it, I will enter upon the momentous duty, and exert every power I possess in their service, and for support of the glorious cause. I beg they will accept my most cordial thanks for this distinguished testimony of their approbation. But, lest some unlucky event should happen, unfavourable to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered, by every Gentleman in the room, that I, this day, declare with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the Command I am honored with.

Just as Washington would later reluctantly attend the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and then preside over it, and humbly accept the unanimous election by electoral college as the first president of the United States, Washington reluctantly and humbly accepted the assignment of commander of the Continental Army. He would become the most beloved man in America.

Before the Battle of Trenton, the Continental Army had lost battles in New York and retreated through New Jersey to Pennsylvania. The Revolutionary War seemed lost. But the armys remarkable victory at the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776, under Washingtons brilliant leadership, would change the course of the war and, more broadly, history forever.

As this book, George Washington: The Crossing , attests, my father has a truly unique ability to let history speak for itself through his careful use of prose and painstaking selection of illustrations and photographs. There is fresh simplicity yet bracing depth in every page of this book. And unlike too many authors, my father is not interested in exploiting the human imperfections and frailties of the Founders but, instead, presents a straightforward account of these mostly selfless, heroic American figures, who were willing to die for the cause of freedom and self-government, and among whom Washington was arguably the most significant.

There is much to appreciate and celebrate about our American legacy, and there is no better man to remind us of our great blessings than my father, Jack E. Levin, a true patriot.

Mark R. Levin

A fter the Battle of Trenton, members of the Continental Congress, interested in how his troops responded to offensive action after a year of defeat and retreat from the enemy, wrote Washington asking how his troops performed during the battle. General Washingtons letter written in response to the president of the Continental Congress, John Hancock, on December 27, 1776, is printed in this book in RED lettering. These are Washingtons own words, enhanced with contemporary drawings of the time, telling his story of the Battle of Trenton.

M ay I be pardoned if, upon this occasion, I mention that away back in my childhood, the earliest days of my being able to read, I got hold of a small book, such a one as few of the younger members have ever seenWeems Life of Washington. I remember all the accounts there given of the battlefields and struggles for the liberties of the country, and none fixed themselves upon my imagination so deeply as the struggle here at Trenton, New Jersey. The crossing of the river, the contest with the Hessians, the great hardships endured at the time, all fixed themselves on my memory more than any single revolutionary event; and you all know, for you all have been boys, how these early impressions last longer than any others. I recollect thinking then, boy even though I was, that there must have been something more than common that those men struggled for.