Original subtitles

In the winter of 1776, a mere six months after the colonies declared

independence from Britain and the crown, the American army was decimated.

Overrun by the British in Manhattan, slaughtered by the hundreds by German mercenary troops known as

Hessians, the Continentals hardly seemed a threat to the might of the British Empire in the Americas.

As winter approached, the Continentals were cold, tired and sick, and still the British chased themselves

toward the natural boundary between the two rich colonies of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the Delaware River.

Get that damn gun rolling! Put your shoulders to it!

Send a hand!

Damn you! Hold on! Come on! Come on! On the wheel.

Ready? One, two, three!

General, sir, you shouldn't be here. The British could be anywhere.

Be damned with saving one canon. Spike it and move on.

Yes, sir. Move on, gentlemen. Lay a slight to her.

I went with the horses.

We've half a thousand sick men, sir.

Do we quarter them here?

No. We cross the river.

When? We can't lie in the cold. They'll die.

We'll all die if we don't put the river between us and the British.

Lover!

Lover, I'd like to cross the river.

With what, sir? Do we swim the damn river?

Lover, I'd like to cross the river.

How, sir? You tell me. How do we put two thousand

men across the river? Where are the boats?

Upriver, a few miles, is a foundry in Smelter.

They run the ore down to Philadelphia in boats, big boats.

Take your men right up there and get those boats.

And pay for them with what?

Damn it! How come? Open your eyes!

We are pinned here! And then we cross the river while it's firing.

So get those boats. Take them if you have to.

Do what you can for the sick of movement.

Yes, sir.

You are Robert Mckenzie?

You are the proprietor of the Ironworks, so don't.

Who are you?

By necessity an authorization of the Army of the Continental.

We have commandeered your fleet of boats for the

temporary use of the American Revolutionary effort.

What?

My God, sir, is this your revolution? Is this your Liberty and equality?

To destroy a man's business? To Rob him of his property?

I follow my orders, sir.

Whose orders?

General Washington.

Thank God damn him for the bandit that he is.

How am I going to make a living? Who's going to pay me?

The Continental Congress.

And my eternal thanks for your generous assistance in this matter.

Right, sir!

You are your God damn Continental Congress!

I'll see you hanged!

Every one of you! You, too!

You will all suffer the consequences!

You don't stand a chance!

Give up now!

All in! Look like me!

Come over here, sir!

Keep coming!

Quickly! Move me here!

All in! Move me, Mr.

Hamilton! All right, gentlemen!

I will speak bluntly.

Six months ago, when our Army held New York City,

we had 20,000 men and over 300 pieces of artillery.

How many men here are fit for duty? Any kind of duty?

Less than 2,000, sir.

Henry, how many pieces of artillery? Eighteen, sir.

Less than 2,000 men, 18 guns,

and we presume to fight against the most powerful nation on the face of the earth.

In doing so, we have been smashed and smashed again.

We have been flushed and chased and punished.

Now I must write to Congress and tell them of our condition.

Well, gentlemen, what shall I tell them?

That we are on the west bank of the river, General.

And that the British are on the east.

And that there is no boat worth calling a boat on this river.

That is not in your hands.

Yes, we have a reprieve. A few days or weeks until the river freezes over.

And when the British walk across the ice with 20,000 men,

then we retreat again.

Then the way is open and they take Philadelphia.

What's left? We are left.

So we have almost no food, no medicine, no blankets.

I'm more of a physician than a general,

and I tell you we have jaundice and dysentery.

So you tell me, in what condition are we left?

You are right, General Mercer.

An army without supplies cannot endure.

I propose we endure.

Therefore, we will find what we need.

Where is our alternative, gentlemen?

Do we lay down our arms? Do we throw ourselves at the mercy of our enemy?

No.

So long as I command a corporal's guard, I will make some endeavor.

Now, gather round.

We are here.

And here, our retreat from New York.

Here I divided my forces. I gave General Lee 2,000 men and proposed this route.

I gave General Gates 1,200 men, and this was to be his route.

If one of the armies were trapped, perhaps the other two could survive.

They were to meet us here.

Where are they?

How can two armies simply disappear?

Sterling, you were Surveyor General of New Jersey.

You know every road in the state.

Go and find them. Go today.

Yes, sir.

You go about your duties, gentlemen.

Who was it? Outside.

Suppose General Lee is out there in the Jersey hinterland,

just sitting and waiting for you and your army to die.

I will not believe that.

He hates you. Just as Gates envies and hates you.

That's enough, William.

I won't go unless I speak my mind.

Lee has always wanted your command.

What better way to see you lose it than to just stay where he is?

I only ask you to find him.

And if he tells me to go to hell and be damned...

Sullivan is his second in command.

If there is trouble with Lee, you and General Sullivan

will place him under arrest and bring him and his troops to me.

You are General Washington, sir? I am.

My name is Thomas Barkley.

Mine is the Stone House over the hill.

I have come to you to offer it as your headquarters and shelter from the cold.

You cannot conduct your business like animals in the field.

I thank you, sir, with all my heart.

You may have your baggage sent up, sir.

May I ask you and your staff to join us for dinner tonight?

We would be honored.

May I show you the way?

Find General Lee and his army, William.

Otherwise we are finished.

What's left?

Furthermore, the men still wear their summer clothing,

and many are barefoot.

As wearisome as these endless pleas become,

I beseech the Congress to understand our condition.

Today is the 20th of December.

In 11 days, the enlistment papers for half the army will be expired,

and the lads will head home.

Without funds, I cannot pay the men for reenlistment,

nor can I provide food nor clothing.

Without these funds, I do not know how we can continue,

and I plead with you to help us.

Go, Alex.

I am very tired. I think I will rest.

Yes, sir.

Yes.

It's Hugh, sir.

The door is open.

Well, Hugh?

A writer from New York has arrived carrying intelligence.

Why in God's name did they call it intelligence?

What's with this batch?

You don't want to read it?

It's from Van Hagen.

Van Hagen?

No one hates the British like a Dutch merchant.

What's he got to say this time?

General Howe's banging a pretty little wench the name of Mrs. Loring.

He has her in his bed every night, glassy-eyed,

and formicating like a 15-year-old.

That's very stimulating, Hugh, but where's the connection?

Van Hagen credits Mrs. Loring with our continued existence.

He says if it wasn't for Mrs.

Loring, General Howe would be down here at the river with 20,000 men.

How so convinced we're finished?

He's allowed Cornwallis to return to England.

Not a damned fool. Cornwallis is the only commander he has who isn't an idiot.

They're waiting for the river to freeze.

Meanwhile, he's sent Colonel Raul and 1,200 Hessians to occupy Trenton and to Watches

should we attempt a march to Boston.

1,200 Hessians?

By God, Hugh, the man holds us in contempt.

Well, with reason, sir. With reason.

What reason?

Less than 1,000 men fit for duty.

No food, no clothing.

These Hessians are the best soldiers in the world.

The boys we lead are as frightened of them as a Salem pastor at the sight of a witch.

Hessians.

Van Hagen writes that Howe expects us to plead for terms within the next fortnight.

He intends to be generous.

Generous?

Well, I will see General Howe in hell before I come to him with a plea of surrender.

Come along, Hugh.

Where to, sir?

Let's have a look at Trenton. I've never seen the town.

Not?

Yes, Hugh, right now.

Not much of a river, is it?

Less than the Potomac.

If they had any guts at all, they'd build rafts and fight their way across.

They don't have to. They can wait.

1,200 Hessians.

Among them, the Neepars and regiment.

Same murderous bastards that cut us to pieces in Brooklyn,

leaving 500 of you Virginians dead.

Listen.

What is it you hear?

This was a fool's play. The two of us riding down here are known.

Let's get out of here. Be quiet.

That's ours, Hugh.

Some drunken fife is off the devil's sake.

General Sullivan, sir.

General Sterling.

General Washington.

Where is General Lee, sir?

Taken captive by the British.

How did that come about?

We were in camp near Basking Ridge.

He went alone to a tavern two miles away, and there the British took him,

or else he joined them.

I see.

What is the condition of your men?

872 able to walk and bear arms.

The rest are in the carts.

And what have you heard of General Gates?

He will be with you by nightfall.

Very well.

It is... Five o'clock, General.

I suggest you march your men to our camp if they have the strength.

If they have the strength, sir.

Ride back with them, Hugh. I will meet you shortly.

Will you not ride with us, sir?

No.

That's it. That's the whole of it.

And you're on my opinion?

Forthrightly and honestly.

I think you've lost your mind.

Well, that's plainly said, Colonel Glover,

but it's quite the side, the point.

The question is, can you do it? No, I cannot.

But I will.

What the devil does that mean?

It means that the whole thing is a damned lunatic affair.

But if you're determined to ride into hell, I'll go along.

And my fisherman will go, too.

When all's said and done,

there's no alternative, is there? I think not.

I will, then.

That's that.

That.

Thank you.

Tell me that when we've done it.

Sir.

I will have no more talk of defeat.

Our side will assuredly triumph.

And then General Knox here will write a book about it.

I sell books, madam.

Writing one is quite beyond me.

And perhaps General Glover will.

Colonel Glover, madam.

This army is sufficient, gentlemen.

And I'm not a rider, madam.

I'm a fisherman.

You're going to be assured, madam, he'll not let you forget it.

I'm intrigued by your profession, and I notice your uniform is different.

There's no uniform, madam.

These are my own clothes,

just as this is my own hair, which God gave me.

I will lay aside my contempt for free prison and my disgust

for the high church, just long enough to join these gentlemen

in an endeavor which is my own, as well as theirs.

But I will not clothe myself in silks and

laces and play the silly ass in a padded wig.

I'm a marblehead fisherman of the Congregational Persuasion Man.

So I was born, so I will die.

Madam, let me not apologize,

but rather explain the blunt speech of Colonel Glover.

He was never one to hide his light under a bushel.

He has no desire to be ungracious.

No, indeed, madam.

I'm in your debt.

By God, that I have lived to hear John Glover apologize?

There was no apology.

I merely thanked the lady for a fine meal and wine,

which is a damn sign more than I hear from you.

General Gates arrived with his army half an hour ago.

He's in the front room, and in no good mood.

Bring him here, Alex.

Be honest and call yourself for what you are.

A Presbyterian, Mr. Knox.

Mr. Barclay,

it appears we do nothing but impose on you.

How so?

General Gates has just arrived.

Ah!

And may I introduce him?

My colleague, General Gates.

Ah! Welcome, sir.

Have you eaten?

May we have the use of the room and table for the rest of this evening?

Of course, General.

Ladies? Sit down, General. Have a glass of wine.

Be seated, gentlemen.

It is late, but perhaps not too late.

I would have had this meeting before, but I wanted to have General Gates here.

I received this dispatch yesterday.

from the Continental Congress

to His Excellency General Washington,

Commander-in-Chief.

The Congress, having come to the realization that

Philadelphia cannot be defended, has removed to Baltimore.

We leave you in full command with the power to make

all decisions concerning the future of our struggle.

So it is, gentlemen.

We became a nation on the 4th of July, six months ago.

We held our three largest cities,

Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.

Since then, we have lost New York.

Congress has fled from Philadelphia because we cannot defend it.

We have lost every battle,

and out of our great army only a handful remain.

The British have written us off.

At this very moment, they are contriving the terms of our surrender,

waiting for the Delaware River to freeze over so that

they may walk across it and present us with those terms.

You have stated the situation, sir, quite clearly.

Very well.

Reserve your opinions, gentlemen.

Hear me out.

Across the river, ten miles downstream, is the village of Trenton.

It is held by 1,200 Hessians with raw in command.

They have food, warm clothing, blankets,

tents, cannons, muskets, ammunition,

in short, everything we need.

In four days, it will be Christmas.

There will be a great deal of feasting and a great

deal of drinking by the Hessians that day and night.

I propose that on the Eve of December 25th,

we cross the river, march on Trenton,

and attack the Hessians before dawn.

And if God is with us, we'll take the whole lot of them.

Well, sir, I waited for you to broach this.

What do you think?

You would not wish to know, sir.

Then you have objections.

Many.

Would you specify them? Gladly.

Firstly, my dear sir, in order to attack, one needs an army.

You do not have an army.

Secondly, in order to attack, one needs soldiers.

Your men are not soldiers.

Thirdly, your troops always go in one direction.

To attack requires the other direction.

Shall I continue? By all means.

In 11 days' time, the enlistments run out.

Your men will not attack a fly before then, and why should they?

They need only sit tight and go home.

Next, there is no way to cross the river and keep such a plan from the Hessians.

They have spies everywhere.

The crossing will take hours,

and long before you reach the other shore,

the Hessians will have their artillery on your boats.

Those big Durham boats of yours make damn good targets.

Even a Yankee gunner couldn't miss them.

And finally, you will not defeat Hessians.

They are European soldiers.

The most disciplined, the most rigorously trained,

the best soldiers on Earth,

and you bloody well know that.

Their superiority will be their undoing.

Oh, my dear sir, please.

Their training has not prepared them for an attack of this nature.

They will be roused from their beds,

and we will not give them time to achieve

the formations with which they are comfortable.

I fear for your sanity, General.

I fear that you are no longer fit for command.

How dare you!

No, sir, how dare you!

I am sick to death of your looking down that long nose of yours,

and equally sick of the pretense of military

competence that you and your colonial cronies display.

You are no soldiers.

And you, sir, are a damned poor leader.

You can't face defeat, and so you seek annihilation.

Have you finished? Surrender.

This revolution is over.

So we surrender.

We weigh the pros and cons and reason prevails.

But you see, sir, I am an unreasonable man as well as a poor soldier.

But you are right.

My men are not soldiers.

They are lads.

Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen.

They run away.

They fear the Hessians as they fear death.

All this is true.

Yet they have put their trust in me.

They could have deserted.

Thousands have.

But these lads have not.

They remain with me.

And I, not you, General Gates,

I command this army,

and if I, a bumbling Virginia farmer, should decide to lead them into hell,

they will follow me into hell.

Now you hear me, and you hear me well.

You will ride out of my camp.

You are not to discuss what has occurred here tonight,

not with your staff, not with your men.

Put your pistol on him, Alex, and go with him.

See him onto his horse and out of this camp,

and if he tries to take his men with him, shoot him.

You would not dare.

Try me, General Gates.

Only try me.

You're with him, Alex, but come back quickly.

We have much to do.

This is not a matter for amusement, gentlemen.

And damn well he's not.

Gates is right.

If the Hessians get wind of this and catch those darn boats in the river,

we'll all swim to hell.

Damn well said. Now listen to me, all of you.

We have but a few days to prepare for something we have never done before.

Baking your pardon, sir, but we have fought before?

We have defended ourselves against their attacks and been defeated.

On Christmas Day, for the first time, we attack them.

Damn it, no!

I will not ferry your guns until my men are across.

You're stubborn as a mule.

If there's an attack, we'll need the guns.

Damn, I saw that I should fight this crazy war with shopkeepers.

Get in out of the rain this night.

Now listen to me.

To get guns and horses across,

we put a platform across two boats.

We drive six-inch spikes through the planks into the gunnels of the boats.

It takes 20 of my fishermen to handle each platform.

Your point.

That will take five boats out of the transport of the men.

Then what?

Do we spend precious hours ripping off the platforms in the night while the men wait?

Use your goddamn head, Mr. Knox.

Glover, you're a sour, foul-mouthed barbarian.

That I am.

Now there's a civilized man,

cold enough to freeze your balls off,

and the land's shaven.

We will cross here,

the short march away at McConkey's Ferry.

Then we'll divide into two columns and enter Trenton from two directions in darkness.

You have two days left to select your companies and prepare them.

Tell your men as little as possible.

When we assemble for the crossing,

you can give them the information.

Not before then.

Any questions?

General Green, sir.

My men need rifles.

How many?

Maybe a hundred, sir.

You can have ten rifles.

Give the rest muskets and bayonets.

Baking your pardon, General Green.

But my men are riflemen.

Sharpshooters.

Don't take kindly to muskets and bayonets.

They won't take kindly to being skewered by a Hessian either.

Have you looked outside, Cadman?

Better muskets and bayonets than a rifle that won't spark.

We are going in, all of us,

with cold steel at night.

Yes, Captain Heinemann.

Yeah.

The mine boys are tensely vain and German,

and they're good boys and brave boys.

But so damn the Hessian's invidia toffee.

Devil, be the devil.

And if I tell them last moment that we fight,

the Hessian, they become too nervous.

If I tell them today, we can talk about it, and it's better this way for us.

I stand, Captain.

Better this way.

What do you think?

We didn't tell them. Safe enough.

No one could understand a word they say anyway.

What are you smoking? Dry cowdough.

What's it taste like? Shit.

What's yours? Corn silk.

Remember tobacco? Here you go.

Making a hell of a mess there.

What's all that for?

I'm thinking the wax will keep the weather out.

I feel like facing some red coat with soggy powder.

That never worked.

MacConkey?

Taylor, this is an horror.

But please, we'll step into the top room.

Better if we talk here.

What I have to say is only for your ears.

I shall wish.

But please, sit yourself.

Oh, it's a shame,

but I always imagined one day your excellency

would come in here and be asking me for a bottle of Madeira.

Conkey, there's not a bottle of Madeira between here and Philadelphia.

God be praised.

It's a year since I've tasted such a Madeira.

The bottle's yours.

Drink with me.

Oh, no, no.

I wouldn't have a drop.

Touch me lips.

It's yours alone.

Now, what would you have to talk with me about?

I hear you have no love for our enemy.

Love?

Jesus Christ, I see the bastards in hell.

And you can keep your mouth shut.

Like a trap.

Very well.

I want this house tomorrow, all day.

I want it for my headquarters.

I'm going to cross the river tomorrow with 2,000 men.

And attack.

You mean the bastards are Trenton?

Yes, the bastards are Trenton.

General, may I take you up on your kind offer?

No.

When you came in, General,

did you not notice the ice on the river?

Nothing to bother us.

Not now, sir.

But the Delaware's a strange and curious river.

The frost comes,

and it pours forth into the northern valleys.

She'll probably be kicks of ice in a day or two,

and it'll get worse for every day after.

We cross tomorrow.

Oh, for Christ's sake, General.

Forgive the impertinence.

But why not wait for spring?

This is a cause I love.

It's an army I love.

I love it too, more than I can say.

Then why not wait?

Because if I do not cross tomorrow,

there will be no army.

Yes.

It's Christmas Day, sir.

Merry Christmas.

Thank you.

You always share with cold water?

Well, I damn well better be used to cold water before the day is out.

Now, you can bank on that, by God,

if you go through with it.

Oh, we're crossing, Glover.

Today.

At nightfall.

May I ask you a question, sir?

If I said no, would it dissuade you?

In this case, sir?

No, it wouldn't.

Well, then, by all means, Glover, what is it?

Would you attack the Hessians in open daylight?

That is a damn full question.

I have no intention of attacking in daylight.

But would you?

Glover, speak plainly, if you will.

Very well.

Let us say we push off the boats at half past five.

Full darkness.

That will give us six and a half hours for crossing.

You plan to march to Trenton at midnight.

A night march in this weather with men who will be wet,

freezing, and already exhausted.

If you can whip them, and the guns are long at two

miles an hour, you can get to Trenton before dawn.

We will do three miles an hour.

Maybe I'm not saying you will, I'm not saying you won't.

But there's ice in the river.

And as God is my witness, there's no man on earth

who can carry that army across in six hours.

Or ten hours.

So you will be coming to Trenton in daylight.

Providing we can cross that damn river at all.

That last you said?

Son.

Providing we can cross at all.

Glover.

Yes, sir?

You have been a pain in my ass

and a Thorn in my side.

Since the day we met.

You'd be a general today if you hadn't burned the ass of every man on my stand.

I would have been a general.

It's more private soldiers, we need no more generals.

True enough.

You are a hard man to like.

But you saved my army at Brooklyn Heights and you saved it at Throg's Neck

and you saved it when they drove us across the North River.

You have more guts than any man I have ever known.

And you're a damned good soldier.

So I'm giving you an order.

And unless you want to take your men back to Marblehead, Massachusetts,

wherever that cold and God-forsaken Yankee place is, you will carry it out.

You will take my army across the river and you will do it tonight.

Very well, General.

I'll carry your army across the river.

God help me, I don't know how.

But I'll do it.

And I will not march on Trenton until the last boat is across.

I want your fishermen with me.

I'll be with you.

There, gentlemen, you have all the details of the plan.

Let me for the last time repeat the main elements.

It is now 5'10".

We will begin loading the boats in precisely 20 minutes.

When the crossing is completed, we will march south along the River Road.

Four miles south, the army will divide into two sections.

General Green and I, commanding the first section, will take the Pennington Road.

General Sullivan, commanding the second section, will take the River Road.

We will enter Trenton, God willing,

no later than 6 o'clock in the morning.

It will still be dark.

You wanted a few words, Colonel Glover? Yes, sir.

Gentlemen, I want discipline and speed in loading and unloading.

No interference with my osmond.

Each boat will have one of my men in command.

His word is law,

whether he gives his orders to private soldier or to General Washington himself.

He will be at the tiller.

As for the crossing, I am in command.

Will you put your word on that, sir?

You heard Colonel Glover.

Loading and unloading and on the river,

he is the Supreme Commander.

No one is to countermand his orders.

Any questions? Very well.

I bid you all Godspeed and good luck,

and a Merry Christmas to all of you.

Merry Christmas.

One more man here.

Three here.

Come on.

Lock easy.

Cast off.

General.

Thank you.

Cross now. Seal off the landing area.

Put a guard on anyone who wanders in.

The men land wide in the circle.

Don't, sir.

What time is it, Alex? Six ten, sir.

I'm not moving fast enough.

Bring me Glover. I'm inside.

Freeze there. Come on.

Come on. Sit down.

Come on, man. Gentlemen.

Your troops are out there in the cold.

Your place is with them, not here by the fire.

Look, I have no time for disabilities.

Can you make the men move fast? No, sir.

I cannot.

The dock's too small.

We've only spaced for two boats at a time,

and I told you this morning that six hours is not... Very well. Let's get back to it.

Get back where you were.

Move loudly over there.

Move lively. There's some men down here.

Right away, sir. I need these boats loaded.

Time, Alex. What is the time?

Almost ten, sir.

General?

I'll cross, sir, with your permission.

We have a thousand men on the other side.

Very well, Nathaniel. I suppose you could.

Will you remain here, sir?

No. I cannot continue to watch this agonizing process

and maintain my sanity. I'm going to cross over as well.

I should like to cross also, sir.

Why don't you wait for the guns?

Because if I open my mouth again about the loading of the guns,

Glover will go mad.

He hates me.

I tried to talk to him about this before, but...

Well, he insulted me.

How?

He said that in an army that hasn't eaten in three months,

it's damn near treason to be fat.

Did he now? Come on, Henry.

It's no night for bickering.

To the boats, gentlemen.

Yes, sir.

Go with General Green and General Knox.

I'll be right along.

I give you command on shore.

I want you to wait till the last boat.

Everyone crosses, do you understand?

Regardless of the time, regardless of what happens,

we cross and march on trend.

No discussions, no arguments.

We cross and attack.

I understand.

Good.

I'll see you on the other side.

It's yours now, Glover. Keep the movie.

Don't worry, General. We'll all cross.

Move that fat ass, Henry.

What'd he say?

Move your fat ass.

Don't swing your balls or you'll swamp the boat.

Pull easy, lads. Save your strength.

You'll need it for the night, sir.

My God, they're slow, sir.

Can't we hurry them?

We make one trip, Henry. They're at it all night.

And then they march to Trenton with us.

Easy, lads. Easy.

Pull together.

Hey, give them a count.

Sally Brown, she's a bright Malacca.

We roll and roll.

She drinks brom and chews tobacco.

Spend my money on Sally Brown.

Close, sir. Close, sir.

Thank you.

Let us know since the snow's given over, sir.

Most of the boys are asleep.

Let them sleep.

God knows they'll need their strength.

Eleven, ten.

Well, there it is.

We won't have the army crossed over before three in the morning.

That means we won't reach Trenton before daybreak.

You must agree.

I agree.

What then?

We attack in daylight.

How is the perimeter?

Uh, I've got 300 stationed around the edge.

We've picked up a ten or twelve people from nearby farms.

Mostly curious locals, innocent enough, I think.

I'll talk to them. Where are they? Old friend.

We know each other well.

They're by your side through many a hellish thing.

But if we go to Trenton in daylight,

and the Hessians are waiting for us,

well, that is the end. You know that.

You.

They made me commander-in-chief of a great army.

Leave that company here.

Now I am commander-in-chief of those who remain.

I've lost every chance and failed at every effort.

This is not bluster hue, but so help me God.

If I must ride into Trenton alone, I will do so.

I am General Washington.

Why are you holding it? Listen to me.

Listen to me.

In a few hours, we will march south to attack Trenton.

If word of this gets out, hundreds of my men will die.

You will be detained for three hours after we march, then you will be set free.

I am sorry that you are suffering,

but we are all suffering.

God damn it, you. I know that.

That's it. No more talk of time.

General.

He's done, sir.

All across.

Ready the men, Alex.

There's no time to lose. We march in ten minutes.

Sir. To your brigades, gentlemen.

Sir. Sir.

Glover.

How are you fishermen? Tired, sir.

But they'll march.

How are they armed? Pikes, sir.

Fission pikes.

Well, you and your man lead Sullivan's column. Get with it.

Come on, lads. Look alive.

Look alive, lads. All right, lads.

Get up. Come on, gentlemen.

March and ten minutes. Warm up.

Come on, lads.

Come on, you there.

Wake up. Keep the line.

Glover.

Thank you.

Do you think our muskets will fire? No, I don't.

We go in with bayonets and nothing else.

That you can be sure of.

The Hessian powder is dry.

That, too, you can be sure of.

Wait here. C-2 with the Sullivan recognizes this road and takes his column south.

Yes, sir.

Get the guns moving, Henry.

Advance.

The guns advance.

Keep them moving, Daniel. We cannot stop.

Warm up, men.

March.

Come on, lads. A few more miles and we're there.

Gentlemen, the river...

It's 7.30. Find Sullivan, tell him we attack at eight, then get back here.

Yes, sir.

Go on home, boy.

Take him and go home.

Tell Sullivan we attack at eight.

Any sign of the Hessians?

No. God willing, we're still asleep.

Eight o'clock.

Where's the Hessian guardhouse? In there.

You be General Washington?

Did you find him? Yes, sir.

Sullivan will attack at eight o'clock.

How many?

How many what?

How many Hessians in the guardhouse?

Four, maybe six.

But they'd be sleeping, General.

They made a great celebration yesterday.

Pass the order to fix bayonets, then spread your brigades across the meadows.

We attack at eight. Get moving.

Fix bayonets.

Do you think you and your Williams could silence their farmhouse? Yes, sir.

Then do so.

Williams with me.

As behold, his guns are in torken.

Bessos, Garnix.

Done, sir.

How many? Four, sir.

They're all dead.

They're almost. They're fined. They're fined.

Yeah, yeah.

It's Psychology", O.

It's which is which? Its Example.

Your own philosophy so...

Psychology and sensation.

They are Aubsing's metric miles.

Its history, O.

Let's go!

Go!

We're not going to shoot!

And we are doing the same thing to run and 0-0! to the JL.

We are going to run!

We are going to shoot!

What happened?

It's coming home from him!

To the left!

It's in due case!

You must not say a game.

Yeah, I understand.

As planned, you can't answer us.

You must not say a game!

You must not say a game!

General Washington.

Colonel Raul's sword.

Send it to Congress.

How badly is Raul hurt?

Mortally, I think, sir.

They've taken it to one of the houses.

I sent Captain Heinemann and some of his men with them.

Tell them I'm a physician.

They're now a merciless artist.

We'll be designing heifan.

You have a kind hand, but I want to help you again.

Yeah.

Yeah.

What did you say?

Herr Oberst, what's happened to Gessach?

I don't understand, sir.

The house has no office here.

I don't have an office here.

It's a game.

He says that he wants to surrender like a heist in office here,

but only to General Washington.

He'll surrender to me.

Herr Oberst, they have a kind hand under a wall.

They mustn't say to General Mercer or Gaben.

Yes, sir.

I've been here for a long time.

And I've met General Washington.

I'm very happy.

Nathaniel.

Get Washington.

Bring him here.

He won't come.

Tell him he's done well.

He must come.

If there's one thing we should understand, it's defeat.

His enemy is dying.

Tell him that.

Get over there.

General Washington, Colonel Raul is dying.

General Mercer says you cannot let him die without speaking to him.

It's a courtesy of war.

A courtesy?

There are no courtesies of war, Nathaniel.

This is not a parlor game,

where I must pay my respects to that stinking

mercenary who killed 500 of my men in Brooklyn.

Slaughtered them when they tried to surrender.

Skewered them in the backs with the bayonets.

Do you want me to weep for those bastards?

Men who kill for profit?

Our own cause is at its heart.

A fight against British taxation, is it not? Find him up.

Find him up.

In the answer, we all kill for profit.

The British and the Hessians.

And us.

Give him.

Keep together.

What are you looking at? Get over there.

Very well, Nathaniel.

You must not let them think we're savages.

He's very weak. He hasn't long.

He asks if you are...

I am Washington.

He's dead.

Gentlemen, where do we stand?

We have their cannons, sir.

Six double-fort high brass, six pounders.

Better than anything, we have them.

Tell Knox I want the cannons loaded and rigged for marching.

What else?

Three ammunition wagons.

Forty-nine Hessian horses, blankets, clothes.

About five tons of flour, meat, cornmeal.

How many prisoners? Over 900, sir.

We haven't an exact count yet.

Thirty commissioned officers, also all their colors and drums.

We'll find some drummers.

I want a beat when we march out of here.

Captain Heinemann.

I want you to march with the Hessian officers.

And have one of your German lads with every group of

Hessian prisoners so that we will be able to speak to them.

Your men will inform the Hessians that any man who tries to escape will be shot.

Is that plain? I vote.

Now get to it.

We march in half an hour.

Where are we marching to, sir?

Back to the boats and across the river.

But the men are exhausted.

They're sleeping in the roads, in the meadows.

They can't hold their heads up.

I too am exhausted, gentlemen.

Now listen to me.

We have won our first victory in twelve months.

We have attacked the enemy for the first time,

and out of some miracle or the graciousness

of God or the idiocy of war, we have survived.

What can you be thinking?

Have we won a war?

Gentlemen, this is only the beginning of a war.

We have two thousand men.

The enemy has twenty thousand.

And I swear I will not eat nor will I sleep until I put that river between him and us.

Now, go to your brigades, gentlemen, and prepare to march.

Hugh, how many men have we lost? None.

Wounded? None.

Oh, my God.

Do you know how I have felt these past twenty-four hours? I can guess.

Like a madman sending these beautiful lads to their deaths.

All these boys that would follow me.

Why did they do it?

I suppose they'd trust you.

More of the fools.

And love you.

Very well, Hugh.

Best to get your men ready.