[Footnote 18:  Sharpshooters:  men who can fire and hit a small mark with a bullet at a long distance.]

[Footnote 19:  Moccasins (mok’ka-sins):  Indian shoes made of deerskin.]

137.  The Declaration of Independence; “Down with the king!” Washington is driven from New York and across the Delaware River.—­Washington got to New York first.  While he was there, Congress,[20] on the 4th of July, 1776, declared the United States independent—­that is, entirely free from the rule of the king of England.  There was a gilded lead statue of King George the Third on horseback in New York.  When the news of what Congress had done reached that city, there was a great cry of “Down with the king!” That night some of our men pulled down the statue, melted it up, and cast it into bullets.

[Illustration:  “DOWN WITH THE KING!”]

The next month there was a battle on Long Island,[21] just across from New York City; the British gained the victory.  Washington had to leave New York, and Lord Cornwallis, one of the British generals, chased him and his little army clear across the state of New Jersey.  It looked at one time as though our men would all be taken prisoners, but Washington managed to seize a lot of small boats on the Delaware River[22] and get across into Pennsylvania:  as the British had no boats, they could not follow.

[Footnote 20:  Congress:  see footnote 14 in paragraph 133.]

[Footnote 21:  See map in paragraph 135.]

[Footnote 22:  See map in paragraph 135.]

138.  Washington’s victory at Trenton, New Jersey.—­Lord Cornwallis left fifteen hundred German soldiers at Trenton on the Delaware.  He intended, as soon as the river froze over, to cross on the ice and attack Washington’s army.  But Washington did not wait for him.  On Christmas night (1776) he took a large number of boats, filled them with soldiers, and secretly crossed over to New Jersey.[23] The weather was intensely cold, the river was full of floating ice, and a furious snow-storm set in.  Many of our men were ragged and had only old broken shoes.  They suffered terribly, and two of them were frozen to death.

[Illustration:  WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE RIVER.]

The Germans at Trenton had been having a jolly Christmas, and had gone to bed, suspecting no danger.  Suddenly Washington, with his men, rushed into the little town, and almost before they knew what had happened, a thousand Germans were made prisoners.  The rest escaped to tell Lord Cornwallis how the Americans had beaten them.  When Washington was driven out of New York, many Americans thought he would be captured.  Now they were filled with joy.  The battle of Trenton was the first battle won by the Continental Army.

[Footnote 23:  See map in paragraph 135.]