4. Cracking Jokes Before Facing Death
Cold, hungry, and demoralized Patriots clambered into boats on a frigid winter night, made even more miserable by driving sleet. When it was Washington’s turn to get into a boat, he looked at Henry Knox, his overweight artillery chief, and said: “Shift your fat ass, Harry! But don’t swamp the damn boat!” All things considered, it was not comedy gold. But any levity from George Washington in public, especially on such a serious occasion, was highly unusual.
At first, the men were stunned, and stood looking at each other in shocked disbelief. Then somebody chuckled, and before long, contagious laughter rippled throughout the attacking force, as Washington’s comment was spread and repeated. With their spirits lifted, the Revolutionaries crossed the river, and fell upon the enemy in Trenton, killing, wounding, and capturing about a thousand men, for the loss of only two dead and five wounded.
