The fifteen hundred Hessian troops under the command of Col. Johann Rall, camped in and around Trenton, are surprised at 8:00 AM by Washington's troops.

The Hessian regiments had supposedly let their guard down to celebrate the Christmas holiday, and Rall himself had been misled by John Honeyman, a spy of Washington who had convincingly posed as a loyalist.

The American Continental Army decisively defeats the Hessians, taking nine hundred and forty-eight prisoners while suffering only five wounded.

Rall, according to one account, was busy playing cards/chess the night before the attack at the home of Trenton merchant Abraham Hunt when he was handed a note from a local Loyalist who'd seen Washington's forces gathering.

Then, after receiving the message, he placed in his coat pocket without reading it.

While leading his troops in retreat from the battle of Trenton, Rall is struck by a musketball.

He dies later that day from his injuries.

The note informing the general of the attack is later found in his coat pocket.