US History - Revolutionary War

[Valandil]

JD - I changed the name slightly so we can continue the thread if we like and branch off beyond the one event - the crossing of the Delaware and the ensuing battle of Trenton.

Anyway, this was triggered by my recent viewing of a docudrama about the latter called 'The Crossing'. I believe it was made in 2000. I didn't want to put it in 'Entertainment' forum though because I'm more interested in the historical facts.

Biggest question I have from it: At the end, Washington asked one of his generals about their losses... and he reported that there had been NO CASUALTIES!! Now, the victory seemed quite overwhelming, but it's hard for me to imagine that not even one Continental soldier was killed. Was that really true, historically?

The battle itself portrayed the American soldiers as slaying Hessian troops left and right (made me think of the battle before the gates of Moria in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, when Azog looks up from killing his foe (Nain?) to see the dwarves going 'this way and that, slaying as they would'). They didn't offer surrender, but on the other hand, their opponents made no attempts to surrender at first - even when caught unprepared. Washington watched impassively as his troops continued the slaughter - which only stopped when the remnants gathered at a meadow finally DID surrender. Now, I had missed the beginning, but soon after this, Washington made a comment about how these Hessian troops under this leader (who was now mortally wounded) had killed 500 Continental soldiers who HAD tried to surrender in a battle in Brooklyn(?). So I was also curious about that. Did that really happen?

From his ruthless behavior when he and another officer 'took out' a unit at a guard-house, it also seemed that young Alexander Hamilton had a 'score to settle' with the Hessians. Had he lost someone close to him at the previously mentioned battle?

They also claimed to have taken 900 prisoners (EDIT: from this 'battle'). Any reliable numbers on how many Hessians were killed and how many captured at Trenton? A note at the end said that there had been 16,000+ Hessian troops sent to America - and that 10,000+ had returned to Europe at war's end. It went on to say that of the rest, some had died in combat or of their wounds, but that most had actually stayed and become Americans. True? Any idea how many total British troops were deployed here at the time? How many Continental troops there were at any given time?

This was pretty early in the War for Independence. I think it was still 1776 (Christmas or the day after - right?). It was the first American victory - Washington didn't really have trained soldiers - and many of his volunteer 'soldier / farmers' felt a lot of pressure to return home at intervals to work their farms. At first, his only possible goal could just be to keep an army in the field - and out of harm's way. The British regulars would have made short work of them if they had allowed constant encounters on a traditional field of battle.