How the Continental Army spent America's first Christmas, and turned the tide of the Revolutionary War

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Fox Nation's 'Legends and Lies' shows the Continental Army on America's first Christmas

Kelsey Grammer hosts 'Legends and Lies: America's First Christmas' on Fox Nation.

On Christmas day, 1776, George Washington’s Continental Army crossed the Delaware River to attack the British forces at the Battle of Trenton, in what Kelsey Grammer called "the most daring mission of the war" on Fox Nation’s "Legends & Lies: America’s First Christmas." 

The special, hosted by Grammer, details the weeks leading up to the Continental Army crossing the Delaware River in a snowstorm and how the events that unfolded after turned the tide of the war forever. 

"The second half of 1776 is disastrous for George Washington and the Continental Army," said Grammer, explaining how a series of defeats had driven Washington out of New York City and across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. 

Morale among many soldiers was low, he said, leading some to even switch sides. 

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"It became clear after the Battle of New York that George Washington could never square off with the British army again," said Brian Kilmeade, author of "George Washington’s Secret Six" and host of Fox & Friends on Fox News Channel. 

Fox Nation details how the Continental Army spent America's first Christmas.

Following that defeat, Kilmeade said Washington had to prove to Congress and his men that he was the right man to lead America’s war efforts. 

In order to do that, Washington hatched a secret plan to attack the Hessian forces, German mercenaries hired by the British Army, at Trenton. 

Key to Washington’s plan was its secrecy and the element of attack, leading him and his men to cross the Delaware River in the middle of the night, then marching nearly 10 miles to Trenton, New Jersey. 

"What often gets forgotten is that the march to Trenton is actually worse than crossing the Delaware," Grammer said. 

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In the Battle of Trenton, Washington defied traditional European norms of warfare by fighting in winter, on a holiday, and in a snowstorm. 

Learn more about what Grammer called the "stunning victory" at Trenton, and how America’s first Christmas became one the country would "never forget," according to Kilmeade, in Fox Nation’s "Legend’s & Lies: America’s First Christmas." 

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