Silent Night...Silent Might

Victorian-era St. Nick

Christmas celebrations in colonial America were much more staid affairs than the celebration we know today. December 25th in colonial America was just another day unless it fell on a Sunday in which case it was just another Sunday. America's celebration of Christmas as a very special holiday began with the large wave of German immigrants in the early 1800s.  Germans always held Christmas as the most special of days.  Christmas's role in the English speaking world peaked during the Victorian era.  Victoria's consort Albert brought many Christmas traditions with him and later Charles Dickens and then other novelists popularized the season.  Of course, Santa Claus is derived from Sant Niklaus - a Dutch character derived from the original Saint Nicholas who was a Roman Bishop in what is today Turkey.  Full disclosure: the original Saint Nicholas is buried in my grandparents' home city of Bari, Italy.

Hessian Grenadier of
 Regiment von Rall

As Christmas approached in December 1776, the fortunes of the American rebellion had plummeted. The British juggernaut extended into the Jerseys (back then New Jersey was sometimes referred to as East and West Jersey). Lord Charles Cornwallis led the invading vanguard of some 5,000 British and Hessian troops in pursuit of Washington's dwindling army. Washington abandoned Fort Lee and maneuvered his way to Hackensack, where he checked the British only briefly before retreating with little pause through Newark, New Brunswick, Princeton, and Trenton. On the 8th of December, Cornwallis and his scouts made it to the east bank of the Delaware just in time to watch Washington and his personal escort depart on the last boat.

The patriot cause was at its nadir. Panic had set in, especially in Philadelphia.  Lord Howe had issued a proclamation accepting back any rebels willing to swear an oath to the King. Some had begun to accept it. Worse still, many of Washington's best troops had enlistments expiring with little likelihood that replacements would arrive.  Fearful of a British assault on the capital, the Continental Congress fled and turned governance over to the military. To stall the British, Washington had all the serviceable boats along a 70 mile stretch of the Delaware confiscated. The British advance had to await their engineers to plan a crossing.  Fortunately, Lord Howe had decided he had all but whipped the rebels and ordered his army into winter quarters with brigade-sized garrisons at Brunswick, Trenton, Princeton, Bordentown, and Cherry Hill. The remainder took quarters in Staten Island or Manhattan.

But still, throughout the colonies morale was dismal. The end seemed in sight, just as Howe assumed. But the  December 23rd edition of the pamphlet "The Crisis," by Thomas Paine, inspired many Americans. A desperate Washington decided to gamble on a winter strike against the rebels before many of his best regiments dissolved. He had the pamphlet read to his troops and conceived a plan for a Christmas thrust in three divisions to take the enemy garrisons at Trenton and Bordentown. At first, demoralized by the rapid British advance, New Jersey militia units now began to probe and harass the British garrisons, isolating them in their posts. Then, General John Sullivan arrived with a division from the Hudson Highlands.  These reinforcements provided Washington the strength he needed to complete his plan.

Dramatic portrait - Washington crossed over in the dark of a December night

On the night of the 25th of December Washington made his famous crossing at McConkey's Ferry and marched the nine miles along the Delaware to Trenton.  Divisions under Generals Cadwallader and Ewing (mostly Pennsylvania and New Jersey units) were to cross near Bordentown and link up with Washington but worsening weather and the rapid ice floes prevented them from crossing.  Nevertheless, Washington struck with just over 2,000 men just after dawn even as a rain and snow mix descended on them.

Overrunning the Hessian guns at Trenton

So what's the Christmas connection?  The German garrison, a brigade under the command of the renowned Hessian Colonel Johann Gottlieb von Rall, was caught unprepared.  Germans celebrate two days of Christmas and Washington struck between the two.  Indeed, the Germans themselves had been worn out by the rigors of the campaign and the Jersey militia had played a part in tiring them and causing a "hunker down" factor.  But  Rall never expected the onslaught that caught them in the weary hours of their holiest of days.   Rall fell mortally wounded rallying his battalions and soon after the garrison surrendered over one thousand men.  The battle did not last an hour. The stunning victory saved the American cause that was all but finished.

Oh yeah...baby!

Austin

Yeah....baby! You really have to say that with an Austin Powers voice for full effect!  But the fictional character that spoofed the fictional spy James Bond tongue- in-cheekily referred to himself as an "international man of mystery." And as an "international man of mystery," Austin would have felt at home with the International Thriller Writers.

Who are these people?

 Who they are may be the mystery...but not after you read this post!  The International Thriller Writers (let's call them ITW) is an honorary society of authors, both fiction and nonfiction, who write books broadly classified as “thrillers.” This would include (but isn't limited to) such subjects as murder mystery, detective, suspense, horror, supernatural, action, espionage, true crime, war, adventure, and myriad similar subject areas. Clive Cussler, Sandra Brown, Kathy Reichs, David Morrel, Mark Bowden, James Rollins, and Andrew Peterson, among so many notables,  are all members.

Just what do they do?

Their mission is... “To bestow recognition and promote the thriller genre at an innovative and superior level for and through our Active members; to provide opportunities for mentoring, education and collegiality among thriller authors and industry professionals; and to grant awards for excellence in the thriller genre.”
ITW Mission Statement

How do they do that?

Whether you are a fan of the TV show by that name or not, you might be interested in knowing that ITW has designed numerous, effective programs and events which promote debut and midlist writers and their work, sometimes in partnership with bestselling authors. In addition, ITW promotes literacy, gives money to worthy organizations, supports libraries, and advances the genre. Finally, it brings together almost a thousand writers, readers, publishers,  editors, and agents at its annual conference, ThrillerFest, as well as at CraftFest, a writing workshop program, and AgentFest, where aspiring authors can meet and pitch top literary agents.

What else do they do?

 One really great activity is "Operation Thriller," a partnership with the USO.  For the first time ever, the USO brought writers together with the troops." Operation Thriller" brings together some of today's greatest thriller writers to meet with American military members at home and abroad. The first such tour started in 2010 with visits to Walter Reed and Bethesda Navy Medical Center where the writers listened awe-struck at the tales of valor and strength displayed by the Wounded Warriors.  The group followed up with visits to our troops in Kuwait and Iraq.

Operation Thriller

What does any of this have to do with Yankee Doodle Spies?

Actually, this has a lot to do with Yankee Doodle Spies.   I have just been informed that The Patriot Spy was recently submitted to compete for ITW's Best New Novel for 2013! Now I didn't specifically write The Patriot Spy as an international thriller...but the plot twists and tense action do make for plenty of thrills. While the characters include Irish, Dutch, Scots, Germans who make for an international cast set upon the canvass of America's most international locale - New York.

Action scene and the original cover of The Patriot Spy