Washington's victories at Trenton and Princeton represented a rare circumstance for the general.  For much of the war, Washington found himself forced to wait--outside Boston, then New York (from which he had to retreat following Howe's emergence), then another wait outside Philadelphia, and New York again following the Battle of Monmouth.  So what accounts, then, for Washington's reputation as a great general?  If we only count victories on the battlefield, it would be hard to comprehend, but there was more to generalship than great feats on the field of battle.  (Benedict Arnold missed that lesson, as we shall see!)  Washington possessed patience, which enabled him to withhold and conserve both men and resources until he found an advantage.  He also possesed a strategy that transcended the battlefield.  Washington realized that so long as the Continental Army remained intact, then the hope of independence remained intact; therefore his caution in applying his forces served a larger purpose:  that of furthering the national interest.  In the end, Washington's patience and sense of the larger purpose of his army came to a victorious conclusion at Yorktown.