 So the Patriots began the long retreat in the snow into New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and Washington faced an impossible situation. Now, the humiliation was bad enough. Some of his men didn't even fight. But even worse than that was the fact that his army was due to disappear at the end of the year. You see, most of his soldiers' enlistments expired on January 1, 1777, and that meant that if he couldn't recruit enough men, his army would literally cease to exist.