Princeton

Near the town of Princeton, New Jersey, colonial forces secured a modest triumph on January 3, 1777, in what became known as the Battle of Princeton. Cornwallis had garrisoned the town with 1,400 British soldiers, placing them under Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood's command. This engagement grew out of Washington's determination to strike again at British positions in New Jersey before settling the Continental Army into winter camp, a resolve sparked by his dawn assault on Trenton on December 26, 1776. To carry out this plan, he brought his forces back across the Delaware into New Jersey on December 30, and the remainder of his army joined him there by January 3. Rather than approaching directly, Washington maneuvered his men toward Princeton along a secondary route. There he initially drove back a weaker contingent of British soldiers, though he was compelled to withdraw once Cornwallis arrived with additional forces. Together, the actions at Trenton and Princeton lifted patriot spirits considerably, prompting a surge of new volunteers into Continental service once spring arrived.

The chain of events began when Washington, having routed Hessian forces at Trenton on the morning of December 26, 1776, pulled his troops back into Pennsylvania. Soon after, he resolved to strike the British once more before entering winter quarters, and on December 29 he marched his army back into Trenton itself. Two nights later, on January 2, 1777, his forces beat back a British assault along Assunpink Creek. Under cover of darkness that same night, Washington abandoned his position, slipped around Cornwallis's army undetected, and moved to strike the British garrison holding Princeton.

The following day, Brigadier General Hugh Mercer led his Continental troops into combat against two of Mawhood's regiments. Mercer's men were overwhelmed in the fighting, and Mercer himself suffered a mortal wound. Mistaking him for Washington, British soldiers called on him to surrender; when Mercer refused, he was bayoneted seven times. To reinforce the faltering line, Washington dispatched militia troops under Brigadier General John Cadwalader, but upon witnessing Mercer's soldiers retreating, this militia also began to scatter. Washington himself gal

Background

On the night spanning December 25 and 26, 1776, Continental Army commander-in-chief General George Washington brought 2,400 troops across the icy Delaware. A march covering nine miles brought them to Trenton, which they overran on the morning of December 26, wounding or killing more than 100 Hessian soldiers and taking 900 prisoners. Not long after seizing the town, Washington withdrew his forces back over the Delaware into Pennsylvania. Then, on December 29, he crossed the river a second time and set up defenses at Trenton. Two days later, on December 31, with enlistments due to lapse at year's end, Washington pleaded with his soldiers to remain another six weeks in exchange for a ten-dollar bounty. Most heeded his request. That same day brought word that Congress had granted him sweeping authority for a half-year period, powers frequently characterized as near-dictatorial.

News of the defeat at Trenton prompted General Cornwallis to depart New York City and gather a force exceeding 9,000 troops at Princeton to confront Washington. He stationed 1,200 soldiers under Lieutenant Colonel Mawhood at Princeton and, on January 2, marched the remaining 8,000 toward Washington's 6,000-man army. Washington dispatched troops to harass and slow the oncoming British column. Darkness had nearly fallen when the British finally reached Trenton. Three unsuccessful attempts to force a crossing of the bridge spanning Assunpink Creek, behind which the bulk of the American defenses waited, led Cornwallis to postpone further assault until morning.

That night Washington convened his officers to weigh three courses: holding their ground, finding another river crossing, or slipping away by side roads to strike Princeton. He had already been considering the last option himself, and confirmation from Arthur St. Clair and John Cadwalader convinced him it was feasible. Two separate intelligence efforts, both completed near the close of December 1776, lent further support to such a surprise stroke. Following this consultation, the officers settled on Princeton as their target.

Washington directed that surplus baggage be hauled to Burlington for eventual transport into Pennsylvania. Because the ground had frozen solid, the artillery could be moved without becoming mired. By midnight everything was arranged: the baggage train was underway toward Burlington, and the cannon had their wheels muffled in heavy cloth so the British would not detect the withdrawal. Five hundred men, along with two cannon, stayed beh

Aftermath

Once inside Princeton, American soldiers turned their attention to plundering the British supply wagons left behind, along with the town itself. Word soon arrived that Cornwallis was closing in, and Washington recognized the need to withdraw. He had hoped instead to press onward toward New Brunswick, where a British pay chest holding 70,000 pounds awaited capture, but Major Generals Henry Knox and Nathanael Greene persuaded him against this plan. Washington chose a different course, guiding his troops to Somerset Courthouse on the evening of January 3. From there they continued to Pluckemin, reaching it by January 5, and finally arrived at Morristown as the sun set the following day, settling in for winter quarters. In the wake of the fighting, Cornwallis pulled his forces back from numerous positions across New Jersey, directing a retreat to New Brunswick. The conflict's following months brought a string of minor clashes that became known as the Forage War.