The Battle of Princeton

[Newsletter]

"The Battle of Princeton"

By: Ah1Tom

General Washington began the summer of 1776 with 24,000 soldiers. By Christmas of that same year, the strength of the Continental Army was down to 6,500 and the one-year enlistment for many of those would expire on Dec 31st. To boost morale and encourage re-enlistment, Gen. Washington had Thomas Paine's pamphlet, "The Crisis", read to his troops. It worked and several thousand re-enlisted. This enabled Gen. Washington to achieve victory with the Christmas Day crossing of the Delaware and the defeat of the Hessian soldiers at Trenton. That shocking victory is what was needed to reverse the fortunes of the Americans. In the 10 days following the crossing of the Delaware, known popularly today as the "10 crucial days," Washington captured nearly 900 Hessian soldiers, kept the Continental Army intact, and led it to safety in the hills of northern New Jersey.

Stunned by the American assault on Trenton, General William Howe dispatched Charles Cornwallis from New York City to stabilize the situation in the neighboring colony. Cornwallis rapidly assembled the dispersed Crown forces in New Jersey and led them towards Washington's army. Cornwallis' force attacked Washington at Trenton throughout January 2nd as the Americans tenaciously held their position along the Assunpink Creek. During the battle, British forces learned that the Americans had a number of fords along the creek on their right flank. Cornwallis decided to assault the fords the next morning and thus pin the Americans back along the Delaware River.

During the night of January 2nd, Washington convened a council of war where the assembled officers decided it was impractical to defend the creek and imprudent to retreat south. Washington's forces were alerted that the British had failed to guard the road to Princeton and they were provided detailed information on British defenses of the small college town. The Americans decided to continue with their original plan of striking deep into New Jersey and attempting to reach the mountains to the north. While a handful of Continental Army sentries maintained campfires intended to convince the British the army was still in camp, the majority of the Americans marched off to the northeast in silence and darkness.

Information passed on to Washington by sympathetic residents of Princeton indicated that while the British had established defensive positions on the west side of the town, the east was open to attack. Accordingly, Washington's plan was to march his army to within striking distance of the town by utilizing roads below a bluff to the south of Princeton. However, his advance was delayed due to the difficulties of marching in darkness, and the Americans found themselves still two miles from Princeton at dawn. Washington changed his original plan ordering a detachment under Brigadier General Hugh Mercer to destroy a bridge to the Continental Army's left that lead to Trenton. Meanwhile, the main force, with Major General John Sullivan's division in the lead, would continue to Princeton.

In Princeton, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood commanded a 1,200-man garrison consisting primarily of a detachment of light dragoons and the 17th, 40th, and 55th Regiments of Foot. Their mission was to keep Princeton secure since it was Cornwallis' primary route of communication to British-occupied New York City. However, during the night, Cornwallis ordered Mawhood to bring the 17th and 55th Regiments forward to Trenton in preparation for his assault on the Assunpink Creek. Mawhood and his soldiers were on the march southwest of Princeton as Washington's forces arrived in the same area. Mawhood spotted Washington's larger force as dawn broke and immediately ordered his force back to Princeton. Then, seeing Mercer's detachment advancing near him, deployed skirmishers to slow the American advance and possibly cut off the exposed detachment of the Continental Army.

A running battle ensued as both sides tried to reach Princeton before the other. Mercer's force was overrun by the British light infantrymen and Mercer himself was mortally wounded in the engagement. Washington ordered the militia brigade of John Cadwalader to support their retreating comrades, but the militia initially broke upon sighting the British. Finally, troops of the Virginia Continental Line, Pennsylvania riflemen, and Washington himself appeared on the battlefield and stabilized the situation. The British ranks broke and fled as Washington shouted, "It is a fine fox chase my boys!"

American casualties in the engagement were relatively light with roughly 25 killed and 40 wounded. The British lost roughly 20 killed, 60 wounded, and 200 soldiers captured by the Continental Army. Washington did not stay in Princeton long, only stopping briefly to loot British wagons. By January 6, Washington was safely ensconced within the Ramapo Mountains at Morristown, New Jersey.


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Image credit: "Washington Rallying the Americans at the Battle of Princeton", William Ranney, 1848, Public Domain