The Battle of Princeton (January 3, 1777) was a battle in which General
Washington's revolutionary forces defeated British forces near Princeton, New
Jersey. The site is administered as a state park operated and maintained by the
New Jersey Division of Parks and Forest
Battle Of Princeton
The Death of Hugh Mercer.
January 1777
LONDON GAZETTE.
March 12, 1777
Extract of a letter from General Sir William Howe to Lord
George Germaine, dated New York, January 5, 1777.
In consequence of the advantage gained by the enemy at Trenton, on the 26th of
last month, and the necessity of an alteration in the cantonments, Lord
Cornwallis deferring his going to England by this opportunity, went from hence
to Jersey on the first instant, and reached Princeton that night, to which
place General Grant had advanced, with a body of troops from Brunswick and
Hillsborough, upon gaining intelligence that the enemy, on receiving
reinforcements from Virginia, Maryland, and the militia of Pennsylvania, had
repassed the Delaware into Jersey.
On the 2d, Lord Cornwallis having received accounts of the rebel army being
posted at Trenton, advanced thither, leaving the 4th brigade, under the
command of Lieutenant Colonel Mawhood at Princeton, and the 2d brigade with
Brigadier General Leslie at Maidenhead. On the approach of the British troops,
the enemy forward posts were driven back upon their army, which was formed in
a strong position, behind a creek running through Trenton. During the night of
the 2d, the enemy quitted this situation, and marching by Allentown, and from
thence to Princeton, fell in, on the morning of the 3d, with the 17th and 55th
regiments, on their march to join Brigadier General Leslie at Maidenhead.
Lieutenant Colonel Mawhood, not being
apprehensive of the enemy strength, attacked and beat back the troops that
first presented themselves to him, but finding them at length very superior to
him in numbers, he pushed forward with the 17th regiment, and joined Brigadier
General Leslie. The 55th regiment retired by the way of Hillsborough, to
Brunswick, and the enemy proceeding immediately to Princeton, the 40th
regiment also retired to Brunswick.
The loss upon this occasion to his majesty troops is 17 killed, and nearly 200
wounded and missing; Captain Leslie, of the 17th, is among the few killed, and
for further particulars I beg leave to refer your Lordship to the enclosed
return. Captain Phillips, of the 25th grenadiers, returning from hence to join
his company, was on this day beset between Brunswick and Princeton, by some
lurking villains, who murdered him in a most barbarous manner, which is a mode
of war the enemy seem, from several late instances, to have adopted, with a
degree of barbarity that Savages could not exceed.
It has not yet come to my knowledge how much the enemy has suffered, but it is
certain there were many killed and wounded, and among the former a General
Mercer, from Virginia.
The bravery and conduct of Lieutenant Colonel Mawhood, and the behavior of the
regiments under his command, particularly the 17th, are highly commanded by
Lord Cornwallis. His Lordship finding the enemy had made this movement, and
having heard the fire occasioned by Colonel Mawhood attack, returned
immediately from Trenton; but the enemy being some hours march in front, and
keeping this advantage by an immediate departure from Princeton, retreated by
Kingtown, breaking down the bridge behind them, and crossed the Millstone
river at a bridge under Rocky hill, to throw themselves into a strong country.
Lord Cornwallis seeing it could not answer any purpose to continue his
pursuit, returned with his whole force to Brunswick, and the troops upon the
right being assembled at Elizabeth town, Major General Vaughan has that
command.
Return of the killed, wounded and missing, of the following corps of his
Majesty forces in the Jersies, Friday, January 3, 1777.
On the night of January 2, General George Washington, Commander-in-Chief
of the
Continental Army, repulsed a British attack at the
Battle of the Assunpink Creek. That night, he evacuated his position and
went to attack the British garrison at
Princeton. General
Hugh
Mercer, of the Continental Army, clashed with two Regiments under the
command of Lieutenant Colonel
Charles Mawhood of the
British Army. Mercer and his troops were overrun and Washington sent
some Militia under General
John Cadwalader to help him. The Militia, on seeing the flight of
Mercer's men, also began to flee. Washington rode up with reinforcements and
rallied the fleeing Militia. He led the attack on Mawhood's troops, driving
them back. Mawhood gave the order to retreat and most of the troops tried to
flee to Cornwallis in Trenton.
In Princeton itself, General
John Sullivan forced some British troops who had taken refuge in
Nassau Hall to surrender, ending the battle. Washington moved his army
to
Morristown, and with their third defeat in 10 days, the British
evacuated New Jersey. With the victory at Princeton, morale rose in the
ranks and more men began to enlist in the army. The battle was the last
major action of Washington's winter New Jersey Campaign.
Background
Victories
at Trenton
On the night of December 25, 1776 General George Washington,
Commander-in-chief of the
Continental Army, led 2,400 men across the
Delaware River.[5]
After a nine mile march, they seized the town of
Trenton,
killing or wounding over 100
Hessians and capturing 900 more. Soon after capturing the town,
Washington led the army back across the Delaware into
Pennsylvania.[6]
On the 29, Washington once again led the army across the river, and
established a defensive position at Trenton. On the 31, Washington appealed
to his men, whose enlistments expired at the end of the year, to stay for
just six more weeks for an extra bounty of ten dollars. His appeal worked,
and most of the men agreed to stay.[7]
Also, that day, Washington learned that Congress had voted to give him
dictatorial powers for six months.[8]
General
Lord Cornwallis left Princeton in command of 8,000 men who were sent to
attack Washington's army of 6,000 troops.[9][10]
Washington sent troops to skirmish with the approaching British and delay
their advance. Indeed, it was almost nightfall by the time the British
reached Trenton.[11]
After three failed attempts to cross the bridge over the
Assunpink Creek, beyond which were the American defenses, Cornwallis
called off the attack until the next day.[12]
Evacuation
During the night, Washington called a council of war and asked his
officers whether they should stand and fight, attempt to cross the river
somewhere, or take the backroads to attack Princeton.[13]
Although the idea had already occurred to Washington, he learned from
Arthur St. Clair and
John Cadwalader that his plan to attack Princeton was indeed possible.
After consulting with his officers, they agreed that the best option was to
attack Princeton.[14]
Washington ordered that the excess baggage be taken to
Burlington where it could be sent to Pennsylvania.[15]
Because there was a drop in temperature, the ground had frozen making it
possible to move the artillery without it sinking into the ground. By
midnight, the plan was complete, with the baggage on its way to Burlington
and the guns were wrapped in heavy cloth to make less noise and prevent the
British from learning of the evacuation.[15]
Washington left 500 men behind with two cannon to patrol, keep the fires
burning, and to work with the picks and shovels to make the British think
that they were digging in. Before dawn, these men were to join up with the
main army.[15]
By 2:00 Am the entire army was in motion and the men were ordered to
march with absolute silence.[15]
Along the way, a rumor was spread that they were surrounded and some
frightened militiamen fled for
Philadelphia. The march was difficult, as some of the route ran through
thick woods and it was icy, causing horses to slip and men broke through ice
on ponds.[16]
Plan of
Attack
As dawn came, the army approached a stream called
Stony Brook.[17]
The road the army had been following followed along Stony Brook for a mile
farther where it intersected with the Post Road, which ran from Trenton to
Princeton. However, off to the right of the road there was an unused road
which went across the farmland of a man named
Thomas Clark.[17]
The road was concealed from the Post Road and ran through cleared land to
the back of Princeton from which the town could be entered at any point
because the British had left it undefended.[17]
However, Washington was running behind schedule as he had planned to
attack and capture the British outposts before dawn and capture the garrison
shortly afterward.[17]
By the time dawn broke he was still two miles from the town.[17]
Washington sent 350 men under the command of
Hugh
Mercer to destroy the bridge over Stony Creek in order to delay
Cornwallis' army when he found out that Washington had escaped. Shortly
before 8:00 Am, Washington wheeled the rest of the army to the right down
the unused road.[18]
First in the column went General
John Sullivan's division consisting of
Arthur St. Clair's and Isaac Sherman's brigades. Following them were
John Cadwalader's brigade and then Daniel Hitchcock's.[18]
Mawhood's
Reaction
Lieutenant Colonel
Charles Mawhood was following orders from Cornwallis to bring the 17th
and 55th British regiments to join Cornwallis' army when they climbed the
hill south of Stony Brook and sighted the main American army.[18]
Unable to figure out the size of the American army due to the wooded hills,
he sent a rider to warn the 40th British Regiment which he had left in
Princeton and then wheeled the 17th and 55th Regiments around and headed
back to Princeton. That day, Mawhood had called off the patrol which was to
patrol the area from which Washington was approaching.[19]
Mercer received word that Mawhood was leading his troops back across the
bridge and back to Princeton.[19]
Mercer, on orders from Washington, moved his column to the right in order to
hit the British before they confronted Washington's main army.[20]
Mercer moved towards Mawhood's rear but when he realized he would not be
able to cut off Mawhood in time, he decided to join Sullivan. When Mawhood
learned that Mercer was in his rear and moving to join Sullivan, Mawhood
detached part of the 55th Regiment to join the 40th Regiment in the town and
then moved the rest of the 55th, the 17th, fifty cavalry and two artillery
pieces to attack Mercer.[21]
Battle
Mawhood
overruns Mercer
Mawhood ordered his light troops to delay Mercer, while he brought up the
other detachments.[21]
Mercer was walking through
William Clark's orchard when the British light troops appeared. The
British light troops' volley went high which gave time for Mercer to wheel
his troops around into battle line. Mercer's troops advanced, pushing back
the British light troops.[22]
The Americans took up a position behind a fence at the upper end of the
orchard. However, Mawhood had brought up his troops and his artillery up.[22]
The American gunners opened fire first and for about ten minutes, the
outnumbered American infantry exchanged fire with the British. However, many
of the Americans had rifles which took longer to load than muskets.[23]
Mawhood ordered a bayonet charge and because many of the Americans had
rifles, which could not be equipped with bayonets, they were overrun.[24]
Both of the Americans cannon were captured, and the British turned them on
the fleeing troops.[23]
Mercer was surrounded by British soldiers and they shouted at him "Surrender
you damn rebel!". The British, thinking they had caught Washington,
bayoneted him, smashed his head with a musket, and then left him for dead.[23]
Mercer's second in command, Colonel
John
Haslet, was shot through the head and killed.[25]
Cadwalader's
Arrival
Fifty light infantrymen were in pursuit of Mercer's men when a fresh
brigade of 1,100 militiamen under the command of Cadwalader appeared.[25][26]
Mawhood gathered his men who were all over the battlefield and put them into
battle line formation. Meanwhile, Sullivan was at a standoff with the
detachment of the 55th Regiment that had come to assist the 40th Regiment,
neither daring to move towards the main battle for risk of exposing their
flank.[25]
Cadwalader attempted to move his men into a battle line but they had no
combat experience and did not know ever the most basic military maneuvers.
When his men reached the top of the hill and saw Mercer's men fleeing from
the British, most of the militia turned around and ran back down the hill.[27]
Washington's
Arrival
As Cadwalader's men began to flee, the American guns opened fire onto the
British, who were preparing to charge, and the guns were able to hold them
off for several minutes.[28]
Cadwalader was able to get one company to fire a volley but they fled
immediately afterwards. At this point, Washington arrived with the Virginia
Continentals and
Edward Hand's riflemen.[29]
Washington ordered the riflemen and the Virginians to take up a position on
the right hand side of the hill and then Washington quickly rode over to
Cadwalader's fleeing men. Washington shouted, "Parade with us my brave
fellows! There is but a handful of the enemy and we shall have them
directly!".[30]
Cadwalader's men formed into battle formation at Washington's direction.
When Daniel Hitchcock's New England Continentals arrived, Washington sent
them to the right, where he had put the riflemen and the Virginians.[29]
Washington, with his hat in his hand, rode forward and waved the
Americans forward, while he road ahead on his horse.[29]
At this point, Mawhood had moved his troops slightly to the left to get out
of the range of the American artillery fire. Washington gave orders not to
fire until he gave them the signal, and when they were thirty yards away, he
turned around on his horse, facing his men and said "Halt!" and then
"Fire!".[31]
At this moment, the British also fired obscuring the field in a cloud of
smoke. One of Washington's officers, thinking he was dead, as he was in
between both lines, exposed from fire on both sides, pulled his hat over his
eyes, but when the smoke cleared, Washington appeared, unharmed, waving his
men forward.[31]
British
Collapse
On the right, Hitchcock's New Englanders fired a volley and then advanced
again, threatening to turn the British flank.[31]
The riflemen were slowly picking off British soldiers while the American
artillery was firing grapeshot at the British lines. At this point,
Hitchcock ordered his men to charge, and the British began to flee.[31]
The British attempted to save their artillery but the militia also charged,
and Mawhood gave the order to retreat. The British fled towards the Post
Road followed by the Americans and Washington, who shouted "It's a fine fox
chase my boys!".[31]
Some Americans had swarmed onto the Post Road in order to block to British
retreat across the bridge, but Mawhood ordered a bayonet charge, and broke
through the American lines, escaping across the bridge.[32]
Some of the Americans, Hand's riflemen among them, continued to pursue the
British, and Mawhood ordered his Dragoons to buy them some time to retreat,
however, the Dragoons were pushed back. Some Americans continued to pursue
the fleeing British until nightfall, killing some and taking some prisoner.[32]
After some time, Washington turned around and rode back to Princeton.[32]
At the edge of town, the 55th Regiment received ordered from Mawhood to
fall back and join the 40th Regiment in town.[32]
The 40th had taken up a position just outside of town, on the North side of
a ravine. The 55th formed up to the left of the 40th. The 55th sent a
platoon to flank the oncoming Americans, but were cut to pieces.[33]
When Sullivan sent several regiments to scale the ravine, they fell back to
a breastwork.[34][35]
After making a brief stand, the British fell back again, some leaving
Princeton, and others taking up refuge in
Nassau Hall.[36][34]
Alexander Hamilton brought some guns up and had them blast away at the
building. Then some Americans rushed the front door, broke it down, and the
British put a white flag outside one of the windows.[34]
The British walked out of the building and laid down their arms.[34]
After entering Princeton, the Americans began to loot the abandoned
British supply wagons and the town itself.[37]
With news that Cornwallis was approaching, Washington knew he had to leave
Princeton. Washington wanted to push onto New Brunswick and capture a
British pay chest of 70,000 pounds but
Henry
Knox and
Nathanael Greene talked him out of it.[38]
Instead, Washington moved his army to Somerset Courthouse and in the
following days, to
Morristown, arriving on January 6, at 5:00 Pm.[38][3]
After the battle, Cornwallis abandoned many of his posts in New Jersey,
and ordered his army to retreat to New Brunswick. The battle at Princeton
cost the British some 100 men killed, 70 wounded and 280 captured and
greatly boosted the morale of the Continental troops.[39]
The Americans, meanwhile, suffered just 25 killed and 40 wounded.[3]
The British viewed Trenton and Princeton as just minor victories, but with
these victories, the Americans believed that they could win the war.[38]
American historians often consider the Battle of Princeton a great
victory, on par with the battle of Trenton, due to the subsequent loss of
control of most of New Jersey by the Crown forces. Some other historians,
such as
Edward G. Lengel consider it to be even more impressive than Trenton.[3]
A century later, British historian
Sir George Otto Trevelyan would write in a study of the American
Revolution, when talking about the impact of the victories at Trenton and
Princeton, that "It may be doubted whether so small a number of men ever
employed so short a space of time with greater and more lasting effects upon
the history of the world."[40]
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