A few days later, British General Charles Cornwallis hoped to engage Washington's army at Trenton after Washington recrossed the Delaware River, resulting in the Second Battle of Trenton. After recapturing Trenton, he ordered charges on fortified defenses at Assunpink Creek. The Americans inflicted heavy casualties on the British from their defenses. Later, the Continental army slipped past Cornwallis's stalled army and launched an attack on British soldiers stationed at Princeton in the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777. The British at Princeton were forced to surrender. Cornwallis immediately ordered his army to engage the Americans at Princeton, but was prevented by snipers. These victories forced the British to leave New Jersey.