Middletown transcript., 1877-01-13
January Third, 1777-1s77.

these columns last week on the Center
' NAL anniversary its occurrence, make
it reasonable to supplement that revie'
by another of the Battle of Princeton
the Centennial anniversary of which oc
ours to-day, January Sd After tn
, removal Of bis prisoners across the Del
aware, Oh the 26th, Washington re
turned to New Jersey, and was i
Trenton on the first day of the yea
with detachment of between six an
seven hundred troops. Cadwaader wa
at Gross wicks with eighteen hundre,
men, and Miflin at Bordentown with
force of about eighteen hundred more
all volunteers. Washington had deter
mined to concentrate these forces a
Trenton. On the first day of this montI
Washington was reinforced hy portion
of the troops whom he had ordered t.
join him. On the second more came in
and the force at bis command was in.
creased to between four and FIVE thou.
sand men, largely volunteers and o
course inexperienced. All honor to the
courage which could lead them to face
the rigors Of winter under circumstances
Of such peril and suffering
The British commander, CORVALLIS,
FASTENED to attempt the repair of the
Trenton disaster. On the second Of
January he moved from Princeton with
the main body of his army-morc than
five thousand men, well provisioned and
equipped The roads were heavy, and
nearly every mile Of his progress was
disputed by skirmisherS and detach-
ments in ambush There were losses
on both sides during the day, but the
number is not ascertained At four in
the afternoon, on the approach of the
British, Washington withdrew over the
Assanpink creek, which then bounded
Trenton, and now divides the town into
two portions, An attempt to force the
bridge by the British was repulsed by
the Americans Night came on, and
the two armies bivouacked with the
creek between them The British rested
after their hard days work, counting
on victory, with their superior force, in
the morning.. Washington kept the
Americans camp fires blazing through
the night in order to mislead the British
commander, but the morning revealed
the fact that only the sentries and the
squads detailed to replenish the fires
had remained on the ground. and they,
too, disappeared with the dawn 1t
was easy enough to pass the AssaDpink
now, but no motive remained The
noise of the artillery at Princeton re-
vealed the fact that Washington had re-
moved with his force in the night, and
swift pursuit was at once made by the
British forces The British advance
reached Princeton just as the American
rear left the place. Aud on the night
of the third Of January the American
troops, unpursued, bivouacked in the
woods near Somerset Court House.
The days work. which had preceded
this withdrawal from Trenton. bad been
a severe one. As the Americans neared
Princeton, three hundred men, under
Mercer, were detached to destroy the
bridge over Stony Brook. They en-
countered an advance party of British,
on their way to Trenton, and spirited
action commenced. The parties were,
in numbers, nearly equal, and the en-
counter was spirited and gallant on both
sides. But, wearied and worn with the
nights march, and, unproyided with
bayonets, the Americans wavered be-
fore the charge of the British veterans
The officers strove to rally them; but
the day would have been lost had it not
been for the prompt return Of Washing
ton with the main body of his forces =
He not only supported the Americans
against the troops with which they were
engaged, but intercepted the fresh
troops from Princeton. The superior
drill and discipline of the British troops
caused the first line of Washington's
militia to hesitate. Washington rode
to the front within short distance of
the British line, facing the foe While
thus situated both sides fred their vol
leys, and when the smoke cleared away.
to the wonder of all who had seen his
peril, he sat unharmed in his saddle =
Never guilty of bravado, he had the
noble courage to expose his life without
fear when necessity warranted the dan
ger Other portions of the American
army now came up; the British re-
treated, and left the field to the Amer
leans
While the main body of the American
army was thus engaged, the residue
drove back the British troops which had
not reached the scene of the engage
ment The first attempt of the British
troops was to make citadel of the col
lege buildings but, finding this post
untenable, they broke and fed And
tb,s yros 6DieboJ H. do,,c ,ro.I. I'LL