page_title: Battle of Iron Works Hill
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Iron Works Hill / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: Johann von Ewald
context_page_description: The Battle of Iron Works Hill, also known as the Battle of Mount Holly, was a series of minor skirmishes that took place on December 22 and 23, 1776, during the American War of Independence. They took place in Mount Holly, New Jersey, between an American force mostly composed of colonial militia under Colonel Samuel Griffin and a force of 2,000 Hessians and British regulars under Carl von Donop.
  While the American force of 600 was eventually forced from their positions by the larger Hessian force, the action prevented von Donop from being in his assigned base at Bordentown, New Jersey and in a position to assist Johann Rall's brigade in Trenton, New Jersey when it was attacked and defeated by George Washington after his troops crossed the Delaware on the night of December 25–26, 1776.
context_section_description: Von Donop's forces bivouacked in Mount Holly on the night of December 23, where, according to Ewald, they plundered the town, breaking into alcohol stores of abandoned houses and getting drunk.  Von Donop himself took quarters in the house that Ewald described as belonging to an "exceedingly beautiful widow of a doctor",  whose identity is uncertain.  The next day, December 24, they moved in force to drive the militia from the hill, but Griffin and his men had retreated to Moorestown during the night.  For whatever reason, von Donop and his contingents remained in Mount Holly, 18 miles (29 km) and a full day's march from Trenton, until a messenger arrived on December 26, bringing the news of Rall's defeat by Washington that morning.
  News of the skirmishes at Mount Holly was often exaggerated.  Published accounts of the day varied, including among participants in the battle.  One Pennsylvanian claimed that sixteen of the enemy were killed, while a New Jersey militiaman reported seven enemy killed.  Both Donop and Ewald specifically denied any British or German casualties occurred during the first skirmish on December 22, while the Pennsylvania Evening Post reported "several" enemy casualties with "two killed and seven or eight wounded" of the militia through the whole action.
  Some reporters, including Loyalist Joseph Galloway, assumed that Griffin had been specifically sent to draw von Donop away from Bordentown, but von Donop's decision to attack in force was apparently made prior to Reed's arrival.  Reed noted in his journal that "this manouver [sic], though perfectly accidental, had a happy effect as it drew off Count Donop ...."  The planning for Washington's crossing of the Delaware did include sending a militia force to Griffin in an attack on von Donop at Mount Holly; this company failed to cross the river.
caption: Jäger Captain Johann Ewald
exif: {"Image Tag 0x000B": "Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image Software": "Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384", "Image DateTime": "2018:08:29 15:25:18", "Image ExifOffset": "2242", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "96", "Thumbnail YResolution": "96", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "4516", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "14322", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:08:29 15:23:40", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:08:29 15:23:40", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF Padding": "[]"}