History of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Pt. 1, Part 29

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 974

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MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION.

with their brigades, at different points along the river from Yardley's to Coryell's Ferry (Lam- bertville), with the remaining troops of the Fly- ing Camp, under General Irvine, to guard (as well the force of about fifteen hundred Hessians which then occupied that post in winter-quarters. His plan also contemplated simultaneous at- tacks by other detachments of his army on as their feeble strength would permit) the west the several British posts along the Delaware bank of the river from Yardley's to the point below Trenton ; but that part which had refer- ence to the surprise of Trenton was regarded as of the most importance, and this was to be un- der the personal supervision of the commander- in-chief. The time fixed on for its execution was on the night of the 25th and morning of the 26th of December, because, knowing

opposite Bordentown. The Pennsylvania mi- litia, under Colonel Cadwallader, was posted along the Neshaminy, and the Third Philadelphia Bat- talion, under Colonel Nixon, occupied a position at Durck's Ferry. General Putnam was sent to as- sume command at Philadelphia, and to take im- mediate measures for fortifying the approaches : the convivial habits of the German soldiers and to the city. Defensive works were rapidly the universal custom among them of celebrat- thrown up at the most exposed points on the river from Coryell's to McConkey's Ferry. Special orders were given to the several brigade commanders holding this section of the shore to exercise sleepless vigilance in guarding every practicable crossing-place, and to be prepared to support one another promptly in case of emergency ; and finally, in case the worst should come and the army be forced back from the Delaware, the several commands were or- dered to retreat to a general rendezvous at Ger- mantown.

ing Christmas, with bacchanalian revelry, he believed that in the unheralded visit which he proposed to make in the early morning of the 26th he would find the guards less vigilant than usual, and both officers and soldiers in poor fighting condition, as a result of the previous night's debauch. The plan was an excellent one, and the secrecy with which it was carried out seems remarkable, particularly when it is re- membered that the Jersey shore of the Del- aware at that time was infested by a great. number of Tories, all closely watching the movements of the patriots on the other side, and eager to carry in all haste any information they might obtain to the nearest British post.

The British army in New Jersey was posted in detachments along a very extended line. The largest force was at New Brunswick, which was their principal depot of military stores. A strong detachment was stationed at Princeton ; another, consisting of one thousand five hundred Hessians and a troop of cavalry, at Trenton; a body of troops of about equal strength was at

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The means for transporting the troops across the Delaware were furnished by the boats which had previously been collected on that river and the Lehigh. Among those collected for the purpose were sixteen Durham 1 boats Bordentown, under Count Donop; and smaller and four scows, sent down by General Ewing detachments occupied Black Horse, Mount Holly and several other posts, extending below Burlington. The chief command in New Jer- sey was held by Lord Cornwallis, General Howe remaining at his headquarters in New York.

Having been reinforced by the forces of Generals Sullivan and Gates and by a consider- able number of troops from other quarters, Washington immediately prepared to execute the plan which he had for some time had in contemplation,-viz., to recross the Delaware by night and march rapidly to Trenton, in the hope of surprising, and possibly of capturing,'

to McConkey's Ferry,2 which was to be the place of crossing. There, on the evening of the 25th of December, as soon as the early night- fall of winter had settled down upon hill and river, the troops destined for the expedition were mustered in silence and inspected by

1 So called because this particular kind of boat was first constructed to transport iron on the Delaware from the Durham furnaces to Philadelphia. They were very large, fat-bottomed, and rounded at bow and stern, instead of being square at the ends like scows.

2 Now known as "Washington's Crossing" on the New Jersey side and Taylorsville on the Pennsylvania side of the river.

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

Washington and his generals. The commander- in-chief had expected to land his army on the Jersey side with but little delay and to reach Trenton by midnight; but the river was filled with masses of floating ice, and the weather was so thick, by reason of a storm of snow and sleet which had just commenced, that it hardly seemed practicable to cross at all, and when it was decided to move forward regardless of these obstacles, the transportation was found to be so slow and difficult that it was not until nearly four o'clock in the morning that the last of the troops and cannon were landed in safety on the eastern shore.

The expeditionary corps, consisting of two thousand four hundred men, with ten pieces of artillery, was marched in a body, by way of the " Bear Tavern," to Birmingham (between four and five miles from Trenton), where it was halted, and the men took some refreshment.1 The force was then divided into two columns,- one, under General Sullivan, taking the river road, and the other, under General Green, with Generals Mercer, Stevens and Lord Stirling, and accompanied by the commander-in-chief, moving to and down the Scotch road to its junction with the Pennington road, and thence down the latter to Trenton.

The march of the two columns was so well planned and ordered that both reached the enemy's outposts at Trenton at almost exactly the same time, Sullivan coming in from the west and Washington and Greene from the north. At a few minutes before eight o'clock 2 the Hessian encampments came into view, and, at the sight, Washington, riding to the head of the troops and pointing with his sword towards

Trenton, shouted, "There, soldiers, you see the enemies of your country, and now all I have to ask is that you remember what you are about to fight for. March !" They moved forward with great impetuosity, drove in the outposts, and in a few minutes had possession of all the British artillery. The brave Colonel Rahl, the Hessian commander, surprised, and not yet re- covered from the effects of his Christmas pota- tions, rushed frantically out of his quarters and mounted his horse to form his men for defense, but he almost immediately received a mortal wound ;3 and, as further resistance then appeared hopeless, the place, with its troops (except such as had escaped and fled towards Princeton and Bordentown) and military stores, surrendered to the American commander. The captures made by the Americans at Trenton comprised six brass field-pieces, one thousand stand of arms, four colors and nine hundred and nine pris- oners, of which latter twenty-three were com- missioned officers. In reference to the losses in action of the British and American forces re- spectively, General Washington said, in his re- port,-" I do not know exactly how many they had killed, but I fancy not above twenty or thirty, as they never made any regular stand. Our loss is very trifling indeed-only two officers and one or two privates wounded."

The plan of Washington in recrossing the Delaware had contemplated the probability, that, in the event of success at Trenton, he might be able to maintain his position in New Jersey ; but, on account of the inability of Ewing and Cadwallader to cross the river, as was expected, there were still left at Bordentown, Mount Holly

1 "General Washington with hisarmy halted at the house of Benjamin Moore at Birmingham and ate a piece of mince- pie and drank a glass of cider. His men also partook of some refreshments before marching into Trenton." -- Raum.

got up. The out-guards made but a small opposition, though, for their numbers, they behaved very well, keeping up a , constant retreating fire from behind houses. We presently saw their main body formed, but from their motions they seemed undetermined how to act."

3 " Colonel Rahl, the Hessian commander, whose head- quarters were at the City Tavern, corner of Warren and Bank Streets, opposite Still's Alley, was mortally wounded during the early part of the engagement, being shot from his horse while endeavoring to form his dismayed and disordered troops. When, supported by a file of sergeants. he presented his sword to General Washington (whose countenance heamed with complacency at the success of the day), he was pale and bleeding, and in broken accents

The shot that killed Rahl was said to have been fired by Colonel Frederick Frelinghuysen.

? Washington, in his official report of the Trenton fight, said, "The upper division arrived at the enemy's advanced post exactly at eight o'clock ; and in three minutes after I found from the fire on the lower road that the division had ; seemed to implore those attentions which the victor was well disposed to bestow upon him. He was taken to his headquarters, where he died."-Raum's " History of Tren- ton."

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MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION.

and other points below Trenton and within striking distance several British detachments which were collectively far stronger than the American force which could be mustered to hold them at bay. Under these circumstances, Washington thought it his only prudent course to return with his army to the west side of the river ; and this he did without delay, remaining in Trenton only a few hours to allow his men sufficient time for rest and refreshment. In the afternoon of the 26th the columns were again put in motion and marched back by the route over which they had come in the morning, and, recrossing at McConkey's Ferry with their prisoners and captured material, were all safely quartered before midnight in the camp which they had left in the evening of the preceding day.

But though he had found it expedient to re- tire to his strong position on the Pennsylvania shore after the victory at Trenton, Washington had by no means abandoned his plan of repos- sessing West Jersey, and he at once commenced preparations for a second expedition to that end. . On the 29th of December-only three days after the Trenton exploit-he wrote from his headquarters at Newtown, Pa., to Con- gress, saying,-

" I am just setting out to attempt a second passage over the Delaware with the troops that were with me on the morning of the 26th. General Cadwallader crossed over on the 27th, and is at Bordentown with about one thousand eight hundred men. General Mifflin will be to-day at Bordentown with about one thousand six hundred more. . . . In view of the meas- ures proposed to be pursued, I think a fair opportunity is offered of driving the enemy entirely from Jersey, or at least to the extremity of the province.

In anticipation of the projected resumption of operations in New Jersey, orders had been sent to General Heath, who was still at Peeks- kill-on-the-Hudson, to leave only a small de- tachment of his troops at that place, and to move at once with his main body, cross into New Jersey, and march towards the British cantonment, to divert their attention, but with- out intending an attack. General William Maxwell, who in the retreat through this State · had been left at Morristown with a considerable | the 27th of December, and the troops which

force (in which was included a considerable number of Monmouth County soldiers), was ordered to advance his troops towards New' Brunswick, as if threatening an attack, and harass all the contiguous posts of the enemy as much as possible ; and finally, Generals Cad- wallader and Mifflin, at Bordentown and Cross- wicks, were directed to hold their forces (then amounting to more than three thousand five hundred men) in constant readiness to reinforce the main body under Washington when it should make its appearance at Trenton. These dispositions having been made, and all prepara- tions completed, Washington moved his army across the Delaware into New Jersey on the 30th of December, and marched to Trenton. At this point he was under serious embarrass- ment, for the terms of service of a large part of the Eastern militia expired on the 1st of Janu- ary, and it was very doubtful whether they could be persuaded to remain. The arguments of the commander-in-chief, however, were suc- cessful in prevailing on them to continue for an additional term of six weeks, in view of the brightening prospects of the American cause and the promise of a bounty of ten dollars per man. There was no money in the military chest to pay these promised bounties, but Wash- ington at once sent a messenger to Robert Morris, at Philadelphia, asking him to supply the means, if possible; and that patriotie finan- cier promptly responded by sending fifty thou- sand dollars in cash, borrowed from a rich Quaker, on Morris' individual note, and the pledge of his honor to repay it.

At the time of the Hessian disaster at Trenton the British forces in New Jersey were under command of General Grant, whose head- quarters were at New Brunswick. Lord Corn- wallis was at New York, making preparations to sail for England, in the belief that the rebel- lion was virtually crushed and the war nearly over. Upon receipt of the amazing news from Trenton, he at once relinquished his voyage, returned to New Jersey, and put his troops in motion towards Trenton. The British post at Bordentown, previously held by a strong force under Count. Donop, had been abandoned on

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

the British to cross, the Americans kept up their artillery fire till dark, and the British withdrew to the higher ground in the outskirts Cornwallis advanced from New Brunswick, the ' of the town, along the Princeton road, where force at Princeton, excepting three regiments under Colonel Mawhood, joined the main col- umn, which moved 'towards Trenton, and arrived there about four o'clock in the after- noon of Thursday, the 2d of January, 1777.

had been stationed there retreated to Princeton, where they joined the force of General Leslie, and threw up defensive earthworks. When

Cornwallis established his headquarters, and directed dispositions to be made for a renewal of the battle in the morning, when, he said, he would " catch that old fox," Washington, whom he imagined he had now so securely entrapped

The two hostile armies which then and there beyond the Assanpink. But his boast failed confronted each other were each about five most signally of its execution.

thousand strong, but one-half the force of

The situation of Washington was now peril- Washington 1 was made up of undisciplined ous in the extreme, for nothing could be more militia, while that of his adversary included certain than that Cornwallis would renew the many of the finest troops of the British army. battle in the morning, and it was almost equally Before the advance of Cornwallis, Washington's ; certain that in such an event, the victory would forces retired across the bridge to the south side be with the disciplined soldiers of Britain. If of Assanpink Creek, where it was soon after- such should be the result, the American army wards joined by General Greene's division, could hardly escape the alternative of surrender which had been sent out to reconnoitre and or annihilation, for a retreat across the Delaware skirmish with the enemy, hoping to so delay in presence of such an enemy would be impos- his movements that no engagement would be sible. Immediately after dark a council of war brought on until morning. But the British was called, at which were assembled the com- mander-in-chief and Generals Greene, Sullivan, regulars promptly drove Greene's detachment into Trenton and across the Assanpink, and Knox, Mercer, St. Clair, Dickinson, Stevens, then with very little delay moved in two col- Cadwallader, Mifflin, Stark, Wilkinson and umns, one down Green Street . towards the others. Some of the more impetuous officers bridge, and the other down Main Street to- advised a stand for battle in their present posi- wards the point where the lower bridge now tion; others favored a retreat down the left stands, intending to force a passage over the bank of the Delaware, and a crossing of the bridge and across the ford; but they were river at Philadelphia under protection of the repulsed by the vigorous fire of Washington's guns of General Putnam; but the plan which artillery, which, being posted on the high south- was adopted was that of a rapid night-move- ern bank of the stream, was so effective that ment around the enemy's flank to his rear, and the assailants failed to cross, and were com- a sudden attack on the British force at Prince- pelled to retire, but with what loss is not ton, which consisted of only three regiments of known.2 After the failure of this attempt of

cavalry and three squadrons of dragoons. The execution of this plan was singularly favored by Providence, for, even while the council of

' Cadwallader and Mifflin, with their forces from Borden- town, had joined Washington on the night of the 1st of January.

" The "battle of Assanpink" has frequently been de- scribed as a fearful conflict, in which the stream was filled with the bodies of slain British soldiers. That this is a gross exaggeration, and that there was really no battle at all (but merely a brisk cannonade from the American artillery on the south bank, preventing the enemy from crossing the stream), is pretty clearly shown by an authority as high as General Washington himself, in the report which he made to Congress, dated Pluckamin, January 5, 1777, in which, re- ferring to this affair, he says, " On the 2d, according to my expectations, the enemy began to advance upon us ; and

after some skirmishing the head of their column reached Trenton about four o'clock, whilst their rear was as far back as Maidenhead. They attempted to pass Sanpink Creek, which runs through Trenton. but finding the fords guarded, halted and kindled their fires. We were drawn up on the other side of the creek. In this situation we re- mained until dark, commanding the enemy and receiving the fire of their field-pieces, which did us but little damage." This is all the mention made by the commander- in-chief, in his official report, of the so-called "battle of Assanpink."

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MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION.

war was engaged in its deliberations, the ing fact that the "fox" had escaped from his weather, which had been warm during the day, trap, and the unpleasant truth was soon after turned suddenly cold; so that in a few hours emphasized by the dull sound of distant artillery the muddy roads were frozen sufficiently hard to bear up the artillery, and greatly to facilitate ! the marching of the troops.

coming from the northward. To the eyes of Washington and his officers that sunrise was welcome, for it showed them the position of the foes they had come to seek ; and it lighted them "on their way to one of the most important vic-

The movement to Princeton being decided on, its immediate execution was ordered. The camp-fires of the American army along the shore tories achieved in the war for independence.

of the Assanpink were kept brightly burning, night ; and soon afterwards, leaving the sentinels

The British troops in Princeton were a body . and were replenished with fresh fuel about mid- of cavalry and the Seventeenth, Fortieth and Fifty-fifth Infantry Regiments of the line, all on their posts, to delude the enemy, the forces under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Maw- were all put in motion, and marched rapidly but hood. He had during the night received orders silently away in the darkness. The baggage- to march at daylight with the greater part of his train of the army was sent away quietly on the command for Trenton, to give his assistance in road to Burlington. The route taken led, by way of Sandtown, across Miry Run, and, farther up, across the Assanpink, around the left flank of the British army ; then, veering to the left,

the battle which Cornwallis intended to open along the shores of the Assanpink on the morn- ing of the 3d, and in obedience to that order he had put the Seventeenth and Fifty-fifth Regi- along the " Quaker road " to and across Stony | ments, with a part of the cavalry, in motion, and, Brook, where the main column left the highway and took a by-road passing through lowlands directly to Princeton ; while General Mercer, accompanying them in person, moved out on the old Trenton road. The commanding officer, with the Seventeenth Regiment and nearly all with about three hundred and fifty men and two his cavalry, was fully a mile in advance of the pieces of artillery under Captain Neal, continued rear division of the column, and had already along the Quaker road, with orders to proceed crossed the Stony Brook bridge at Worth's Mill to Worth's Mill and take possession of the bridge when he discovered Mercer's force moving rap- by which the old road from Princeton to Trenton . idlly along the opposite bank of the stream to- crossed Stony Brook.

The march of the American forces had been slow during the two or three hours immediately following their departure from their camp on ! ened on to secure a commanding position on high the Assanpink, because on that part of their route they had been compelled (in order to avoid the outposts of the enemy's left flank) to traverse a new road, from which the logs and stumps had not been cleared. But the last part of their march had been made very rapidly over the hard-frozen highway ; so that when the sun rose ' the enemy, if possible. Having reached the they were already nearing Princeton. And | house and orchard of William Clarke, he per- never was a sunrise more auspicious than that which sent its rosy rays through the frosty air on the morning of the 3d of January, 1777. To Cornwallis at Trenton1 it revealed the mortify-

{ " Great was his {Cornwallis' ] astonishment and alarm at dawn to find the patriot camp-fires still burning, but not a man, nor hoof, nor tent, nor cannon there. All was silent and dreary on the south side of the Assanpink, and

wards the mill. Upon this he promptly coun- termarched his men, moved them on the double- quick back to the bridge, recrossed it, and hast- ground to the right of the road. General Mer- cer, as his detachment emerged from a piece of woods near the Quaker meeting-house, discov- ered the British, and, divining their object, double-quicked his troops towards the same eminence, determined to occupy it in advance of

no man of the British army knew whither the Americans had fled until the din of battle in the direction of Prince- ton came faintly upon the keen morning air at sunrise. Cornwallis heard the booming of cannon, and, although mid-winter, he thought it was the rumbling of distant thunder. The quick ear of Erskine decided otherwise, and he exclaimed, 'To arms, general ! General Washington has outgeneraled us ! Let us fly to Princeton ""-Lossing, rol. ii. p. 234.

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

ceived the enemy's lines advancing up the oppo- site slope. The Americans pushed on to the slight cover of a rail-fence which was between the opposing forces, and there they delivered their volley with precision and deadly effect, firing afterwards at will. The British promptly returned the fire and charged with the bayonet. Mercer's riflemen had no bayonets on their pieces, and, being unable to withstand the furious onset of the British, fled in precipitation and disorder, abandoning their two field-pieces "and closely pursued by Mawhood's grenadiers; but when they reached the east brow of the slope near Clarke's house, they were met by the

Colonel Mawhood, with the Seventeenth Brit- ish Regiment and his cavalry, fled from the bat- tle-field to the same road over which they had marched in the morning, and, crossing the Stony Brook bridge at Worth's Mill, moved rapidly on towards Maidenhead, where they knew Gen- eral Leslie had passed the night with his divi- sion, the rear guard of Cornwallis' army. Leslie, however, hearing the cannonade in the direction of Princeton, was already on the march towards Stony Brook, and in his advance met the routed troops of Mawhood, which latter had been pur- sued only a short distance by the Americans, because Washington knew of the proximity of Continentals and militia under Washington, General Leslie in the direction in which they re- who had left the by-road on which he was treated. Mawhood's artillery pieces were left on marching, at a point near the Olden farm, and the field, and fell into the hands of the Ameri- hurried up to the support of Mercer. The fugitive cans ; but, as they could not take them away for Americans here rallied and reformed on a new line, want of horses, they afterwards returned to the and a section of one of Washington's batteries, possession of the enemy.

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History of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Pt. 1, Part 29

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co. Number of Pages: 974

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 974