Washington made a military Dictator.

1776.

He Re-crosses the Delaware to Occupy Trenton. Efficient Aid by Robert Morris.

to expediency, and, by a resolution adopted on the 27th of December, before they could possibly have heard of the affair at Trenton, they constituted Washington, in all respects, a DICTATOR, in the old Roman sense of the term.'

December,

Inspirited by his success at Trenton, the panic of the enemy, and their retirement from the Delaware; his army strengthened by new recruits and the junction of the militia who had guarded the lower posts on the river, Washington determined to recross the Delaware and occupy Trenton, and then make such offensive movements against the British as prudence should dictate. This he accomplished on the 30th. The term of service 1776. of a large portion of the Eastern militia was now about expiring. He prevailed on them to remain six weeks longer, by promising to each soldier a bounty of ten dollars. The military chest was not in a condition to permit him to fulfill his promise, and he wrote to Robert Morris, the great patriot financier of the Revolution, for aid, pleading the urgent necessity of the case. It was necessary to have hard money, and the sum was large. The requirement seemed almost impossible to meet. Government credit was low, but confidence in Robert Morris was unbounded. In a desponding spirit, unusual for him, Morris left his counting-room at a late hour, musing upon the probabilities of meeting the demand. On his way he met a wealthy Quaker, and made known his wants. Robert, what security canst thou give?" asked the Quaker: "My note, and my honor," promptly replied Morris. "Thou shalt have it," was the answer; and the next morning Robert Morris wrote to Washington, "I was up early this morning to dispatch a supply of fifty thousand dollars to your excellency. It gives me great pleasure that you have engaged the troops to continue; and if further occasional supplies of money are necessary, you may depend on my exertions either in a public or private capacity." Washington, on reaching Trenton, and advised of the approach of Cornwallis with a strong force from Princeton, encamped on the south side of the Assanpink (now in South Trenton), upon the high ground extending eastward from a small bridge that spanned the stream. He took this position in order to place the stream between himself and the advancing enemy. The American force, one half of which was composed of undisciplined militia, was only about five thousand strong; while that of the enemy was equally large, composed almost exclusively of British regulars,

January 2,

1777.

The following is the preamble and resolution :

แ This Congress, having maturely considered the present crisis, and having perfect reliance on the wisdom, vigor, and uprightness of General Washington, do hereby

"Resolve, That General Washington shall be, and he is hereby, vested with full, ample, and complete powers to raise and collect together, in the most speedy and effectual manner, from any or all of these United States, sixteen battalions of infantry, in addition to those already voted by Congress; to appoint officers for the said battalions of infantry; to raise, officer, and equip three thousand light horse, three regiments of artillery, and a corps of engineers, and to establish their pay; to apply to any of the states for such aid of the militia as he shall judge necessary; to form such magazines, and in such places, as he shall think proper; to displace and appoint all officers under the rank of brigadier general, and to fill up all vacancies in every other department in the American army; to take, wherever he may be, whatever he may want for the use of the army, if the inhabitants will not sell it, allowing a reasonable price for the same; to arrest and confine persons who refuse to take the Continental currency, or are otherwise disaffected to the American cause, and return to the states of which they are citizens their names, and the nature of their offenses, together with the witnesses to prove them.

"That the foregoing powers be vested in General Washington for and during the term of six months from the date hereof, unless sooner determined by Congress."-Journals of Congress, ii., 475.

66

This resolve was transmitted to Washington by the committee of Congress who remained in Philadelphia when that body adjourned to Baltimore. 'Happy is it for this country," they wrote to Washington, "that the general of their forces can safely be intrusted with the most unlimited power, and neither personal sccurity, liberty, nor property be in the least degree endangered thereby.”—MS. letter, Dec. 31st, 1776. quoted by Sparks, iv., 552. When Congress adjourned, on the 12th, they gave Washington equal powers, but did not define them.

' Morris had sent Washington a small sum of money two days before, and these transactions are doubtless those alluded to by the writer of the life of Robert Morris, in the fifth volume of the Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, who erroneously says, that "it (the money) enabled General Washington to gain the signal victory over the hireling Hessians at Trenton," &c. The sum sent on the 28th of December was 410 Spanish dollars, two English crowns, half a French crown, and ten and a half English shillings.

Approach of Cornwallis toward Trenton.

Battles at Trenton Bridge and the Ford.

The Americans in Peril.

thoroughly disciplined. Washington sent out strong parties, under General Greene, to harass the enemy on their march, and it was almost sunset before Cornwallis reached Trenton.

TRENTON BRIDGE AND VICINITY.3

The Americans retreated before him, and it was with difficulty that they passed over the bridge to the main army. The bridge, and the ford above, where the rail-way now crosses, were strongly guarded by artillery. Cornwallis drew up his army in solid column, and, marching down Queen (now Greene) Street, attempted to force the bridge, but was three times repulsed by the American cannon. A strong detachmen also attempted to cross the ford, and get in the rear of the patriots; but they, too, were forced back by the vigorous action of cannon and small-arms. The Americans kept up a heavy cannonade until dark, when the British fell back in confusion, having lost many men.' At each repulse, the Americans raised a loud shout along their lines; and at last, Cornwallis, believing their force to be much greater than it really was, ceased hostilities, lighted his camp-fires, and awaited the morning for further movements. Washington and his army were now in a most critical situation. It was evident that a general engagement must take place the next day, and, in such a conflict, the result in favor of the enemy could hardly be considered doubtful. The commander-in-chief, as usual, called a council of war. The alternative first proposed was a retreat down the Delaware and a passage across the river at Philadelphia, or a battle on the spot. Both were considered extremely hazardous. Washington then proposed a stealthy withdrawal from the Assanpink, and a circuitous march to Princeton, to get in the enemy's rear, beat up his quarters at that place, and, if circumstances should be favorable, to fall upon his stores at New Brunswick. This proposition was approved; but the ground, on account of a thaw, was too soft to permit an easy transit of their forty pieces of cannon. This was a serious difficulty. While the council was in session, the wind changed to the northwest, and became so exceedingly cold that within two hours the ground was as hard as a pavement: the great difficulty was overcome by a power mightier than that of man. The favorable moment was speedily improved. Along the front of his army Washington lighted numerous camp-fires, made of the fences in the neighborhood. These were evidence to the enemy that his antagonist was encamped for the night; and Cornwallis assured Sir William Erskine, who urged him to make an attack that evening, that he would certainly "catch the fox [meaning Washing

See a notice of Mr. Howland, of Providence, in connection with this event, on page 631, vol. i. 2 I have not met with any official account of the number killed on this occasion. A writer in the Connecticut Journal of January 22, 1777, says the enemy were obliged to retreat and give over the attempt, after suffering great loss, supposed at least 150 killed." In a minute account by an eye-witness, published in the Princeton Whig of November 4, 1842, the writer says "the creek was nearly filled with their dead." 3 This view is from the north side of the Assanpink, a few rods above the bridge, looking south. The bridge, seen upon the right, is built of stone, and very strong, and is upon the site of the old one. The creek is curbed by a dam near the bridge, and forms the sheet of water seen in the picture. The old "Stacey Mill" of the Revolution, the largest building in the sketch, was quite dilapidated from the effects of fire and flood, when I was there. The two old houses on the left of it are of stone, covered with stucco, and were there at the time in question. On the bank, between them and the house of Mr. Timothy Abbott, seen on the extreme left, was a building used as a tavern, in the Revolution. It was demolished a few years ago. Along the high bank, from the mill eastward to the rail-way, now covered with houses and gardens, and also westward, some distance toward the Delaware, the Americans were encamped. The bank was being terraced when I visited Trenton, and will, in time, be a beautiful spot.

Cornwallis Out-generaled.

March of the Americans toward Princeton.

Their Approach discovered by the Enemy.

ton] in the morning." Great was his 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 no man of the British army knew whither the Americans had fled, until the din of battle in the direction of Princeton 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! Washington has out-generaled us. Let us fly to the rescue at Princeton!"

At one o'clock in the morning Washington had silently withdrawn his army from Trenton, and made his way, along a new road,' toward Princeton, ten miles distant. This circuitous route was taken to avoid a detachment of the enemy lying at Maidenhead, on the direct road to Princeton. The baggage was sent down to Burlington. The commanderin-chief ordered his camp-fires to be kept burning, and the patrols to march their accustomed rounds until near daylight, when those who fed the flames, and also the patrols, were directed to retreat hastily to the main body. The movement was made with great skill and order, for the pickets of both armies on the Assanpink were within speaking distance of each other when the fires were lighted and the guards set.

Proceeding by the way of Sandtown (see map on page 21), Washington reached the upper bridge over Stony Brook, near Princeton, a little before sunrise, and arranged his column near the Quaker meeting-house. A brigade of the enemy, under Lieutenant-colonel Mawhood, consisting of the seventeenth, fortieth, and fifty-fifth regiments, with three troops of dragoons, had quartered in Princeton the previous night; and at the moment of Washington's arrival, two of the regiments had commmenced their march for Trenton, to re-enforce Cornwallis. The main body of the Americans, after crossing Stony Brook, wheeled to the right, and advanced cautiously along a by-road, through low grounds, directly for Princeton. General Mercer, having under him Captains Stone, Fleming, Neal and others, with about three hundred and fifty men, many of them youths belonging to the first families in Philadelphia, was detached to take possession of the lower bridge at Worth's Mill, on the old highway to Trenton. This movement had a three-fold object; the securing of the bridge, the interception of fugitives from Princeton, and the checking of any retrograde movement of the rear of Cornwallis's army.

It was an exceedingly clear, cold, and brilliant morning; every thing was jeweled with the hoar frost. As the Americans emerged from behind a piece of woods a little south of the Quaker meeting-house, their arms glittering in the bright sun, they were discovered by the seventeenth regiment of the enemy, then under march upon a hill (now Millett's) on the old Trenton road. Washington observed the enemy at the same moment, and both commanders prepared for an encounter. Mawhood wheeled both his regiments and recrossed the bridge, just as Mercer, by a quick movement, reached it. Both parties, by rapid evo

1 The venerable Mr. Howland, of Rhode Island, already mentioned, who was with the army in this retreat, informed me that their progress was very much retarded by the stumps of trees in this new road. Many were bruised by stumbling over them, and some of the wheels of the baggage-trains were broken. This is known as the Quaker Road. But for this necessary slowness of march, the Americans would have reached Princeton before dawn, and very probably been able to push on and capture the British stores at New Brunswick.

This ancient stone building (1 on the map of the Princeton battle, page 28) is yet standing, and used by the Quakers as a place of worship. This sketch is from the yard in front, looking north. The woods behind which the Americans marched, after crossing the bridge, yet remain; and Stony Brook, made subservient to the wants of the Delaware and Raritan Canal, as a feeder, is but little changed since its music was mingled with the din of battle.

First Skirmish near Princeton.

Effect of British Bayonets.

Dispersion of the Americans.

18

ROCKY
HILL

158

ROAD TO

TRENTON

TURNPIKE

TO KINGSTON

ON THE MILLSTONE

13

55 TH

Washington on the Field.

BROOK

R.R.DEPOT

lutions, endeavored to get possession of the high ground on the right, toward Princeton, and westward of the house of William Clark. Mercer, with his troops, soon reached the house and orchards of Clark, a little eastward of the present turnpike, when, perceiving the British line approaching from the opposite side of the height, he pushed through the orchard to a hedge fence, from behind which his riflemen discharged a deadly volley. It was quickly returned by the enemy, who instantly charged. The Americans were armed only with rifles, and could not withstand the furious attack of British bayonets. After the third fire, they abandoned the fence, broke, and fled in disorder. The enemy pursued the flying patriots until they came to the brow of the slope, near Clark's, when, for the first time, they discovered the American column of regulars, and the Pennsylvania militia, commanded by Washington in person, advancing to the support of Mercer. flying Americans were checked and speedily arranged in battle order. Captain Moulder's artillery formed in battery on the right of Thomas Clark's house, about a quarter of a mile south of the scene of the first conflict. Mawhood discovered the commanding form of Washington passing from column to column, and bringing order out of confusion. He immediately ceased pursuit, and, draw

The

070

TURNPIKE TO TRENTON

STONY

BROOK

PROVINCE LINE

ing up his artillery, attempted to charge and take Moulder's battery. The effort was vain. Being dreadfully galled by the grape-shot of the patriots, and perceiving Hitchcock's and another Continental regiment advancing from behind the American column, Mawhood wheeled, and retreated toward the high ground in the rear, leaving his artillery upon the field. These the Americans were unable to carry off, on account of a want of horses. The action con

NOTE. This plan of the battle of Princeton I copied from a large drawing in the library of Princeton College, made from surveys by Professor Albert B. Dod, and drawn by W. A. Dod and S. B. Alexander. Explanation of the References.—a, head of the American column when first seen by the British; b, head of column after Mercer's engagement; o, retreat of the British; **, pursuit of the Americans; 1, Qua. ker meeting-house; 2, Clark's house, where Mercer died; 3, 4, the British seventeenth regiment; 5, 6 Mercer beginning the battle; 7 8, the seventeenth attempting to dislodge Moulder; 9, 10, Pennsylvania militia under Washington; 11, Hitchcock's regiment; 13, display of Continentals; 14, Nassau Hall, or Princeton College, in the village; 15, Richard Stockton's residence, and Cornwallis's head-quarters for a time; 16, Worth's Mill, on Stony Brook; 17, Millett's, the position of the seventeenth regiment at sunrise; 18, the fortieth and fifty-fifth regiments of the British retreating, after the action, toward Rocky Hill. The rail-way station is seen upon the Delaware and Raritan Canal, southeast of Princeton village

General Mercer mortally Wounded by Bayonets. His Bravery till the Last.

Place of his Death. View of the Battle-ground

Washington was exposed to the

tinued only about fifteen minutes, but was very severe. hottest fire, while encouraging the militia by voice and example. General Mercer dismounted after the first fire, the gray horse he was riding having been disabled by a musket-ball that wounded his fore leg; and while on foot, endeavoring to rally his broken troops, he was felled to the ground by a blow from a musket dealt by a British soldier. When his rank was discovered, the enemy, believing it to be Washington, raised an exulting shout, and cried, "The rebel general is taken!" Several rushed to the spot, exclaiming, "Call for quarters, you d-d rebel!" "I am no rebel,' cried Mercer, indignantly, while half a dozen bayonets were at his breast; and,

instead of calling for quarter, he determined to die fighting. He struck several blows at his enemies with his sword, when they bayoneted him and left him for dead. Upon the retreat of the British, General Mercer was conveyed to the house of Thomas Clark (now John Clark's), then a new building, where he was tenderly nursed by the late Miss Sarah Clark, of the Society of Friends, and a colored woman belonging to the family. He January, languished in great pain until the 12th, when he expired in the arms of Major

1777.

1 This view, looking north, is from the carriage gate of Mr. John Clarke, owner of the house in which General Mercer died, which is situated about seventy rods from the Trenton turnpike. That dwelling is represented in the foreground of the picture, on the extreme right. The distant view includes almost the whole field of action. Near the center of the picture, over the head of the dark figure, is seen the house of William Clark, and his out-buildings. The barn, a little more to the left, with a tree in front, is upon the spot from whence Mercer rushed forward to the hedge-fence. That fence was upon the line of the present turnpike, denoted in the sketch by the fence passing down the slope beyond the large tree on the extreme left. The "high ground" for which both parties were aiming, to secure advantage, is seen in the extreme distance. The dark spot between the tree in the second field and the barn denotes the spot where Mercer fell. The house of William Clark, in the distance, is about a quarter of a mile from the one in the foreground, where Mercer died. The hollow between the two houses was the space between the belligerents when Washington advanced to the support of Mercer. The place of conflict is about a mile and a quarter south of Princeton. The turnpike passes directly through it.

The story went abroad, at that time, that General Mercer was cruelly bayoneted after he had delivered up his sword; but his dying assertion that he did not give up his weapon until he was powerless to wield 1, exonerates the British soldiery from this foul accusation.