American victory at the Battle of Princeton

On this day in history, January 3, 1777, the American victory at the Battle of Princeton causes the British to withdraw from most of New Jersey, after this third decisive victory in ten days. George Washington surprised the Hessian garrison at Trenton on December 26 and took 1,000 captives. This was followed up on January 2 with a victory at the Battle of Assunpink Creek, where Washington was able to drive back three assaults from General Charles Cornwallis.

After this failure, Cornwallis decided to call off the attack until morning, even though some of his officers believed Washington would try to escape in the night. Washington took advantage of the decision, but rather than running, he decided to attack the British rear guard left at Princeton. He took his army east and then to the north in utter silence during the night, approaching Princeton at dawn.

In the morning, Washington dispatched Brigadier General Hugh Mercer to destroy a bridge on the post road between Trenton and Princeton to delay Cornwallis’ pursuit. When General Mercer arrived at the post road, he ran straight into 800 men under the command of Lt. Col. Charles Mawhood, marching south from Princeton. Mawhood ordered a charge on the rebels, who were mostly equipped with rifles and no bayonets. Unable to defend themselves against a bayonet charge, they were quickly overrun, trapping General Mercer. Thinking they had cornered George Washington, the British soldiers shouted, "Surrender you damn rebel!" When Mercer refused and charged them instead, he was bayoneted and left for dead, causing the rest of his men to scatter. Another 1100 militia appeared just then, but when they saw Mercer’s men fleeing, they began to flee as well.

At this point, George Washington arrived with yet more troops. Seeing the fleeing militia, Washington quickly rode his horse straight into the battle, rallying the troops and shouting, "Parade with us my brave fellows! There is but a handful of the enemy and we shall have them directly!" Following their leader, the Americans quickly gained control of the field. Now outnumbered, Mawhood ordered a retreat as his line began to dissolve under heavy fire.

Knowing that Cornwallis was approaching from the south, Washington retreated back to Princeton where his men quickly captured the remaining troops who had holed up in Nassau Hall at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton), surrendering themselves to a young Captain Alexander Hamilton.

Washington wished to continue attacking British outposts after three victories in ten days, but Generals Knox and Greene warned him that even though the Continental Army was newly inspired by the recent victories, they were worn out and greatly outnumbered. Following their advice, Washington moved north to Morristown and took up winter quarters. General Cornwallis and Commander-in-Chief William Howe abandoned southern New Jersey after these defeats, removing all of their men to New Brunswick which held substantial supplies and money reserves, taking up winter quarters there until the spring.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com 

Jack Manning

Secretary General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism."
George Washington (1796)

The Americans win the Battle of Assunpink Creek

On this day in history, January 2, 1777, the Americans win the Battle of Assunpink Creek, otherwise known as the Second Battle of Trenton. This was the second victory for the Continental Army in a week, helping to revive the flagging spirits of the American revolutionaries.

On December 26, George Washington had crossed the Delaware River into New Jersey and staged a surprise attack against the Hessian garrison at Trenton, capturing nearly 1,000 soldiers. After the battle, Washington withdrew back across the river into Pennsylvania, anticipating a strong counterattack from the British.

General William Howe, the British Commander-in-Chief of North America was furious with the defeat at Trenton. He canceled Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis’ scheduled leave to Britain for the winter and ordered him to Princeton immediately. 8,000 troops converged on Princeton on January 2 and Cornwallis began marching them south toward Trenton, sending an advance guard ahead of the rest.

George Washington had faced a dilemma only a few days before. The enlistments of most of his men would expire on December 31st. He knew the whole war might be lost if the army were to dissolve now. He offered the soldiers $10 to stay on for another month and the vast majority decided to stay. Their money arrived from Congress on January 1st.

Washington’s men crossed back over the Delaware on the 29th and took up positions south of Trenton on Assunpink Creek. He also sent another line under the command of French Brigadier-General Matthias Alexis Roche de Fermoy north to delay the British advance from Trenton. When the advance line met the oncoming British, they took cover behind trees and in ravines, greatly delaying Cornwallis for much of the day. General Fermoy, who had become drunk, went back to Trenton and Colonel Edward Hand took over the line.

The advance line was finally driven back to Assunpink Creek by twilight and the full British army began an attack on the bridge. Washington’s men held back three assaults from the British, felling hundreds of British soldiers in the process, causing Cornwallis to hold a council to decide what to do. Cornwallis had already lost 365 men to the Battle of Assunpink Creek by this point, while the Americans lost only 100. Some of his officers wanted to attack immediately, while others wanted to wait until morning. Cornwallis ultimately decided to wait until morning, believing the Continentals were already defeated, worn out and had nowhere to go.

Washington took advantage of the break. In the middle of the night, he withdrew most of his troops in silence and sent them north to Princeton, leaving 500 soldiers at Assunpink Creek to keep fires burning to make it appear that the army was still there. When Cornwallis arose in the morning, to his horror, Washington’s entire army was gone. They had marched to Princeton and taken over the 1,200 man garrison there, the third American victory in 9 days, forcing the British to withdraw from most of New Jersey and back to New Brunswick and New York City for the winter.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com 

Jack Manning

Secretary General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

“If the Freedom of Speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
George Washington

Betsy Ross is born

On this day in history, January 1, 1752, Betsy Ross is born in Philadelphia. Betsy Ross was born Betsy Griscom, the 8th of 17 children born to Samuel Griscom, a prominent Philadelphia carpenter. The Griscom family were Quakers and Betsy’s great-grandfather was a personal friend of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania’s "Holy Experiment."

As a teenager, Betsy’s father had her apprenticed to an upholsterer and this is where she met her first husband, John Ross. John was the son of an assistant rector at the Episcopalian Christ Church. The two eloped and Betsy was ex-communicated from the Quaker church for marrying outside the faith. She and John then attended Christ Church and started their own business making such things as furniture coverings, clothing, curtains, bedspreads, etc.

Once the war started, John joined the Philadelphia militia and in mid-January 1776, he was severely injured in an accidental explosion while guarding ammunition. Betsy nursed John, but he died from his wounds. The following year, Betsy married again, this time to Captain Joseph Ashburn. Their home was occupied by British soldiers that winter during the British invasion of Philadelphia and Betsy was called the "Little Rebel" by the occupying soldiers for her patriotic views. Joseph was captured on a mission to the West Indies in 1780 and died in the Old Mill Prison at Plymouth, England in March, 1782, Betsy’s second husband to be lost to the war. An old suitor of Betsy’s named John Claypoole happened to be at the Old Mill when Joseph died. John brought back word to Betsy that her second husband had died and the two started up a new romance. They married in 1783 and were married for 34 years.

According to legend, George Washington came to Betsy’s upholstery shop in May of 1776 with Robert Morris and George Ross, two other members of Congress. Ross was Betsy’s first husband’s uncle. It is believed General Washington and Betsy were personal friends since their pews were right next to one another at Christ Church. Betsy’s first husband, who had just passed away, had two uncles that signed the Declaration of Independence, George Ross and George Read. These personal connections may have had something to do with her being asked to make the flag.

Washington allegedly pulled out a drawing with thirteen stars and stripes and 13 stars in a circle from his pocket and asked Betsy if she could make a flag using this design. Betsy said she believed she could, but suggested one alteration to the design. Washington had used six-pointed stars in his design. Betsy showed them how she could make a five-pointed star by folding a piece of cloth and by using only one snip of the scissors. Washington and the others were impressed and gave her the task.

Some historians have doubted the authenticity of the flag story since it was not told until the 1860s by Betsy’s grandson, William Canby. There are other contenders for the prize of being the person who made the first American flag, such as Declaration of Independence signer Francis Hopkinson.

Betsy would make flags for the United States government for the next 50 years. Her sacrifice was great, having lost two husbands to the war. Her third husband was also injured at the Battle of Germantown and spent time in a British prison. You can visit the Betsy Ross house today in Philadelphia. This is the very house where Betsy had her shop when she was visited by Washington and asked to make the flag.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com 

Jack Manning

Secretary General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

"Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice?"
George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796