With Peale to Princeton:

Events leading up to the battles of the Assunpink and Princeton, 2 and 3 January 1777
Or
Just How Did We Get Into This Mess?
(Compiled by John U. Rees)

Fighting in the Snow (Nathan Joel Putterman)

For Gen. George Washingtons forces investing British-held Boston, the year 1776 began with
some hope of forcing the occupying troops from the city. On the first of the year a November
1775 Congressional resolution took effect, making the army surrounding Boston
Continental in every respect.
10 January: Thomas Paines pamphlet Common Sense , promoting American
independence, is published in Philadelphia.
24 January: Col. Henry Knox, sent by Washington to Fort Ticonderoga to retrieve the cannon
at that post, returns to Cambridge, Massachusetts with fifty-five guns.
2 March: American forces begin a heavy bombardment of Boston.
4-5 March: Under cover of darkness General Washington sends troops to Dorchester
Heights, overseeing Boston. His men excavate and erect substantial fortifications overnight.
The Fort Ticonderoga cannon were emplaced there, forcing British commander Maj. Gen. Sir
William Howe to attack or leave the city.
17 March: British forces, with 1,000 Loyalists, evacuate Boston and sail for Halifax, Nova
Scotia.
13 April: General Washington arrives in New York city, the bulk of troops who took part in
the Boston siege having already marched and taken post on Manhattan, Long, and Staten
Islands, and the surrounding area.
8-9 May: Two British warships are attacked by thirteen Pennsylvania State Navy galleys in
the Delaware River, near Wilmington. The British vessels are driven downriver, with losses
on both sides.
15 May: The Virginia delegates to the Continental Congress (among them Richard Henry Lee)
receive instructions from their state Convention to propose independence.
7 June: Richard Henry Lee submits a resolution to Congress declaring the independence of
the Thirteen United Colonies from Britain.
11 June: Congress appoints a committee of five delegates to draft a declaration of
independence.
20 June: Work begins on a fortification on the heights in upper Manhattan, eventually
named Fort Washington.
25 June: General Howe with the vanguard of his army arrives off Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
2 July: 9,300 British and German troops land unopposed and occupy Staten Island, New York.
By 12 August Howes forces on the island numbered almost 32,000.

2 July: The Continental Congress approves Richard Henry Lees resolution for independence.
4 July: Congress approves a formal Declaration of Independence, as written by the
Committee of Five (John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston,
and Roger Sherman).
Early to mid-July: On the west side of the North (Hudson) River, above the Palisades, directly
opposite Fort Washington, construction commences on Fort Constitution. Following Maj.
Gen. Charles Lees successful defense of Charleston, South Carolina against British forces in
late June 1778, the fort was renamed Fort Lee.
22 August: 15,000 British and German troops land on Long Island, New York. Washington
and Howe augmented their respective forces on the island during the ensuing week.
27 August: The Battle of Long Island is fought between approximately 10,000 Continentals
and Whig militia, and 22,000 British and German troops. Badly defeated, General
Washingtons forces withdrew behind fortifications built on Brooklyn Heights. American
losses were approximately 1,400 (including 1,100 captured), Crown forces lost 375.
29-30 August: After reinforcing the works on Brooklyn Heights following the 27 August
battle in expectation of a British assault, on this night Gen. George Washington withdraws
his troops without loss across the East River to Manhattan.
9 September: The Continental Congress resolves that henceforth all commissions and other
instruments will be issued in the name of the United States, instead of the United Colonies.
15 September: British forces cross the East River and land at Kips Bay, putting to flight
without opposition the Whig troops posted there. General Washington quickly withdrew the
Continental and militia occupying New York City up Manhattan Island before General Howes
men blocked their way. This operation led to the British occupation of the city, which lasted
until 25 November 1783.
16 September: The Battle of Harlem Heights occurs when General Washington, having
moved his army to upper Manhattan Island, sends troops to reconnoiter the forward British
positions. Each side feeds in reinforcements and the affair ends with the Continentals forcing
their opponents to withdraw. This small action has been touted by some as Washingtons
first victory of the war.
18 October: After failing in a flanking movement across Long Island Sound at Throgs Neck
on the 12th of this month, this day General Howe passes the Sound at Pells Point, further
north. The Crown forces having gained a firm footing on the mainland, General Washington
moves his army north and takes position at White Plains.
28 October: British and German troops attack Continental Army lines on the heights at
White Plains. General Washington moves north after this action, having severely bloodied
Gen. William Howes army.
9-10 November: General Washingtons main army crosses to the west side of the North
River, and moves into northeastern New Jersey.

16 November: Having moved south, General Howe sent 8,000 British and German troops to
assault Fort Washington. In a stunning defeat, the fort was surrendered with the loss 2,800
Continentals and militia captured and approximately 350 killed.

20 November: On this day Howes forces landed below Fort Lee on the west side of the North
River and ascend the Palisades by a little-known route. General Washingtons army was
forced to abandon the fort and a large quantity of supplies, and began a southerly retreat
across New Jersey with about 4,000 troops.

Landing of the British forces in the Jerseys, by Thomas_Davies

8 December: The last elements of Washingtons army cross from Trenton to Pennsylvania
side of the Delaware River, as General Howes advance troops enter the town.
13 December: Maj. Gen. Charles Lee, commander of the largest American army at 7,540 men,
is ignominiously captured at Basking Ridge, New Jersey. The troops he commanded soon
marched south and joined Washington on and after 20 December.
25-26 December: In an operation originally calling a combined attack by three separate
forces (two of those could not cross the river), Gen. George Washington attacked German
occupied Trenton, New Jersey with 2,400 troops. In an astonishing victory he captured the
town and 900 Hessians, having killed and wounded over 100, with a loss on the American
side of 4 killed and 4 wounded.

Trenton, New Jersey, showing troop positions during the 26 December 1776
American attack. Note the barracks at the lower left-hand corner of the town.
Andreas Wiederholt (b. 1752?) - Library of Congress, Rochambeau Map
Collection: Call number G3814.T7S3 1776 .W5 Vault : Roch 18 This map is
available from the United States Library of Congress's Geography & Map
Division under the digital ID g3814t.ar126700.
27 December: The Continental Congress, having left Philadelphia for Baltimore, Maryland,
grants General Washington extraordinary, almost dictatorial, powers for six months.
29-31 December: Washington returns to the New Jersey side of the Delaware River, and
reoccupies Trenton.
2 January 1777: With the advance of a field army under Lt. Gen. Charles Earl Cornwallis,
General Washington posts his outnumbered troops behind the Assunpink Creek, south of
Trenton. Detached elements of Continentals and militia delay the British advance, and when
they eventually reach the creek, Cornwalliss attempts to cross the creek are repulsed.

3 January: In the early hours of this day, about 12:30 AM, Washingtons army sets off, first
south, then northeast on a back by-way towards Princeton. A few militia were left to tend
large fires started the night before, and the baggage train was sent south to Burlington. At
about 7:30 AM contact was made with elements of the 17th Regiment marching towards
Trenton. The 17th turned back to confront Continental forces. After hard fighting, the 17th
was overthrown and retreated. Washington then moved into Princeton and captured a large
portion of the 40th Regiment taking shelter in Nassau Hall. In a little under two hours a
second, small but crucial victory had been won. Before noon the commander-in-chief led his
army north, towards Morristown, finding shelter for the night in and around Somerset
Courthouse.

Battle of Princeton, by Don Troiani

Following page: John Cadwaladers map of Princeton, 31 December 1776

Private, 2d Battalion, Philadelphia Associators

Brig. Gen. John Cadwaladers Brigade