To all appearance a general action must be fought the next day, and this with fearful odds, as the British were superior in numbers, and immeasurably so in the discipline and experience of their men; for more than half of the American army consisted of militia, who had never seen a battle, and had been but a few days in the service. At the beginning of the evening General Washington assembled his officers in council, and a bold resolution was adopted. From the number of Lord Cornwallis's troops it was rightly conjectured, that he could not have left many in the rear; and it was decided to move by a concealed march on the east side of the Assanpink to Princeton. If no obstacles were met with on the way, it was possible that the army might push onward to Brunswic, surprise the enemy there, and capture the stores, before Lord Cornwallis could return. To secure his baggage and prevent it from encumbering the army, General Washington ordered it to be silently removed to Burlington, and at twelve o'clock at night commenced his march. the suspicion of the enemy might not be awakened, the fires were kept burning, and the guards were ordered to remain at the bridge and the fords, till the approach of daylight, when they were to follow. Men were employed during the night digging an intrenchment so near the enemy's sentries, that they could be heard at their work.

That

Pursuing a circuitous route, General Washington reached Princeton a little after sunrise. Three British regiments were found there, being the seventeenth, fortieth, and fifty-fifth, commanded by Colonel Mawhood, two of which were designed to reinforce Lord Cornwallis that morning at Trenton. These two were already on their march. The American vanguard first engaged the seventeenth, and a short but very severe

conflict ensued. The regiment was thrown into disorder, and the fragments dispersed. Some accounts say, that they broke through the American ranks; others that they fled. At any rate, after a brave resistance, they escaped from the field, and regained the road to Trenton. The rencounter was likewise sustained with spirit by the fifty-fifth regiment, which finally retreated towards Brunswic, as did also the fortieth, which took little part in the action. The British loss was more than one hundred killed, and about three hundred pris

oners.

But the victory was by no means a bloodless one to the Americans. General Mercer was mortally wounded; and Colonel Haslet, Colonel Potter, and other officers of subordinate rank, were killed. General Mercer was a Scotchman by birth, and in his youth had been in the battle of Culloden. He served in America

with distinction during the last French war, and afterwards settled in Virginia. He was a brave and worthy man, an intimate friend of the Commander-in-chief, much respected for his talents, military character, and private worth, and his death was deeply lamented. Colonel Haslet had distinguished himself for bravery and good conduct in the battles of Long Island and Chatterton's Hill, and in several hazardous enterprises. Throughout the action General Washington exposed his person in the hottest parts of the combat, giving orders and animating the troops. At the request of the prisoners, Captain Leslie, a British officer much beloved by them, and killed in the action, was buried with military honors in the American camp.

When daylight appeared, and it was discovered that the Americans were gone, Lord Cornwallis easily penetrated the plans of Washington, and his conjecture was confirmed by the firing heard in the direction of

Princeton. Alarmed for the safety of Brunswic, he immediately retreated, and his van had almost reached Princeton, when the rear of the American army left it. Washington pursued the two fugitive regiments as far as Kingston, where he turned short to the left, and arrived the same evening at Pluckemin, having twice crossed the Millstone River, and caused the bridge at Kingston to be taken up, in order to retard the march of the enemy. Considering the exhausted state of his men, who had not slept for thirty-six hours, and the near approach of Cornwallis with a superior army of fresh troops, he thought it prudent to abandon his design upon Brunswic, contenting himself with his success at Princeton, and with having drawn the enemy from all their posts on the Delaware.

At Pluckemin he remained no longer than to give his troops rest and refreshment, and then advanced to Morristown, where his winter-quarters were finally established. This was not in all respects so favorable a situation as he desired; but it was in a mountainous region, difficult of access to the enemy, and surrounded by a fertile country, affording abundant supplies. He did not sit down idle, however, nor trust to the barriers of nature for his protection. Unprovided as his men were with almost every thing necessary for a winter campaign, he sent out detachments to assail and harass General Howe's troops; and with such vigor and address were these expeditions conducted, that in a short time not a single British or Hessian regiment remained in the Jerseys, except at Brunswic and Amboy, between which places and New York was an open communication by water.

Such were the splendid results of General Washington's plans and operations from the time he determined to recross the Delaware. When his army was thought

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to be on the verge of annihilation, and the whole world regarded American liberty as struggling in the last stage of its existence, he commenced and pursued an offensive warfare against a hitherto victorious army, strong in numbers and confident in its strength, and, within the brief space of three weeks, dislodged it from every post it had taken along the Delaware River, relieved Philadelphia from danger, and recovered almost the whole province of New Jersey. The glory of these achievements was rendered doubly conspicuous by their immediate effects. The despondency, which had weighed heavily upon the minds of the people, was dispelled as by a charm, the martial spirit was revived, and a new animation infused into the public counsels.

The classical and eloquent Italian historian of the war, Charles Botta, after describing these transactions, adds; "Achievements so astonishing gained for the American commander a very great reputation, and were regarded with wonder by all nations, as well as by the Americans. Every one applauded the prudence, the firmness, and the daring of General Washington. All declared him the saviour of his country; all proclaimed him equal to the most renowned commanders of antiquity, and especially distinguished him by the name of the AMERICAN FABIUS. His name was in the mouths of all men, and celebrated by the pens of the most eminent writers. The greatest personages in Europe bestowed upon him praise and congratulation. Thus the American General wanted neither a noble cause to defend, nor an opportunity for acquiring glory, nor the genius to avail himself of it, nor a whole generation of men competent and well disposed to render him homage." *

* Storia della Guerra dell' Independenza degli Stati Uniti d' America, Tom. II. Lib. 7.

CHAPTER X.

General Washington's Proclamation. His Preparations for the next Campaign. Exchange of Prisoners.-Condition of the American Prisoners in New York.- Military Operations in New Jersey. - The Army crosses the Delaware and encamps near Germantown. Washington's first Interview with Lafayette. -Sir William Howe lands at the Head of Elk. Battle of the Brandywine. - New Powers conferred on Washington by Congress.- Battle of Germantown. - Skirmishes at Whitemarsh. - Sufferings of the Army.-Winter Encampment at Valley Forge.-Spurious Letters written and circulated in the Name of Washington.-Conway's Cabal. - Persons concerned in it.-Honorable and generous Conduct of Lafayette in Relation to this Affair.

HEAD-QUARTERS being at Morristown, the central or main division of the army was encamped for the winter near that place in huts temporarily constructed for the purpose. Cantonments were likewise established at various points from Princeton on the right, where General Putnam commanded, to the Highlands on the left, which post continued under the charge of General Heath. Skirmishes often happened between the American advanced troops and the enemy's foraging parties. For six months, however, no enterprise of magnitude was undertaken on either side.

Sir William Howe's proclamation, as we have seen, had produced considerable effect in the Jerseys. Not only the disaffected, but many well-disposed citizens, finding themselves in the power of the enemy, had sought protection for their families and their property by taking an oath of allegiance to the King. Their hopes had been fatally disappointed. With such license had the British and Hessian troops overrun the country, that they plundered, burnt, and destroyed whatever came in their way, and in some instances committed the greatest