XXIX. 2776, CHAP. purpofe than animating the adherents of congrefs, by fhewing that the redoubted Heffians, the veterans fo much dreaded in America, were not invincible. The prifoners were used for this purpose: they were conveyed to Philadelphia, and paraded through all the ftreets, ferving at once as evidence of the reality of victory, and an excitement to military ardour. The general expected that the fcene of his fuccefs would have been immediately re-occupied by the British forces; but finding this expec tation not accomplished, ventured again to crofs the Delaware, with the fame divifion of his army, not deterred by the quantity of ice already formed, nor by the fear of difficulty and fatigue. At Trenton he made a mufter of his force, and the perfuafions of officers, and an advance of ten dollars to each, could only prevail on about half of thofe whofe term of fervice was expired, to engage for fix weeks longer. rat Jan. 1777. Lord returns to zd Jan. MEANWHILE the re-appearance of WathingCornwallis ton on that fide of the Delaware, had alarmed the army. the British general; and lord Cornwallis, who had already reached New York, in his way to England, was ordered back to head the British troops in the Jerfeys: he fpeedily effected a junction with general Grant, and found Washington, who had retired from Trenton, pofted on fome high grounds; a cannonade was carried on till night, and lord Cornwallis expected to renew the attack in the morning; but the wary leader of the American troops, perceiving his opponent to be much fuperior in numbers, and hoping to furprize Princeton, where he rightly conjectured a fmall force only was left, quietly difpatched his baggage to Burlington * See Washington's Letters, vol. i. p. 363. foon XXIX. 1777. ton fur foon after dark, and renewing his fires at mid- CHAP. night, and leaving guards at the bridge in Trenton, marched off filently by a circuitous route. About fun-rife he reached Princeton, 3d Jan. where he found only three regiments and three Washing troops of light horfe, under the command of prifes colonel Mawhood, who had juft begun his Princeton, march to join lord Cornwallis. The colonel at first mistook the advanced guard of the enemy for Heffians, but foon recognizing his miftake, charged with great impetuofity: the van of the Americans was difordered; the feventeenth regiment, led by captain Scot, preffed forward with fixed bayonets, drove the enemy into a ravine, and finding themfelves unable effectually to contend against numbers fo much fuperior, cut their way through, and purfued their march to Maidenhead, a village fituated between Princeton and Trenton. The other two regiments, unable to make a fimilar progrefs, retreated to Brunswick with a lofs of nearly half their force; the Americans took poffeffion of Princeton, where they acquired fome blankets, fhoes, and a few other trifling articles, burned the hay, and deftroyed fome other effects: they captured alfo two brafs field pieces, but, for want of horfes, could not carry them away; the number of prifoners was near eight hundred, among whom were fourteen officers, all British. Ar day-light Cornwallis difcovered the retreat of the American army, and entertaining apprehenfions for the fafety of Brunswick, which was in a defencelefs fituation, haftened to its relief. Had the American general made this attempt, he would have deftroyed all the British ftores and magazines, and taken the military CHAP. military cheft, containing feventy thoufand XXIX, pounds; his original plan was to have puthed 1777. on to Brunfwick, but he did not know the And re kileys. military cheft was there, and the harraffed ftate of his forces, (many of whom had not flept for two nights and a day,) and the danger of lofing the advantage already gained, by aiming at too much, induced him, by the advice of his officers, to relinquish the attempt. This change of determination may be principally imputed to the gallant refiftance made by colonel Mawhood, which occafioned fuch delay, that before the purfuit was finished, the rear of the English was in fight; Wathington, however, having had the precaution to break down the bridge over Stony brook, obtained fufficient time to retreat unmolefted to Pluckemin." - LORD CORNWALLIS with great difficulty covers the purfued the track of Washington, and was obliged to halt at Brunfwick to refreth, and repofe his army. Wathington, perceiving that the British had totally evacuated Trenton and Princeton, took the opportunity, while lord Cornwallis remained at Brunfwick, to overrun all Eaft and Weft Jerfey, fpreading his army over the Rariton, and penetrating into Eflex county, where he made himself master of the coaft oppofite to Staten Ifland, by feizing Newark, Elizabeth Town, and Woodbridge. His head quarters he fixed at Morristown, fituated amongft hills, extremely difficult of accefs. A fine country was in his rear, whence he could draw fupplies, and through which he could at any time fecure an eafy paffage over the Delaware. Thefe judicious movements not only faved Philadelphia and Penfylvania, but reco y Principally from Washington's Letters, vol. ii. p. 3. XXIX.. 1777. vered great part of the Jerfeys, in defiance of an CHAP. army infinitely fuperior in difcipline, refources, and numbers. Of all their recent extenfive poffeffions in the Jerfeys, the English now retained only the pofts of Brunfwick and Amboy; the first fituated on the banks of the Rariton; the fecond on a point of land at its mouth. the cam THUS the campaign of 1776 concluded, Obfervaand the review affords few motives of fatis- tions on faction: the progrefs of the British arms was paign. arrefted, and the refult of previous fucceffes ravished from their grafp by an enemy in every refpect inferior. The tardy commencement of the campaign gave time for congrefs to flue their declaration of independency, which fruftrated all attempts at conciliation; but had general Howe, who poffeffed abundant means, begun his operations earlier, and with vigour, the violent party would not have carried their hardly-contefted point, nor have obtained the fanction of the people in rejecting the proffered terms of peace. The languid purfuit of the Americans across the Jerfeys has been perhaps more blamed than it deferves; it appears from Washington's letters, that the progrefs of the British troops was impeded at the clofe of November by bad weather, and no delay took place afterwards which could be avoided: the Americans poffeffed the advantage of moving a light unincumbered body of troops over a territory with which they were perfectly acquainted. The generals have been frequently accufed of neglecting opportunities to gain the rear of the American army, and thus completely overwhelm them; but fuch allegations are always to be received with caution; a movement of the kind appears perfectly cafy to XXIX. CHAP. to men who merely reafon, and is eafily demonftrable on paper, but, if attempted in the field, it might involve a victorious army in inevitable ruin, or at best be frustrated by the moft fimple dictates of the momentary exigency. But no adequate vindication appears for the ftrange manner in which the troops were pofted in the Jerfeys: general Howe adopted the meafure in contradiction to his better judgment, but his error is in every point of view inexcufable. Equally culpable was the thameful neglect of caution and discipline which facilitated the furprize at Trenton, and for which colonel Rhalle paid with his life. But Rhalle alone was not blameable; general Grant, his fuperior in command, omitted the important duty of vifiting his pofts, giving his orders, and perfonally infpecting their execution. After the event at Trenton, the British army feems to have been paralyfed by alarm, incapable of refolute measures for affailing a foe who still held them in terror, or for prudent defence of a province, which no force poffeffed by the Americans could have wrefted from them. THE pacificatory powers were not always ufed with judgment: the proclamations and overtures for conciliation were wife and fufficiently dignified; but when the moft confiderable perfons in New York, Queen's County, Long Ifland, and feveral towns, ports, and inferior places, prefented petitions to the commiffioners, profeffing an acknowledgment of the fupremacy of the king, and the con z He was remonftrated with on the subject, and a few days before Washington's attack wrote to a general officer in these terms: "I have been prevailed upon to run a chain across Jerfey; the "links are too far afunder," From private information. |