Washington, on leaving Princeton, moved his force
with the greatest possible speed to Kingston, crossing
the Millstone River and destroying the bridge behind
him. Having proceeded thus far he was not a little
perplexed in deciding on his subsequent movements.
The heavy column of Cornwallis was following so
HUNTERDON AND SOMERSET COUNTIES IN THE REVOLUTION.
57
closely in hie rear thai it waa only al great peril that
I,,. cou id pursue his original plan* of marching to
Brunswick. The destruction of the British
ines and stores at that place would have been a
lorious ending of the winti c campaign, and
would, beyond doubt, have driven the last vestige of
British military power out of Nev; Jersey; but, on
the other hand, a collision with the superior forces
of Cornwallis— which it seemed hardlj possible to
Bvoid ifthemarch to New Brunswick was continm d
could hardly result otherwise than in defeat, and not
improbably in the rout and destruction of the Ann r-
ican army. At this juncture the commander-in-chief
adopted his usual course,— called a council of war,
which was held by himself and his generals in the
saddle, and, although " some gentlemen advised that
he should file offtothe southward,"1 the council re-
sulted in the decision to abandon the original plan,
strike off from the New Brunswick road, and march
the army by way of the Millstone ralley, and thence
across the Raritan, to the hilly country in the north-
west.
The plan adopted by the council of war was at once
ptu into execution. The army filed off from the main
highway,} and, turning sharply to the left, marched
over a narrow and unfrequented road to Rocky Hill,
wner e u reerosst d the Mill-tour River and movedon,
as rapidly as was practicable in the exhausted i di-
,i,„, ofthe men, to Millstone. "The guides were di-
I to take the road leading to the northward
through Hillsborough, but hefore thej reached Som-
erset Court-house many of the infantry, worn out
with fatigue, tasting, and want of rest, laj down and
fell asleep by theway."f That night (Januarj 3d)
«"My original plan," said w aablogton in hla lottor to Congrcsa duted
1-luckamln, January 6th, "wa* to have pu
the haraeaed state ol oui troop* (many of them having bad no roat for
two nlgtati and a da] i, and the danger of losing the advanl i
â– ih, Induced me, by the adi f myoffl-
cith, to relinquish the attempt ; but, In mj Judgment, riz 01 eight bun-
drotl fro-Ii troop*, on ;. I I march, would have deeiroyi
ind magaalnea, taken (« we have si I< in
mtalnlng seventy thouaand pound*, and put an end t war.
I uomy.ftom the beet Intelligence [have boenabletogi
much alarmed at tho apprehend I tbta that the] marohi
,,,,-iv to Branawlowlth b
D0 Millstone on the different routee to Bruniwlc), and got
there before day."
+ blanhaU.
, T1 „. , „ , , Ca«tollux,who viallod this region In 1781,
bUowiug nUonol Hio locality, and ol V
Mill I Jtei i'ii.. eton: "It bore Kl
Washington halted aftor the affair al Mr I
from midnight uuUI two o'clock In Bio al
Bghtlni ,1 loot the troo]
,.,„„. howi i r.thal I rd Oornwallla was followlni
headroad,hul b U with taking np aomo plank* of Ih*
tinned hi* march quleU; I it I Blddlohi »k." Ibl»a t,how*vor,
I* qoI itrlotij i irrc I
i, waaonthia march, or po**lhly on a similar i
(h, \.n. | I
. ,i, clothed, unahod, and In wanti I I
i,,i.n, time . and outUng the food Into convenient portion*, distributed
6
the headquarters of the commander-in-chief , were
made at the Van Doren house, half a mile south of
the old Millstone church, and tin- weary soldi
the arm) bivouacked in the neighboring woods and
fields.
[rj the . 1m r L 1 1. — .if that wintt c night a -mall body
of Washington's militia, under coi and of that noted
i lapt. John Stryker, of Millstone, pei E
quite a brilliant exploit in capturing a pari of < k>m-
wallis' baggage-train on the New Brunswick road.
Tin- British general, terrified al the prospeel of losing
hi- Btorea at New Brunswick, thinking thai Washing-
ton was still in his front and moving mi thai post,
had pressed on from Kingston in such headlong haste
as in break down a number of his wagons; and these,
being disabled, were turned out of the road and left,
with a few others, in charge of a quartermaster and
guarded by a detachment of soldiers. The American
militiamen referred to, having learned of the situation
of these wagons, resolved to capture- them, and boldly
proceeded to put their plan into execution, though
their party numbered not more than twenty men,
while the British detachment guarding the dis
train was of more than ten times their own strength.
Cautiously approaching the spot in the thick dark-
ness, they ranged themselves among the trees in a
semi-circle, partially surrounding the bivouac of the
British wagon-guard, and at a preconcerted signal
set up a loud shout and poured in a volley upon the
astonished soldiers, who, believing themselves to be
eiH-ireled lit, an attacking force superior in numbers
to their own. tied in a panic towards New Brunswick,
escaping with a tew wagons which happen,' d to have
(heir teams attached, but leaving the greater number
in the hands of the A ineriean-. win. P, ere jubilant at
the success of their project, and still more so when it
was found that the Wagons were principally laden
with the article which their army especially needed, —
woolen clothing. The captors with their prize lime, d
up as rapidly as possible on through Somerset < 'ounty,
crossed the Mill-tone at Somerset Court-house, and
overtook the main body a day or two later.
[n the morning of the lib of January, Washii
with his army and prisoners, left their encampment
of the previous night, and, continuing the march
northward, crossed the Raritan River al Van Vegh-
ten's Bridge. Passing up bj the site of the present
village of Somerville, he i ncamped the same evening
kamin. wlure a halt of two day- was made for
the reel and refreshment of the army. While at this
encampmenl the commander-in-chief wrote to the
president of the Continental Congress narrating the
evi in- of the campaign which had then just closed.
This letter, as being an official, and of course an au-
i ,i ,,. tii. \ would jo, to tie- wear] and hungrj â– tti-â„¢ as they
hurried on theli i* the army peewit,
( I , . . v en W in the Bold directly ^.utli of tbo present
patronage, Washington himself sleeping In the north
'
ns
HUNTERDON AND SOMERSET COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.
thentic, account of the affair at Assanpink and the
battle of Princeton, and a statement of the losses and
captures at the latter place, is given below, — viz. :
" Plxtckamin, January 5, 1777.
" Sir, I have the honor to inform you that since the date of my last
from Trenton I have removed with the army under my command to this
place. The difficulty of crossing the Delaware, on account of the ice,
made our passage over it tedious, and gave the enemy an opportunity of
drawing in their several cantonments and assembling their whole force
at Princeton. Their large picquets advanced towards Trenton, their
great preparations, and some intelligence I had received, added to their
knowledge that the 1st of January brought on a dissolution of the best
part of our army, gave me the strongest reasons to couclude that an at-
tack upon us was meditating.
" Our situation was most critical, and our force small. To remove im-
mediately was again destroying every dawn of hope which had begun to
revive in the breasts of the Jersey militia, and to bring those troops
which had first crossed the Delaware, and were lying at Crosswix's under
Gen. Cadwallader, and those under Gen. Mifflin at Bordentown (amount-
ing in the whole to about three thousand six hundred), to Trenton, was
to bring them to an exposed place. One or the other, however, was un-
avoidable ; the latter was preferred, and they were ordered to join us at
Trenton, which they did, by a night-march, on the 1st instant. [Here fol-
lows an account of the so-called "battle of Assanpink," before quoted.]
" Havi ug by this time [that is, on the evening of January 2d, after the
British had made the attempt to cross the bridge and ford of the Assan-
pink] discovered that the enemy was greatly superior in number, and
that their design was to surround us, I ordered all our baggage to be
eilently removed to Burlington soon after dark ; and at twelve o'clock,
after renewing our fires and leaving guards at the bridge in Trenton and
other passes on the same stream above, marched by a round-about road
to Princeton, where I knew they could not have much force left, and
might have stores. One thing I was certain of,— that it would avoid the
appearance of a retreat (which it was, of course, or to run the hazard of
the whole army being cut off) ; whilst we might, by a fortunate stroke,
withdraw Gen. Howe from Trenton and give some reputation to our
arms. Happily wo succeeded. We found Princeton about sunrise with
only three regiments and three troops of light-horse in it, two of which
were on their march to Trenton. These three regiments, especially the
two first, made a gallant resistance, and in killed, wounded, and prisoners
must have lost five hundred men ; upwards of one hundred of them were
left dead on the field; and with what I have with me, and what were
taken in pursuit and carried across the Delaware, there are near three
hundred prisoners,* fourteen of whom are officers, all British.
" This piece of good fortune is counterbalanced by tlio loss of the brave
and worthy General Mercer, Cols. Hazlet and Potter, Capt. Neal of the
artillery, Capt. Fleming, who commanded the First Virginia Regiment,
and four or five other valuable officers, who, with about twenty-five or
thirty privates, were slain on the field. Our whole loss cannot be ascer-
tained, as many who arc in pursuit of the enemy ( who were chased three
or four miles) are not yet come in.
"Tho rear of the enemy's army, lying at Maidenhead, not more than
five or six miles from Princeton, was up with us before our pursuit was
over ; but, as I had the precaution to destroy the bridge over Stony Brook
(about half a mile from the field of action), they wore so long retarded
there as to give us time to move off in good order for this place. We
took two brass field-pieces, but for want of horses could not bring them
away. Wo also took some blankets, shoes, and a fow other trifling
articles, burned the hay, and destroyed such other tilings as tho short-
ness of tho time would admit of. [Hero follows a paragraph which has
before been given,— viz., an explanation that his original plan had been
to proceed to and attack tho post of Now Brunswick for tho puiposo of
destroying the British stores doposited there.]
" From Hie best information I havo received, Gen. Howe has left no
men either at Trenton or Princeton. The truth of this I am endeavor-
ing to ascertain, that r may rogulato my movements accordingly. Tho
militia are taking spirits, and, ] am told.are coming in fast from this
State; but I four those from Philadelphia will scarcely submit to tho
hardships of a winter campaign much longer, especially as they very
unluckily sent their blankets with their baggage to Burlington. I must
* The iiujuI.it. ,1 prisoners taken by the Americans in the conflicts of
the 3d -.I January in and ai t. Princoton was two hundred and thirty,
'llie entire loss of the Americans on that day did not exceed thirty, killed
and wounded.
do them the justice, however, to add that they have undergone more
fatigue and hardship than I expected militia, especially citizens, would
have done in this inclement season. I am just moving towards Morris-
town, where I shall endeavor to put them under the best cover I can ;
hitherto we have been without any, and many of our poor soldiers bare-
foot, and ill-clad in other respects.
" I have the honor to be, etc.,
" G. W."
Gen. Hugh Mercer, whose death is mentioned in
the letter of Washington, was the commanding officer
of the American detachment which first joined battle
with the British troops under Mawhood on the morn-
ing of the 3d of January near Princeton, and it was
in that first short but disastrous conflict that he re-
ceived his mortal wounds. In the volley which the
British Seventeenth Regiment poured into the Amer-
ican line when it held the position along the rail-fence
on the height west of Clarke's house on that memor-
able morning, a ball, striking Mercer's horse in the
fore leg, disabled him and compelled the general to dis-
mount; and in the hurried retreat which immediately
followed through the orchard, while he was in the very
midst of the fight, trying to rally his flying troops, he
was felled to the earth by a blow from a British musket.
" The British soldiers were not at first aware of the
general's rank. So soon as they discovered he was a
general officer they shouted that they had got the
rebel general, and cried, ' Call for quarter, you d— d
rebel I' Mercer to the most undaunted courage united
a quick and ardent temperament ; he replied with in-
dignation to his enemies, while their bayonets were at
his bosom, that he deserved not the name of rebel,
and, determining to die, as he had lived, a true and
honored soldier of liberty, lunged with his sword at
the nearest man. They then bayoneted him and left
him for dead."+ It was afterwards ascertained that
he had received sixteen bayonet wounds,:]: and he was
also terribly beaten on the head with the butt of a
musket by a British soldier while he lay wounded
and helpless on the ground. He was taken to Clarke's
house, and there most tenderly cared for and nursed
by the ladies of the household ; but after lingering
in agony for nine days he expired on the 12th of
January.
Gen. Washington while on the field of Princeton
had learned with great grief of the fall of Mercer,
who was reported killed, and it was not until he had
made his headquarters for the night at Somerset Court-
house that the commander-in-chief received with cor-
responding joy and thankfulness the intelligence that
his old friend and companion-in-arms,,? although
f Recollections of the Life and Character of Washington, by G. W. P.
Oustis.
I " Tho late Dr. Moses Scott, of New Brunswick, with other surgeons,
was willi Gen. Mercer under tho tree after tho battle, and said that ho
had received sixteen wounds by the bayonet, though those wore not
thought by the general himself (who was a physician) to be nocessarily
mortal, but, that while lying on tho ground a British soldier had struck
liiiu on tho head with his musket; 'and that,' said he, ' was a dishonor-
able act, and it will provo my death.' " — JZaum's History of Trenton.
g Mercer and Washington had been comrades and warm personal
friends in tho campaigns against the French in 1705. '
HUNTERDON AND SOMERSET COUNTIES IX THE REVOLUTION. 59
severely wounded, was aol dead, and mighl recover.
At this he at once dispatched his nephew, Maj. I reorgi
Lewis, with a Bag of truce and a letter to Lord i lorn-
wallis, requesting thai every possible attention mighl
be shown to the wounded general, and thai Maj. Lew is
mighl be permitted to remain to attend on and nurse
him. "To both these requests," says Custis, "His
Lordship yielded a willing assent, and ordered bis
staff surgeon to attend upon Gen. Mercer. Upon an
examination of his wounds the British surgeon ob-
served that, although thej were manj and severe, he
was disposed to believe they would not prove danger-
ous. .Mercer, bred to the profeSSl if an army sur-
geon in I uropi B«d tc young Lewis I use my right
arm, George, and this gentleman will then discover
the Bmalleal of my wounds, but which will prove the
most fatal. Yes, -ir. thai i- the fellow thai will soon
do in \ business.' . . . During the period that he
languished on the eoueh of -tillering ho exonerated
bis t oemiea from the foul accusation which they not
only bore in 1777, but for half a century since, — viz.,
of their having bayoneted a general officer alter he
had surrendered his -word and become a prisoner ol
war, declaring that he only relinquished his sword
when his arm became powerless to wield it."
The kindness ami courtesy of Lord I lornwallis in so
readily ami fully granting l ten. Washington's request
in reference to the wounded general Mercer was as
fully and generously repaid by the consideration and
kind attention bestowed, bj order of the \ ican
commander, on 01 f his British prisoners, I i]
William Leslie, of the Seventeenth Regiment, — who
was mortally wounded and captured by the patriot
forces at Princeton. An account of the death of this
bravt young officer is thus given bj Custis:
"it was while the c in lit 1. 1 -in- in' i rained up iii* horse upon ap-
proaching til'- «i"»t in ii plowed fleld where la} the gallant Ool Hexlet
in. hi iii\ wounded that he perceived some British soldiers supporting a
wounded officer, and upon Inquiring hi* name and rank v
'Copt l' die.' Dr. Benjamin Rush, who for I a pari of the genoral's
solto, earnestly asked, ' \ n f the Barl of LovonT* to which the aoldleri
replied iutho affirmative. Tlio doctor tlienoddi 1-m-i hh-i':
'] i rour Excellency to pormlt this v. lodofflcor to bo placed nndor
my care that l may return, in however small a dog , .' pai I
gallons I owe to his worth* many kindnesses
hta hands whllo I was a student at Edinburgh.' Tli
mediately grantod, but, alas 1 poor
ili.'il the sai Min ml:, and u .1- burled tho next da} at Pluckamin with
the honors "I war. Ells troops, as thoy lowered the remains t.. Un-
soldier's last rest, shed tears ovoi lovod c â–
mender."*
[fCapt. Leslie died in the evening of the day on
which he received his wound, a- is stated bj Custis,
his death must have occurred at or mar Somerset
Court-house,! where the general made his head-
quarters on the night of the 3d of January. But,
however this may have been, lie was buried with mil-
itary honor-, as stated, at I'luckainin, where his grave
may still be known by a plain monument erected to
his memory by his lather's friend, Dr. Rush.J Alter
his death Gen. Washington Bent his aide, Col. Fitz-
gerald, with a IbiL' of truce to the camp of < '"rnwallis.
I lc was received al the British headquarters « ith great
courtesy, and upon his relating the fact of < 'apt. Les-
lie'- death and the manner of his burial to the high
officers present, they exhibited great emotion, and one
of the generals, who had been compelled to withdraw-
to a window to hide his tears, returned by the colonel
his warme-t acknowledgments to the American com-
mander-in-chief for his kindness, and the honors paid
to the dead officer.
The cannonading on the l'ritieetiui battle-field had
been heard in nearly every part of the counties of
Hunterdon amis rsel to their northern bounda-
ries,? and the people wen- iii a state of the greatest
excitement and suspense as to what it portended.
During the latter part of the day those living along
the valley of the Millstone learned the facts by the
Phi Ibll â– â– of an ontrj In a diary kopl by Ool.Rodney
who » mended a battall i Delaware militia In w athlngtoi
Unit linn-:
•• Pi i ■R win, V .1 . .'.in. ">, 1777.
"Thegonora! continued bore this day al amy. He
Infantry !-• attend the i i aj ol OoL Capl !
i uurj bun with the t s .-i war. He a
who fell al Prln â– -. d Phoy readily obeyed in paying due
braver} . though In an onemy.
"Oapt Honry was now gone home, and I I md of the
in. i i of Infantry, but, as I had uol paid anj atteution to the
military lum luoated Oapt. Humphries I
it . . ."
I +O110 account "f Oapt Leelio's death says be was "carried i" Pluoka-
ntheporohof a small inn almost Immediately on i
there." There Is no root in t- doubl thai this account is correct; and if
then Gustls was mistaken In saying " hedied thesai venlng,"— that
in, il venlng ol the ilaj of the battlo. w hlle halting al Millstone in
the night after the battle the - ildlers having : uiai in
which Leslie waa conveyed bivouacked on a plei f woodland on, or very
near, the sito of the preeoni parsons mi i Church atthat
place.
following, having reference to tin- last restlngsplace "f tho
gallant Leslie, i- taken from Dr M oner's " History ol - imi rsel Cm my"
1876) : " Manj years since ney was sent from ScoUand i.>i>ulMoMono-
wall in front, unit more recently tin- Presbyterian church wa
.. ii,— extracts « ill ' f Interest:
•- Hnnj persons lathis country «ili recall »itit pleasure tin- vudl t..
thlscountrj lasl yew d1 thi Hon. n iland i eslle Holvflie, brother of the
i and Melville, win- some time ... partner in
1 iinii..t Mi. Mi i nil... 1., i \-s. .i..i.u\ ..I tli.. t ui'.. i States Treaaury.
Mr. Helvllle mentioned the iacl that om
IntiMiniry
war, and that tho (hmllj I ible to learn » In i
buried. There was tradition thai in- remains had i n deposltad in a
them littlo
.in.. I., tin- rpot. only the other da] an American friend of Mr. Melville,
.i hlstor) with qnite anothei object, stumbled
.â– ii the story of in- ancostoi '- death, and, Bndlng tint in- fell at tin- battle
of Princeton. Jan. 3, 1777, pursued the Inquiry, and dh
: n well preserved. . . ."'
"..- tan-, at 1'rii tmi was alao heard much farther
inn tin- remotest bounds of Hunterdon. The Journal ol the Mo-
ravian brethren :.t Bethlehem, Pa, contains entries â– howtnj
a. IbUOVi v. 1777, lln. tin : *
rounds through On- ii - -in.il. unt \m-1i- I tt.
tin. n| |ng "I l!'- '-
heard long Unued can i
beenal Princeton. 1 ' Tin- hospital referred tointheflrsl onto was tho
, spite] of tin- at .'
i -in, Warren, and
i. 1770, when ,: Brll
- nun aval J t.« remove a farther into tin- tnti
60
HUNTEKDON AND SOMEKSET COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.
passage of the patriot forces, and on the following-
day the glad news was spread farther and more
widely, till, on the morning of the 5th, there were
few of the inhabitants of either county who did not
know that Washington's army had recrossed the Bar-
itan and was in bivouac along the hillside at Plucka-
min. " Many a horseman during the night dashed
onward to this point to ascertain what it [the light of
the camp-fires at Pluckamin] portended, and when
the news was brought back that it was Washington
the joy was almost rapturous everywhere."*
The army arrived at Pluckamin on the evening of
the 4th of Januaryf in a condition of extreme wear-
iness and destitution. Not only were the men worn
out by loss of sleep and the excessive fatigue of the
rapid night-march from Trenton to Princeton, the
battle at that place, and the subsequent marching to
Kingston down the valley of the Millstone, and from
the Earitan to the mountains, but they were very
poorly supplied with food, many of them shoeless
and suffering from cold through lack of blankets and
sufficient clothing. The officers as well as the private
soldiers suffered from the same cause. Col. Eodney
said (in the diary before quoted from), in reference to
his condition during the halt at Pluckamin, " I had
nothing to cover me here but my great-coat, but luck-
ily got into a house near the mountains, where I fared
very comfortably while we stayed here." But there
were few even among the officers who fared as well as
he in this respect.
During the day of January 5th the main body of
the army lay quietly at Pluckamin resting and wait-
ing for detached bodies to rejoin it. J When the com-
mands had all reported, and the men had in some
degree recovered from the effects of the excessive
fatigue and exposure which they had been compelled
to endure in the marches and battles from the Assan-
pink to Pluckamin, the army moved out from its
temporary camps at the latter place and marched
leisurely to Morristown, where it went into winter
quarters in log huts. It is said that while there the
only command of which the men were in complete
uniform was Col. Eodney's battalion of Delaware
troops, which on that account was detailed for duty
as a body-guard to the commander-in-chief.J
* Rev. Dr. Messier.
| Losslng (vol. j. p. 30G) says that Washington, having dofoated the
British at Princeton, " pursued them as far as Kingston, whore ho had
the hridge taken up, and, turning short to the left, crossed the Millstone
River twice, and arrived at Pluckamin the same evening" And again (vol.
li. p. 2U9) lie says, " Ho destroyed the bridge at Kingston, which checked
the progress of Cornwallis for some time, and having crossed tlio Mill-