Battle of Princeton

1777-01-03

The Battle of Princeton was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, fought near Princeton, New Jersey, on January 3, 1777, and ending in a small victory for the Colonials. General Lord Cornwallis had left 1,400 British troops under Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood in Princeton; following his surprise attack at Trenton on December 26, 1776, George Washington marched on Princeton by a back road, pushed back the smaller British force, and withdrew before Cornwallis arrived with reinforcements. The battles of Trenton and Princeton boosted the morale of the patriot cause, leading many recruits to join the Continental Army in the spring.