Washington Wins Princeton: Morale Boosts Revolution

Washington''s army was barefoot, starving, and running out of time. Enlistments expired at midnight on December 31, 1776, and most soldiers planned to walk home. Ten days after his desperate crossing of the Delaware and the surprise victory at Trenton, Washington needed another miracle. He got one at Princeton on January 3, 1777. The plan was audacious. British General Cornwallis had marched south from New Brunswick with 8,000 troops to pin Washington against the Delaware River. On the night of January 2, Washington ordered his men to keep the campfires burning while the army slipped away in darkness, marching east on back roads through frozen farmland toward Princeton. By dawn, they were behind the British lines. The attack caught two British regiments completely off guard. General Hugh Mercer led the initial charge but was surrounded by redcoats who bayoneted him repeatedly, mistaking him for Washington due to his mounted position and commanding presence. Mercer died nine days later from his wounds. When the American line wavered, Washington himself rode to the front, within thirty yards of British muskets, rallying his troops. An aide covered his eyes, certain the general would be shot from his horse. The British broke and ran. The twin victories at Trenton and Princeton transformed the war. Morale among the Continental forces surged. More critically, the campaign convinced France that the Americans could actually fight and win against professional European soldiers. French recognition, money, and warships followed within a year. Without the alliance that Princeton helped secure, the Revolution would almost certainly have collapsed. Washington saved the country twice in ten days, both times by crossing a frozen river and attacking an enemy that assumed he was beaten.