secure at Trenton that they neglected almost every service necessary
for security. "When Rhalle," he says, "endeavored to collect his troops,
many of his men were absent on pillaging parties; and those who were on
the spot were more busily employed in securing their plunder in wagons
than in putting the town in a proper state of defense."--History of the
American War, i., 332.
[[[Retreat of the Enemy from Bordentown.--Their Line of Posts broken
up.--Good Effect of the Victory at Trenton.]]]
{231}When the British and Hessians at Bordentown heard of the disaster
at Trenton, most of them retreated to Princeton, while a few fled toward
South Amboy and Brunswick.
[Illustration: 0239]
* This is a copy, by permission, of a picture by Flagg, the possession
of Joseph C. Potts. Esq., of Trenton. On the left is seen Generals
Washington and Greene; in the center is Mrs. Potts, and near her stands
her husband. On the left Colonel Rall reclines upon a couch, and behind
him, supporting his pillow, is his servant. I was informed that the
portrait of Rall was painted from a description given by a person who
knew him, and who pronounced the likeness good, as he remembered him.
Generals Cadwallader and Mifflin crossed over into New Jersey, with a
considerable force, and the whole line of the enemy's cantonments along
the Delaware was broken up and driven into the interior. This bold
stroke, resulting in brilliant success, was the hinge upon which the
cause of the Americans seemed to turn. The English, who had regarded the
patriots with contempt, and believed their power to be utterly broken,
were overwhelmed with astonishment. The Tories and pliant Whigs, lately
so exultant and loyal, were greatly alarmed and silent; while the
friends of liberty, rising from the depths of despondency, stood erect
in the pride and strength of their principles, and confident of ultimate
complete success. The prestige of the Hessian name was broken, and
the terror which they inspired, as foes invincible, passed away. The
faltering militia flocked with eagerness to the standard of Washington;
and many of the soldiers of the campaign, who were about to leave the
army with disgust, joyfully enlisted. Cornwallis, who was on the eve of
departure for England, believing the rebellion virtually at an end, was
ordered back to New Jersey. General Grant, who was with the main army
at New Brunswick, advanced to Princeton, and the British forces in
the Jerseys were as much concentrated in the direction of Trenton as
circumstances would allow. While Washington was achieving the victory
at Trenton, the Continental Congress, sitting in Baltimore, were taking
measures to strengthen his hands. The extreme jealousy of a military
ascendency, which had hitherto restrained the majority in Congress from
giving the commander-in-chief such ample powers as necessity manifestly
demanded, now yielded Washington made a military Dictator. He Re-crosses
the Delaware to Occupy Trenton. Efficient Aid by Robert Morris.
{232}to expediency, and, by a resolution adopted on the 27th of
December, before they could [[1776]]possibly have heard of the affair
at Trenton, they constituted Washington, in all respects, a Dictator, in
the old Roman sense of the term. *
Inspirited by his success at Trenton, the panic of the enemy, and their
retirement from the Delaware; his army strengthened by new recruits
and the junction of the militia who had guarded the#lower posts on the
river, Washington determined to recross the Delaware and occupy Trenton,
and then make such offensive movements against the British as prudence
[[December, 1776]] should dictate. This he accomplished on the 30th. The
term of service of a large portion of the Eastern militia was now about
expiring. He prevailed on them to remain six weeks longer, by promising
to each soldier a bounty of ten dollars. The military chest was not in
a condition to permit him to fulfill his promise, and he wrote to Robert
Morris, the great patriot financier of the Revolution, for aid, pleading
the urgent necessity of the case. It was necessary to have hard money,
and the sum was large. The requirement seemed almost impossible to
meet. Government credit was low, but confidence in Robert Morris was
unbounded. In a desponding spirit, unusual for him, Morris left his
counting-room at a late hour, musing upon the probabilities of meeting
the demand. On his way he met a wealthy Quaker, and made known his
wants. "Robert, what security canst thou give?" asked the Quaker. "My
note, and my honor," promptly replied Morris. "Thou shalt have it," was
the answer; and the next morning Robert Morris wrote to Washington, "I
was up early this morning to dispatch a supply of fifty thousand dollars
to your excellency. It gives me great pleasure that you have engaged
the troops to continue; and if further occasional supplies of money are
necessary, you may depend on my exertions either in a public or private
capacity." *** Washington, on reaching Trenton, and advised [[January 2,
1777]] of the approach of Cornwallis with a strong force from Princeton,
encamped on the south side of the Assanpink (now in South Trenton), upon
the high ground extending eastward from a small bridge that spanned
the stream. He took this position in order to place the stream between
himself and the advancing enemy. The American force, one half of which
was composed of undisciplined militia, was only about five thousand
strong; while that of the enemy was equally large, composed almost
exclusively of British regulars,
* The following is the preamble and resolution: "This Congress, having
maturely considered the present crisis, and having perfect reliance
on the wisdom, vigor, and uprightness of General Washington, do hereby
"Resolve. That General Washington shall be, and he is hereby, vested
with full, ample, and complete powers to raise and collect together, in
the most speedy and effectual manner, from any or all of these United
States, sixteen battalions of infantry, in addition to those already
voted by Congress; to appoint officers for the said battalions of
infantry; to raise, officer, and equip three thousand light horse, three
regiments of artillery, and a corps of engineers, and to establish their
pay; to apply to any of the states for such aid of the militia as he
shall judge necessary; to form such magazines, and in such places, as he
shall think proper; to displace and appoint all officers under the
rank of brigadier general, and to fill up all vacancies in every other
department in the American army; to take, wherever he may be, whatever
he may want for the use of the army, if the inhabitants will not sell
it, allowing a reasonable price for the same; to arrest and confine
persons who refuse to take the Continental currency, or are otherwise
disaffected to the American cause, and return to the states of which
they are citizens their names, and the nature of their offenses,
together with the witnesses to prove them. "That the foregoing powers be
vested in General Washington for and during the term of six months from
the date hereof, unless sooner determined by Congress."--Journals of
Congress, ii., 475. This resolve was transmitted to Washington by
the committee of Congress who remained in Philadelphia when that body
adjourned to Baltimore. "Happy is it for this country," they wrote to
Washington, "that the general of their forces can safely be intrusted
with the most unlimited power, and neither personal security, liberty,
nor property be in the least degree endangered thereby."---MS. letter,
Dec. 31s£, 1776, quoted by Sparks, iv., 552. When Congress adjourned, on
the 12th, they gave Washington equal powers, but did not define them.
** Morris had sent Washington a small sum of money two days before, and
these transactions are doubtless those alluded to by the writer of
the life of Robert Morris, in the fifth volume of the Biography of the
Signers of the Declaration of Independence, who erroneously says, that
"it (the money) enabled General Washington to gain the signal victory
over the hireling Hessians at Trenton," &e. The sum sent on the 28th
of December was 410 Spanish dollars, two English crowns, half a French
erown, and ten and a half English shillings.
[[[Approach of Cornwallis toward Trenton.--Battles at Trenton Bridge and
the Ford.--The Americans in Peril.]]]
{233}thoroughly disciplined. Washington sent out strong parties, under
General Greene, to harass the enemy on their march, and it was almost
sunset before Cornwallis reached Trenton.
[Illustration: 9241]
The Americans retreated before him, and it was with difficulty that
they passed over the bridge to the main army. * The bridge, and the
ford above, where the rail-way now crosses, were strongly guarded by
artillery. Cornwallis drew up his army in solid column, and, marching
down Queen (now Greene) Street, attempted to force the bridge, but was
three times repulsed by the American cannon. A strong detachment also
attempted to cross the ford, and get in the rear of the patriots;
but they, too, were forced back by the vigorous action of cannon and
small-arms. The Americans kept up a heavy cannonade until dark, when
the British fell back in confusion, having lost many men. ** At each
repulse, the Americans raised a loud shout along their lines; and at
last, Cornwallis, believing their force to be much greater than it
really was, ceased hostilities, lighted his camp-fires, and awaited the
morning for further movements.
Washington and his army were now in a most critical situation. It was
evident that a general engagement must take place the next day, and,
in such a conflict, the result in favor of the enemy could hardly be
considered doubtful. The commander-in-chief, as usual, called a council
of war. The alternative first proposed was a retreat down the Delaware
and a passage across the river at Philadelphia, or a battle on the spot.
Both were considered extremely hazardous. Washington then proposed
a stealthy withdrawal from the Assanpink, and a circuitous march to
Princeton, to get in the enemy's rear, beat up his quarters at that
place, and, if circumstances should be favorable, to fall upon his
stores at New Brunswick. This proposition was approved; but the ground,
on account of a thaw, was too soft to permit an easy transit of their
forty pieces of cannon. This was a serious difficulty. While the
council was in session, the wind changed to the northwest, and became
so exceedingly cold that within two hours the ground was as hard as a
pavement: the great difficulty was overcome by a power mightier than
that of man. The favorable moment was speedily improved. Along the front
of his army Washington lighted numerous camp-fires, made of the
fences in the neighborhood. These were evidence to the enemy that
his antagonist was encamped for the night; and Cornwallis assured Sir
William Erskine, who urged him to make an attack that evening, that he
would certainly "catch the fox [meaning Washing-
* See a notice of Mr. Howland, of Providence, in connection with this
event, on page 63.
** I have not met with any official account of the number killed on this
occasion. A writer in the Connecticut Journal of January 22, 1777, says
the enemy were "obliged to retreat and give over the attempt, after
suffering great loss, supposed at least 150 killed." In a minute account
by an eye-witness, published in the Princeton Whig of November 4, 1842,
the writer says "the creek was nearly filled with their dead."
*** This view is from the north side of the Assanpink, a few rods above
the bridge, looking south. The bridge, seen upon the right, is built of
stone, and very strong, and is upon the site of the old one. The creek
is curbed by a dam near the bridge, and forms the sheet of water seen
in the picture. The old "Stacey Mill" of the Revolution, the largest
building in the sketch, was quite dilapidated from the effects of fire
and flood, when I was there. The two old houses on the left of it are of
stone, covered with stucco, and were there at the time in question. On
the bank, between them and the house of Mr. Timothy Abbott, seen on the
extreme left, was a building used as a tavern, in the Revolution. It was
demolished a few years ago. Along the high bank, from the mill eastward
to the rail-way, now covered with houses and gardens, and also westward,
some distance toward the Delaware, the Americans were encamped. The
bank was being terraced when I visited Trenton, and will, in time, be a
beautiful spot.
[[[Cornwallis Out-generaled.--March of the Americans toward
Princeton.--Their Approach discovered by the Enemy.]]]
{234}ton] in the morning." Great was his astonishment and alarm at dawn
to find the patriot camp-fires still burning, but not a man, nor hoof,
nor tent, nor cannon there. All was silent and dreary on the south
side of the Assanpink; and no man of the British army knew whither
the Americans had fled, until the din of battle in the direction of
Princeton came faintly upon the keen morning air at sunrise.
[Illustration: 9242]
Cornwallis heard the booming of cannon, and, although mid-winter, he
thought it was the rumbling of distant thunder. The quick ear of Erskine
decided otherwise, and he exclaimed, "To arms, general! Washington has
out-_generaled_ us. Let us fly to the rescue at Princeton!"
At one o'clock in the morning Washington had silently withdrawn his army
from Trenton, and made his way, along a new road, * toward Princeton,
ten miles distant. This circuitous route was taken to avoid a detachment
of the enemy lying at Maidenhead, on the direct road to Princeton. The
baggage was sent down to Burlington. The commander-in-chief ordered his
camp-fires to be kept burning, and the patrols to march their accustomed
rounds until near daylight, when those who fed the flames, and also the
patrols, were directed to retreat hastily to the main body. The movement
was made with great skill and order, for the pickets of both armies on
the Assanpink were within speaking distance of each other when the fires
were lighted and the guards set.
Proceeding by the way of Sandtown (see map on page 228), Washington
reached the upper bridge over Stony Brook, near Princeton, a little
before sunrise, and arranged his column near the Quaker meeting-house.
A brigade of the enemy, under Lieutenant-colonel Mawhood, consisting of
the seventeenth, fortieth, and fifty-fifth regiments, with three troops
of dragoons, had quartered in Princeton the previous night; and at the
moment of Washington's arrival, two of the regiments had commenced
their march for Trenton, to re-enforce Cornwallis. The main body of
the Americans, after crossing Stony Brook, wheeled to the right, and
advanced cautiously along a by-road, through low grounds, directly for
Princeton. General Mercer, having under him Captains Stone, Fleming,
Neal and others, with about three hundred and fifty men, many of them
youths belonging to the first families in Philadelphia, was detached to
take possession of the lower bridge at Worth's Mill, on the old highway
to Trenton. This movement had a three-fold object; the securing of the
bridge, the interception of fugitives from Princeton, and the checking
of any retrograde movement of the rear of Cornwallis's army.
It was an exceedingly clear, cold, and brilliant morning; every thing
was jeweled with the hoar frost. As the Americans emerged from behind
a piece of woods a little south of the Quaker meeting-house, their arms
glittering in the bright sun, they were discovered by the seventeenth
regiment of the enemy, then under march upon a hill (now Millett's) on
the old Trenton road. Washington observed the enemy at the same moment,
and both commanders prepared for an encounter. Mawhood wheeled both his
regiments and recrossed the bridge, just as Mercer, by a quick movement,
reached it. Both parties, by rapid evo-
* The venerable Mr. Howland, of Rhode Island, already mentioned, who was
with the army in this retreat, informed me that their progress was very
much retarded by the stumps of trees in this new road. Many were bruised
by stumbling over them, and some of the wheels of the baggage-trains
were broken. This is known as the Quaker Road. But for this necessary
slowness of march, the Americans would have reached Princeton before
dawn, and very probably been able to push on and capture the British
stores at New Brunswick.
** This aneient stone building (1 on the map of the Princeton battle,
page 235) is yet standing, and used by the Quakers as a place of
worship. This sketch is from the yard in front, looking north. The
woods behind which the Americans marched, after crossing the bridge, yet
remain; and Stony Brook, made subservient to the wants of the Delaware
and Raritan Canal, as a feeder, is but little changed since its music
was mingled with the din of battle.
[[[First Skirmish near Princeton.--Effect of British
Bayonets.--Dispersion of the Americans.--Washington on the Field.]]]
{235}lutions, endeavored to get possession of the high ground on the
right, toward Princeton, and westward of the house of William Clark.
Mercer, with his troops, soon reached the house and orchards of Clark,
a little eastward of the present turnpike, when, perceiving the British
line approaching from the opposite side of the height, he pushed through
the orchard to a hedge fence, from behind which his riflemen discharged
a deadly volley.
[Illustration: 8243]
It was quickly returned by the enemy, who instantly charged. The
Americans were armed only with rifles, and could not withstand the
furious attack of British bayonets.
After the third fire, they abandoned the fence, broke, and fled in
disorder. The enemy pursued the flying patriots until they came to
the brow of the slope, near Clark's, when, for the first time, they
discovered the American column of regulars, and the Pennsylvania
militia, commanded by Washington in person, advancing to the support
of Mercer. The flying Americans were checked and speedily arranged in
battle order. Captain Moulder's artillery formed in battery on the right
of Thomas Clark's house, about a quarter of a mile south of the scene
of the first conflict. Mawhood discovered the commanding form of
Washington passing from column to column, and bringing order out of
confusion. He immediately ceased pursuit, and, drawing up his artillery,
attempted to charge and take Moulder's battery. The effort was
vain. Being dreadfully galled by the grape-shot of the patriots, and
perceiving Hitchcock's and another Continental regiment advancing from
behind the American column, Mawhood wheeled, and retreated toward the
high ground in the rear, leaving his artillery upon the field. These the
Americans were unable to carry off, on account of a want of horses. The
action con-
* Note.--This plan of the battle of Princeton I copied from a large
drawing in the library of Princeton College, made from surveys by
Professor Albert B. Dod, and drawn by W. A. Dod and S. B. Alexander.
Explanation of the References.--a, head of the American column when
first seen by the British; 6, head of column after Mercer's engagement;
o, retreat of the British; **, pursuit of the Americans; 1, Quaker
meeting-house; 2, Clark's house, where Mercer died; 3, 4, the British
seventeenth regiment; 5, 6, Mercer beginning the battle; 7, 8, the
seventeenth attempting to dislodge Moulder; 9, 10, Pennsylvania militia
under Washington; 11, Hitchcock's regiment; 13, display of Continentals;
14, Nassau Hall, or Princeton College, in the village; 15, Richard
Stockton's residence, and Cornwallis's head-quarters for a time;
16, Worth's Mill, on Stony Brook; 17, Millett's, the position of the
seventeenth regiment at sunrise; 18, the fortieth and fifty-fifth
regiments of the British retreating, after the action, toward Rocky
Hill. The rail-way station is seen upon the Delaware and Raritan Canal,
southeast of Princeton village.
[[[General Mercer mortally Wounded by Bayonets.--His Bravery till the
Last.--Place of his Death.--View of the Battle-ground.]]]
{236}tinued only about fifteen minutes, but was very severe. Washington
was exposed to the hottest fire, while encouraging the militia by voice
and example. General Mercer dismounted after the first fire, the gray
horse he was riding having been disabled by a musket-ball that wounded
his fore leg; and while on foot, endeavoring to rally his broken troops,
he was felled to the ground by a blow from a musket dealt by a British
soldier.
[Illustration: 0244]
When his rank was discovered, the enemy, believing it to be Washington,
raised an exulting shout, and cried, "The rebel general is taken!"
Several rushed to the spot, exclaiming, "Call for quarters, you d--d
rebel!"
"I am no rebel," cried Mercer, indignantly, while half a dozen bayonets
Were at his breast; and, instead of calling for quarter, he determined
to die fighting. He struck several blows at his enemies with his sword,
when they bayoneted him and left him for dead. **Upon the retreat of the
British, General Mercer was conveyed to the house of Thomas Clark (now
John Clark's), then a new building, where he was tenderly nursed by the
late Miss Sarah Clark, of the Society of Friends, and a colored woman
belonging to the family. He [[January, 1777]] languished in great pain
until the 12th, when he expired in the arms of Major
* This view, looking north, is from the carriage gate of Mr. John
Clarke, owner of the house in which General Mercer died, whieh is
situated about seventy rods from the Trenton turnpike. That dwelling is
represented in the foreground of the picture, on the extreme right. The
distant view includes almost the whole field of action. Near the center
of the picture, over the head of the dark figure, is seen the house of
William Clark, and his out-buildings. The barn, a little more to the
left, with a tree in front, is upon the spot from whence Mereer rushed
forward to the hedge-fence. That fence was upon the line of the present
turnpike, denoted in the sketch by the fence passing down the slope
beyond the large tree on the extreme left. The "high ground" for whieh
both parties were aiming, to seeure advantage, is seen in the extreme
distance. The dark spot between the tree in the second field and the
barn denotes the spot where Mereer fell. The house of William Clark,
in the distance, is about a quarter of a mile from the one in the
foreground, where Mercer died. The hollow between the two houses was the
space between the belligerents when Washington advanced to the support
of Mercer. The place of conflict is about a mile and a quarter south of
Princeton. The turnpike passes directly through it.
** The story went abroad, at that time, that General Mercer was cruelly
bayoneted after he had delivered up his sword; but his dying assertion
that he did not give up his weapon until he was powerless to wield it,
exonerates the British soldiery from this foul accusation.
[[[Loss of the Americans.--Death of General Mercer.--His
Monument.--Skirmish near Nassau Hall in Princeton]]]
{237}George Lewis, a nephew of Washington, and captain of the horse
guards. * Dr. Benjamin Rush was also with him until he died. **
The loss of the Americans in this engagement was about thirty, among
whom, besides General Mercer, were Colonels Harslet and Potter, Major
Morris, Captains Shippen, Fleming, and Neal, all officers of much
promise.
[Illustration: 9245]
The loss of General Mercer was irreparable. He had been a companion in
arms with Washington in the campaign against the French and Indians in
1755, and was greatly beloved by all. Highly educated, patriotic, brave,
and noted for strict integrity, he was regarded as one of the most
promising of the general officers with whom the chief was associated. He
fell at the moment of victory, for the next instant the shout of success
from American lips greeted his ear. Among those of the enemy, mortally
wounded, was Captain William Leslie, a son of the Scotch Earl of Levin,
of whom mention is made in the note on page 332, vol. i.
The broken and routed seventeenth regiment fled to the Trenton road,
crossed the bridge, and hastened to join Cornwallis, who had been
brought forward with great haste by the firing. Washington pushed on
to Princeton, and in a ravine near the college encountered a sharp
resistance from the fifty-fifth regiment. This corps was also routed,
and fled toward Brunswick, accompanied by the fortieth, which took
little part in the action. In the college buildings at Princeton (which,
with the Presbyterian church, had been used for bar-
* Washington first heard that Mercer was killed on the battle-field, and
it was not until he reached Somerset Court-house that he was apprised
of the true situation of that officer. He immediately dispatched
young Lewis, with a flag to Cornwallis, requesting that every possible
attention might be paid to the wounded general, and asking permission
for Lewis to remain with him. Cornwallis cheerfully complied with the
request.
** On the 14th of January, 1777, the body of General Mercer was conveyed
to Philadelphia, and buried in Christ Church-yard. Over it was placed a
plain marble slab, with the simple inscription, In memory of Gen. Hugh
Mercer, who fell at Princeton, Jan. 3d, 1777." There his dust reposed
until 1840, when his countrymen of the St. Andrew's and the Thistle
Society removed his remains to Laurel Hill Cemetery, and erected a
beautiful marble monument to his memory, near the chapel. The funeral
ceremonies took place on the 26th of November. William B. Reed, Esq.,
pronounced a eulogium on the occasion. The pall was borne by Commodores
Read, Biddle, and Stewart, and Colonel Miller. The First Troop of City
Cavalry, which took part in the battle of Princeton, composed the guard
of honor. There are no survivors of the original corps. The monument was
made by John Struthers and Son, Philadelphia, and bears the following
inscriptions, which give the most important incidents of his public
life. East side, or principal front: "Dedicated to the Memory of
General Hugh Mercer, who fell for the Sacred Cause of Human Liberty,
and American Independence, in the Battle of Princeton. He poured out his
blood for a Generous Principle." West side: "General Mercer, a Physician
of Fredericksburg, in Virginia, was distinguished for his skill and
learning, his gentleness and decision, his refinement and humanity,
his elevated honor, and his devotion to the great cause of Civil
and Religious Liberty." North side: Monument to General Mercer.
"General Mercer, a native of Scotland was an assistant Surgeon in the
Battle of Culloden, and the companion of Washington in the Indian
Wars of 1755 and 1756. He received a Medal from the Corporation of
Philadelphia, for his courage and conduct in the Expedition against the
Indian Settlement of Kittaning." * South side: "The St. Andrew's
Society of Philadelphia offer this humble tribute to the memory of an
illustrious Brother. When a grateful posterity shall bid the trophied
memorial rise to the martyrs who sealed with their blood the charter of
an Empire's liberties, there shall not be wanted a monument to him whom
Washington mourned as the worthy and brave Mercer." General Mercer was
about fifty-six years ol age when he was slain.
* Dr. Mercer resided at Fredericksburg when the Revolution broke out.
He espoused the cause, left his profession, commanded three regiments
of minute-men in 1775, and in 1776 drilled and organized large bodies
of Virginia militia. On the 5th of June, 1776, Congress gave him the
commission of a brigadier. Congress resolved (see Journals, iii., 98)
that a monument should be erected to his memory at Fredericksburg, and
that his youngest son should be educated at the expense of the Republic.
The monument is yet to be erected. The son (Colonel Hugh Mercer, of
Fredericksburg) was educated, and yet survives, at the age of about
fourscore.
[[[Destruction of the King's Portrait in Nassau Hall.--Prisoners
taken.--Skirmish at Worth's Mills.--Cornwallis at Princeton.]]]
racks by the enemy) there remained a portion of a regiment. Washington
drew up some cannon within a short distance of these buildings, and
commenced firing upon them.
[Illustration: 9246]
The first ball, it is said, entered the prayer hall, a room used as a
chapel, and passed through the head of a portrait of George the Second,
suspended in a large frame upon the wall. After a few discharges,
Captain James Moore, of the Princeton militia, with a few others
of equal daring, burst open a door of Nassau Hall, and demanded the
surrender of the troops within. They instantly complied, and, with
several invalids, were made prisoners.
At the close of the action at Clark's, where Mawhood, with the
seventeenth, was routed, Washington detached a small party, under Major
Kelley, of the Pennsylvania militia, to destroy the bridge over Stony
Brook, at Worth's Mills. They had scarcely began the work of destruction
when the van of the British troops, advancing from Trenton upon
Princeton, appeared upon the hill at Millett's. Cornwallis heard the
firing in the direction of Princeton, and suspecting the object of his
enemy to be the seizure of his stores at New Brunswick, he made a forced
march in pursuit, and arrived near Stony Brook just after the first and
decisive battle had been fought. When the British discovered the party
engaged in demolishing the bridge, they opened upon them a discharge of
heavy round-shot, which drove them away; not, however, until the
loose planks were thrown into the stream, and the bridge was rendered
impassable for the artillery and baggage. Delay was dangerous, perhaps
fatal, and Cornwallis ordered the troops to dash into and ford the
swollen stream. *
[Illustration: 8246]
It was almost breast-deep, and half filled with ice; yet the soldiers
obeyed, and, in their mail of frozen clothes, hastened on toward
Princeton. When near the town, the advanced guard was brought to a halt
by the discharge of an iron thirty-two-pounder, which the enemy had
left on a temporary breast-work at the west end of the village. **
Cornwallis, apprehending that Washington had determined to make a stand
at Princeton, halted his column, and sent out reconnoitering parties of
horsemen. In the mean while, a large detachment approached the
* Major Kelley continued cutting away a portion of the bridge while the
balls of the enemy were menacing his life. He was cutting away a log
on which some of the timbers rested, when it gave way sooner than was
expected, and he was precipitated into the stream. His men, supposing
him to be lost, fled to Princeton. He got out of the water; but his
frozen clothes and exhaustion so retarded his progress, that he was made
a prisoner by the enemy.
** This cannon is now in the center of the Campus, in the rear of the
College of New Jersey, at Princeton. It was one of the pieces which
Washington was unable to carry away with him.
*** This substantial stone bridge, over Stony Brook, is upon the site of
the wooden one destroyed on the 3d of January, 1777. The old mill on the
left is now owned by Josiah S. Worth, a son of the proprietor during
the Revolution. This sketch was made from the road on the bank of the
stream, along which Mercer and his detachment marched to secure the
bridge.
[[[Disappointment of the Enemy.--The Loss sustained.--Washington's
Pursuit.--Fatigue of the Americans.]]]
{239}battery cautiously, intending to take it by storm. These movements
delayed them an hour, and when they arrived at the breast-work and the
village, great was their astonishment and chagrin to find both deserted,
and not a _rebel_ in sight! Washington, with his little army and
prisoners, was far on his way toward the Millstone Enver, in hot pursuit
of the fortieth and fifty-fifth regiments.
The battle at Princeton and its results, following closely upon the
brilliant affair at Trenton, produced a strong impression upon the
public mind favorable to the commander-in-chief and the patriot cause.
[Illustration: 8247]
Considering the numbers engaged, it was one of the severest conflicts of
the war, and in no engagement did the skill and bravery of both parties
appear more conspicuously. The enemy lost about one hundred in killed,
and three hundred in wounded and prisoners. The loss of the Americans
was about one hundred, including several valuable officers. Never was
a general more exposed to death than was Washington, when leading the
troops to the support of Mercer's riflemen; yet he escaped without a
wound. *
Washington pursued the fugitive regiments as far as Kingston, beyond
the Millstone River, three miles northeast of Princeton. There he held
a council of war with his officers, on horseback. The rich prize at
New Brunswick was very tempting, and a wish was generally expressed to
continue the march thither and secure the British stores. Such a step
would have been fatal; for Cornwallis, with fresh troops, and superior
in numbers, was in close pursuit; while the Americans, who had fought at
Trenton on the 2d, marched all night before the battle of Princeton
on the 3d, and had not slept for thirty-six hours, were completely
exhausted. More than half of them had not been able to procure breakfast
or dinner; many were destitute of shoes or stockings, and in every
way were utterly unable to contend with an enemy. To save his army,
Washington filed off on the left, at Kingston, along a narrow road
running to Rocky Hill. He destroyed the bridge at Kingston, which
checked the progress of Cornwallis for some time, and, after having
crossed the Millstone twice, he reached Pluckemin that evening. On
the way, overcome by fatigue, many soldiers laid down and slept on the
frozen ground. Washington remained no longer at Pluckemin than to give
his troops rest and refreshments, and then advanced to Morristown, where
he established his winter quarters. His subsequent movements, by which
New Jersey was soon purged of the enemy, are mentioned on page 307, vol.
i.
Cornwallis repaired, and then crossed the bridge at Kingston, and,
believing Washington to be on the road to New Brunswick, pushed eagerly
forward--so eagerly, over the rough
* Mr. Custis, in his Recollections of the Life and Character
of Washington, gives a graphic picture of the scene when the
commander-in-chief brought the militia and riflemen into action. "The
discomfited Americans rally on the instant, and form into line. The
enemy halt, and dress their line. The American chief is between the
adverse posts, as though he had been placed there a target for both. The
arms of both are leveled. Can escape from death he possible? Fitzgerald
(Washington's aid), horror-struck at the death of his beloved commander,
dropped the reins upon his horse's neck, and drew his hat over his face,
that he might not see him die. A roar of musketry succeeds, and then a
shout. It was the shout of victory. The aid-de-camp ventures to raise
his eyes. Oh, glorious sight! the enemy are broken and flying; while
dimly, amid the glimpses of the smoke, is seen the chief alive,
unharmed, and without a wound, waving his hat, and cheering his comrades
to the pursuit. Colonel Fitzgerald, celebrated as one of the finest
horsemen in the American army, now dashed his rowels in his charger's
flanks, and, heedless of the dead and dying in his way, flew to the side
of the chief, exclaiming, 'Thank God! your excellency is safe!' while
the favorite aid, a gallant and warm-hearted son of Erin, a man of thews
and sinews (and albeit unused to the melting mood), gave loose to his
feelings, and wept like a child, for joy. Washington, ever calm amid
scenes of the greatest excitement, affectionately grasped the hand of
his aid and friend, and then ordered, 'Away, my dear colonel, and bring
up the troops; the day is our own!'"
[[[Capture of British Baggage-wagons.--Evacuation of New Jersey by the
British.--Estimate of Washington's Character in Europe.]]]
{240}and frozen roads, that several of his baggage-wagons were broken
down. Leaving them in charge of a detachment of between two and three
hundred men, * he pressed onward, and reached New Brunswick at sunset.
Again the Americans had eluded his pursuit; yet he rejoiced in the
safety of his stores.
The armed parties frequently sent out by Washington from his
hill-quarters were generally successful, and the people, incensed at the
bad faith of the English and the depredations of the Hessians, joined
the Americans in all their expeditions. The British quarters were
straitened, their supplies were cut off', and in a short time New Jersey
was evacuated by the enemy. Alluding to these results, the eloquent
Charles Botta observes, "Achievements so stirring gained for the
American commander a very great reputation, and were regarded with
wonder by all nations, as well as by the Americans. The prudence,
constancy, and noble intrepidity of Washington was admired and applauded
by all. By unanimous consent he was declared to be the savior 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; he was celebrated by the pens
of the most distinguished writers. The most illustrious personages of
Europe lavished upon him their praises and their congratulations. ** The
American general, therefore, wanted neither a cause full of grandeur to
defend, nor occasion for the acquisition of glory, nor genius to
avail himself of it, nor the renown due to his triumphs, nor an entire
generation of men perfectly well disposed to render him homage."
Washington exercised the dictatorial powers which Congress had conferred
upon him with energy and great circumspection, and with a single eye to
the good of his country. His recommendations were promptly seconded by
Congress, and soon great vitality was visible every where. He took care
to provide for meritorious officers in his appointments, when organizing
the sixteen battalions authorized by Congress. At that time public
clamor was strong against Dr. Morgan, * the successor of the traitor,
Church, as head of the medical de-
* A small company of fifteen or twenty militia, having learned the
situation of this baggage, resolved to capture it. After dark, they
arranged themselves among the trees, in a semicircular form, around the
place where the soldiers were guarding their wagons, and, on a concerted
signal, they set up a tremendous shout, and commenced firing. The
British, believing the assailants to be as strong in numbers as
themselves, and taken completely by surprise, retreated with a few of
the wagons that were fit for traveling, and fled to New Brunswick. Those
left behind were taken to the American camp, and found to contain, what
the army greatly needed, woolen clothes.
** It is said that Frederic the Great of Prussia declared that the
achievements of Washington and his little band of compatriots, between
the 25th of December and the 4th of January, were the most brilliant of
any recorded in the annals of military achievements.
*** Morgan afterward procured an inquiry into his conduct by a committee
of Congress, and was honorably acquitted. Doctor John Morgan was born in
Philadelphia in 1735. He completed his medical studies under Dr. Redman,
and entered the army as surgeon and lieutenant during the French and
Indian war He went to Europe, to prosecute his studies, in 1760, where
he attended the lectures of the celebrated Hunter. He was admitted to
the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1764. He returned to Philadelphia in
1765, and was elected professor of the theory and practice of medicine
in the medical school founded by Dr. Shippen and others. He was ever
active in literary and scientific projects. He, was appointed by
Congress director general and physieian-in-chief to the general
hospital in 1775, in place of Dr. Church, and immediately repaired to
head-quarters at Cambridge. He was removed from office, without just
cause, in 1777. * He died October 15, 1789, aged about fifty-four years.
Dr. Benjamin Rush was his successor in the professor's ehair..
* The following are the names of the principal officers in the medical
department, appointed on the 11th of April, 1777: William Shippen, Jun.,
director general; Waller Junes, physician general of the hospital in the
middle department; Benjamin Rush, surgeon general of the hospital in the
middle department; John Cochran, physician and surgeon general of the
army in the middle department; Isaac Forster, deputy director general of
the hospital in the eastern department; Amini Uuhannah Cutter, physician
general of the hospital in the eastern department; Philip Turner,
surgeon general of the same; William Burnet, physician and surgeon
general of the army in the eastern department; Jonathan Potts, deputy
director general of the hospital in the northern department; Malachi
Treat, physieian general of the same; Dr. Forque, surgeon general of the
same; John Bartlett, physician and surgeon general of the army in the
northern department.
[[[Appointment of general Officers for the Continental Army.--Its
Reorganization.--Visit to the Princeton Battle-ground.]]]
{241}partment, and he was dismissed by Congress, and Dr. Shippen, * of
Philadelphia, [[January 9, 1777]] was appointed in his place, with Dr.
Craik ** as his assistant.
On the 19th of February, Stirling, St. Clair, Lincoln, Mifflin, and
Stephen were commissioned as major generals; while Arnold, on account
of his conduct at Montreal, where he obeyed the injunction "put money
in thy purse," at the expense of honor and honesty, was overlooked. This
soured him, and doubtless planted the first noxious seed of treason
in his heart. During the spring, eighteen new brigadiers *** were
commissioned. Four regiments of horse were enlisted, under Colonels
Bland, Baylor, Sheldon, and Moylan. Cadwallader and Reed were both, in
turn, offered the general command of the horse, but declined. Timothy
Pickering was appointed adjutant general in the place of Joseph Reed,
who had resigned. Mifflin remained at the head of the quarter-master's
department, which was regulated, and more thoroughly organized by the
appointment of subalterns.
[Illustration: 8249]
Congress attempted to reorganize the commissary department, and claimed
the right to make subordinate appointments. So much did this new
arrangement interfere with the efficiency of the department, that Joseph
Trumbull, Jun., commissary general, resigned. The meddling of Congress
with the smaller appointments and the minute affairs of chief officers
in the various departments of the army, was very mischievous in effect;
for the personal friends of members of that body, often incompetent,
were appointed to places requiring talent, energy, and honesty. On the
whole, however, the army was upon a better footing in the spring of 1777
than it had ever been.
I visited Princeton and the battle-grounds subsequently to my tarry at
Trenton when on my way south. It was a very cold evening in December
when I arrived there [[December 12, 1849]]from Philadelphia, the snow
about ten inches deep upon the ground. Early the next morning, in
company with Colonel Cumming of Princeton, who kindly offered to
accompany me, I rode first to the battle-ground and Clark's house, where
General Mercer died, and made the sketch on page 236. The air was
very keen, and the snow half-kneedeep, circumstances which were quite
unfavorable to deliberate sketching in the open fields. I persevered,
however, and was successful in delineating such objects as I desired.
From Clark's house we crossed the fields to the Quaker meeting-house,
and then rode to the bridge at Worth's Mills, where I made the sketch
on page 238. Returning to Princeton on the old Trenton road, we met Mr.
Worth, an aged man, and present proprietor of
* William Shippen was a graduate of the College of New Jersey, at
Princeton, in the class of 1754. He completed his medical education at
Edinburgh. He delivered the first lectures on anatomy ever pronounced in
America, at Philadelphia, in 1764; and on the finishing of the medical
school in that city, he was appointed its first professor of anatomy, in
1765. He first addressed ten students; * he lived to address two hundred
and fifty at one time. He was appointed director general of the medical
department on the 11th of April, 1777. He resigned his professorship
in the medical college, in 1806, into the hands of his colleague,
Dr. Wistar. Dr. Shippen died at Germantown, July the 11th, 1808, aged
seventy-four years.
* James Craik was a native of Scotland. He accompanied Washington in the
expedition against the French and Indians in 1754; and in 1755 was with
Braddock, and assisted in dressing his wounds. He was director general
of the hospital at the, siege of Yorktown, in 1781. After the war,
Washington invited him to settle near Mount Vernon, and he was the
physician of the patriot chief until his death. He died in Fairfax
county, Virginia, February 6, 1814, aged eighty-three years.
* These were Poor, of New Hampshire; Glover, Paterson, and Learned,
of Massachusetts; Varnum, of Rhode Island; Jedediah Huntington, of
Connecticut; George Clinton, ol New York; Wayne, De Hass, Cadwallader,
Hand, and Reed, of Pennsylvania; Weeden, Muhlenburg, Woodford, and
Scott, of Virginia; Nash, of North Carolina; and Conway, an Irishman by
birth, but a Frenchman by education.
* Dr. Shippen experienced a great deal of persecution when he first
commenced his lectures on anatomy, a good deal of feeling against him
having been excited by the utterance of horrid tales respecting his
dissections. The public mind was filled with ideas such as made the
burden of the Ghost's Complaint:
"The body-snatchers! they have come
Don't go to weep upon my grave,
And made a snatch at me;
And think that there I be;
It's very hard them kind of men
They haven't left an atom there
Won't let a body be!
Of my anatomy!"
[[[Morven, Stockton's Estate.--Desolated by the British.--Sufferings and
Death of the Owner.--Annis Stockton.]]]
{242}the mill, who gave me a narrative of events there, substantially as
related. We stopped at Morven, in the suburbs of Princeton. This is the
homestead estate of Commodore Stockton, and the residence, during the
Revolution, of his paternal grandfather, Richard Stockton, one of the
signers of the Declaration of Independence.
[Illustration: 9250]
There, affluence and taste lent its power in dispensing its blessings
to the poor, and in creating the joys of social intercourse, before the
Revolution; there, suffering and woe held terrible rule after Cornwallis
and his army swept over the plains of New Jersey. Like others of the
signers of the great Declaration, Mr. Stockton was marked for peculiar
vengeance by the enemy. So suddenly did the flying Americans pass by
in the autumn of 1776, and so soon were the Hessian vultures and their
British companions on the trail, that he had barely time to remove his
family to a place of safety before his beautiful mansion was filled with
rude soldiery. The house was pillaged; the horses and stock were driven
away; the furniture was converted into fuel; the choice old wines in
the cellar were drank; the valuable library and all the papers of Mr.
Stockton were committed to the flames, and the estate was laid waste.
The plate had been hastily buried in the woods, in boxes. A treacherous
servant revealed their place of concealment, and two of the boxes were
disinterred and rifled of their contents; the other was saved. ** Mr.
Stockton and his family took refuge with a friend in Monmouth county.
His place of concealment was discovered by a party of refugee Loyalists,
who entered the house at night, dragged him from his bed, and, treating
him with every indignity which malice could invent, hurried him to
Amboy, and from thence to New York, where he was confined in the
loathsome provost jail. There he suffered dreadfully; and when, through
the interposition of Congress, he was released, his constitution was
hopelessly shattered, and he did not live to see the independence of his
country achieved. He died at Morven, in Princeton, in February, 1781,
blessed to the last with the tender and affectionate attentions of his
Annis, whom he called "the best of women." *** Night and day she was
at his bed-side, and when his spirit was about to depart, she wrote,
impromptu, several verses, of which the following is indicative of her
feelings:=
```"Oh, could I take the fate to him assign'd,
````And leave the helpless family their head,
```How pleased, how peaceful to my lot resign'd.
````I'd quit the nurse's station for the bed!"=
Morven is a beautiful spot, and, hallowed by such associations, it is
exceedingly attractive to the resident and stranger.
* This sketeh is from the lawn in front, which is shaded by venerable
pines and other ornamental trees. The mansion stands upon level grounds,
beautifully laid out, having carriage entrances from the street. Every
thing was covered with snow when I was there, and dreariness prevailed
where summer charms delight the visitor.
** Mrs. Ellett, in an interesting biography of Annis Stockton, the
wife of the signor, says that Mrs. Field, her daughter, now residing in
Princeton, has several pieces of silver that were in this box. She also
relates that when Mrs. Stockton (who was quite a literary lady) heard of
the destruction of the library, she remarked that there were two
books in it she would like to have saved--the Bible, and Young's Night
Thoughts. Tradition says that these two books were the only ones left.
Mrs. Field has in her possession the original portraits of her father
and mother. Both were pierced with bayonets.--Women of the Revolution,
iii., 16.
*** A biographical sketeh of Mr. Stockton may be found among those of
the signers of the Declaration of Independence, printed in the Appendix.
His portrait is in the frontispiece of this volume.
[[[Nassau Hall.--Governor Belcher's Donation.--Rittenhouse's
Planetarium.--Life of its Inventor.]]]
{243}Nassau Hall, the principal edifice of the College of New Jersey, is
a spacious building, one hundred and seventy-six feet long, fifty wide,
and four stories high, built of stone. It was erected in 1757. The
college was commenced by Jonathan Dickinson, in Elizabethtown, and was
first incorporated in 1756. Governor Belcher was one of its earliest
and most efficient patrons. He made "generous donation of his library of
books, * with other valuable ornaments," to the college; and, upon his
recommendation, Nassau Hall was so called in memory "of the glorious
King William the Third, who was a branch of the illustrious house of
Nassau." The Hall stands in the center of spacious grounds, fronting
on the principal street in Princeton. The edifice on the left of Nassau
Hall, containing the college library and the philosophic hall, was
erected after a conflagration in 1802. The library contains about eight
thousand volumes, and the libraries of two societies of the institution
about four thousand more, making twelve thousand volumes. There is
also a mineralogical cabinet, a museum of natural history, and a fine
collection of drawings made for the purpose of elucidating lectures
on astronomy and architecture. There is also a good collection of
philosophical apparatus there, which includes that wonderful piece of
scientific mechanism, the planetarium of Doctor David Rittenhouse. **
Through the politeness of Professor MacLean, I was permitted to examine
its construction, and view the wonderful precision with which the
machinery performed its difficult functions. On the front is inscribed,
"INVENTED
BY DAVID RITTENHOUSE, A.D. 1768;
REPAIRED AND EXTENDED BY HENRY VOIGHT,
1806;
BOTH OF PHILADELPHIA."
Dr. Gordon, writing in 1790, says of this planetarium, "There is not
the like in Europe. An elegant and neatly-ornamented frame rises
perpendicular near upon eight feet, in the front of which you are
presented, in three several apartments, with a view of the celestial
system, the motions of the planets around the sun, and the satellites
about the planets. The wheels, &c., that produce the movement are behind
the wooden perpendicular frame in which the orrery is fixed. By suitable
contrivances, you in a short time tell the eclipses of the sun and moon
for ages past and ages to come; the like in other cases of astronomy."
It is said that it was Lord Cornwallis's intention to carry this
planetarium away, and take it to England with him; but the Americans
kept him too busily engaged in affairs of greater personal moment,
while in Princeton, to permit him to plunder the college of this
great treasure. This intention on the part of an enemy was not as
reprehensible as the proposition which Silas Deane, the American
commissioner, made, who suggested the propriety of presenting it to the
French government as a bonus for its good will!
I have mentioned that the first cannon-ball which entered Nassau Hall,
when Washington opened a fire upon it, passed through the portrait of
George the Second, and destroyed it. The frame was uninjured, and left
suspended upon the wall. It is alleged that Wash-
* It consisted of four hundred and seventy-four volumes, many of them
very rare and of great value. The Hall being used alternately by the
American and British troops during the war, a large portion of the books
were purloined or destroyed. The few that remained were destroyed by
fire in 1802, when the Hall was burned, leaving nothing but the strong
walls, which were not materially injured by the fire.
* David Rittenhouse was born near Germantown, Pennsylvania, on the 8th
of April, 1732. His ancestors were from Holland. His early life was
spent in agricultural pursuits, and was marked by a love of mathematical
studies. Feeble health would not allow him to pursue the labor of
a farm, and he became, by self-instruction, a proficient clock and
mathematical instrument maker. It was while working at his trade he
planned and executed his orrery, a piece of mechanism far superior, for
its intended purposes, to any thing before constructed. It was purchased
by the College of New Jersey. Another was made by him, after the same
model, for the College of Philadelphia. He pursued his trade in that
city for several years. His first philosophical publication was an
account of his calculations of the transit of Venus, as it was to happen
on the 3d of June, 1769. He observed the phenomenon, a spectacle never
seen but twice before by an inhabitant of earth, and he was so much
affected by its proof of the accuracy of his calculations, that he
fainted. He was engaged in government surveys, fixing territorial
boundaries, &c., during the Revolution, and became one of the leading
practical philosophers of the day. On the death of Franklin in 1791, he
was chosen president of the Philosophical Society, which office he held
by annual election until his death. He was treasurer of Pennsylvania
from 1777 to 1789. In 1792 he was appointed director of the Mint of the
United States, but his ill health compelled him to resign the office
in 1795. He died on the 26th of June, 1796, aged sixty-four years. His
birth-place is yet standing, a mile west of Germantown.
[[[Portraits of Washington and Mercer by Peale.--Character of the
College of New Jersey.--White Hall.]]]
{244}ington, in order to make good to the college the damage sustained
by the cannonade, made the trustees a present, from his private purse,
of two hundred and fifty dollars, which sum they, expended in procuring
a full-length portrait of the eommander-in-chief.
[Illustration: 9252]
It was painted by Charles Wilson Peale, and occupies the identical frame
in which hung the king's portrait. The annexed sketch is an outline of
this interesting picture. In the back-ground is seen Nassau Hall, and in
the middle and fore-ground a sketch of the battle of Princeton, in which
the death of Mercer is represented.
[Illustration: 8252]
The portrait of Mercer there given was painted from his brother, who sat
for it, and who greatly resembled him. It was considered a good likeness
by those who knew the general. The portrait given below I copied from
Peale's picture, in which I have preserved the languid expression of a
wounded man, as given him by the artist. On the left is seen a portion
of the skirt of Washington's coat, and his chapeau. Many pleasing
memories crowd upon the mind of the visitor to this aneient seat
of learning, where so large a number of the active young men of the
Revolution who lived in the Middle States were educated.
[Illustration: 7252]
Under the guidance of the learned and patriotic Dr. Witherspoon, who
in the pulpit, academic hall, or legislative forum, was the champion of
good, it was the nursery of patriots. He was a lineal descendant of John
Knox, the great English reformer, and, like that bold ancestor, he never
shrunk from the post of danger, if called to it by duty. Like _Yale_
under Daggett, and _Harvard_ under Langdon, the _College of New Jersey_,
under Witherspoon, made its influence felt in the council and the field
during the war for independence.
Of the meetings of Congress at Princeton in 1783, and the Farewell
Address of General Washington to the armies [[November 2, 1783]] of the
United States, written at Rocky Hill, a a few miles distant, I shall
hereafter write. Let us now return to Trenton.
As I hoped and anticipated, the storm that came down so furiously, on my
return from M'Conkey's Ferry, subsided during the night, and the morning
sun came forth, only half hidden by broken clouds. Accompanied by Mr.
Smythe, my companion on the previous day when I visited the ferry, I
went out early to view and sketch localities of interest about Trenton,
all of which are given in preceding pages, except "White Hall," a large
stone building, standing on the south side of Front Street. This was
used for barracks by the Hessians during their occupancy of Trenton in
1776.
[[[The Floral Arch in Honor of Washington.--His Triumphal Journey.--His
Reception by the Ladies at Trenton.]]]
{245}I called upon Stacey G. Potts, Esq., who kindly permitted me
to copy a picture in his possession, painted by G. W. Flagg, and
illustrating the interesting scene of the capture of Emily Gieger,
an incident of one of Greene's Southern campaigns. The picture and
narrative will be found in another part of this work. Mr. Potts informed
me that the floral arch erected in honor of Washington, while on his
way from Mount Vernon to New York city to take the oath of office as
President of the United States, was erected upon the bridge over the
Assanpink, close by the "Stacey Mill," seen in the picture on page 233.
The arch was preserved on the premises of the Misses Barnes, near the
Episcopal church in Warren Street, until 1824, when it was placed in
front of the State House to grace the reception of La Fayette. Remains
of the arch, when I visited Trenton, were in the possession of Dr.
Francis Ewing of that city, and supported the branches of a venerable
rose-bush in his garden. With a notice of the events connected with that
arch we will close the historic volume and bid adieu to Trenton.
The journey of Washington from Mount Vernon to New York was like a
triumphal march. He had hardly left his porter's lodge, when he was
met by a company of gentlemen from Alexandria, who escorted him to that
town. Every where the people gathered to see him as he passed along
the road, and every town sent out its first citizens to meet him on his
approach. Entertainments were given in his honor, and public addresses
were received by him and answers returned. Militia companies escorted
him from place to place, and his approach to the principal cities was
announced by the firing of cannon and the ringing of bells. At Trenton,
his reception was of a peculiar nature, full of pure sentiment and the
most loyal patriotism. There, a little more than twelve years before,
one of his most brilliant military feats was achieved, and it was a
fitting place for an unusual display of respect and reverence. The
ladies took the matter in hand, and upon Trenton Bridge they caused to
be erected an areh, which they adorned with laurel leaves and
flowers from the forests and their hot-houses, and the first spring
contributions from their gardens. Upon the crown of the arch, in large
letters, formed of leaves and flowers, were the words "December 26th,
1776 and on the sweep beneath was the sentence, also formed of flowers,
"The Defender of the Mothers will be the Protector of the Daughters."
Beneath this arch the president elect was obliged to pass on entering
Trenton. There he was met by a troop of females. On one side a row of
little girls, dressed in white, and each bearing a basket of flowers,
were arranged; on the other side stood a row of young ladies similarly
arrayed, and behind them were the married ladies. The moment Washington
and his suite approached the arch, the little girls began to strew
flowers in the road, and the whole company of the fair sang the
following ode, written for the occasion by Governor Howell: * =
````"Welcome, mighty chief, once more
````Welcome to this grateful shore.
````Now no mercenary foe
````Aims again the fatal blow--
`````Aims at thee the fatal blow=
````"Virgins fair and matrons grave,
````Those thy conquering arm did save,
````Build for thee triumphal bowers.
````Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers-"
`````Strew your hero's way with flowers!"=
After passing the arch, the general turned his horse's head toward the
choir, and listened to this tribute of sweet voices with much emotion.
After receiving the salutations of the citizens, Washington handed to
the Reverend J. F. Armstrong a note acknowledging his
* Governor Richard Howell was a native of Delaware. He commanded a
New Jersey regiment from 1776 to 1779, when, in consequence of a new
arrangement of the army, he resumed the profession of the law. In 1788
he was appointed clerk of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, which office
he held until June, 1793, when he was chosen governor of the state.
To this office he was elected eight years successively. He died, April
28th, 1802, aged forty-seven years.
[[[Interest of the Scene.--Washington's Note to the
Ladies.--Reflections.--Grave of Mr. Armstrong.]]]
{246}obligations to the ladies of Trenton. * The whole scene was one of
exceeding interest. A hundred-fold more glorious was that arch, erected
by such hands, to greet the presence of such a hero, than the gorgeous
triumphal arches under which passed the blood-stained Roman conquerors,
with their pageants of misery, and the rich spoils of desolated
kingdoms. It was the tribute of the pure in heart to the truly great--=
```"Great, not like Cæsar, stain'd with blood,
````But only great as he was good."=
* The following is a copy of the note: "General Washington can not leave
this place without expressing his acknowledgments to the matrons and
young ladies who received him in so novel and grateful a manner at
the triumphal arch in Trenton, and for the exquisite sensation he
experienced in that affecting moment. The astonishing contrast between
his former and actual situation at the same spot, the elegant taste
with which it was adorned for the present occasion, and the innocent
appearance of the white-robed, choir who met him with the congratulatory
song, has made such an impression upon his remembrance as, he assures
them, will never be effaced. "Trenton, April 21, 1789."
* This note was read to the ladies, who were called together at
the house of Judge Smith, and then deposited in the hands of that
gentleman's wife. It passed into the hands of Miss Lydia Imlay, his
adopted daughter, who preserved it with great care until just before her
death, when she gave it to the late Chief-justice Ewing. It was placed
in a handsome frame, and is now a precious relic in possession of his
family. The grave of Mr. Armstrong is in the old burial-ground of the
Presbyterian church at Trenton. Upon his plain monument is the following
inscription: "Sacred to the memory of the Rev. James Francis Armstrong,
thirty years a pastor of the church at Trenton, in union with the church
at Maidenhead. Born in Maryland of pious parents, he received the
elements of his classical education under the Rev. John Blair, finished
his collegiate studies in the College of New Jersey, under the Rev. Dr.
Witherspoon, and was licensed to preach the Gospel in the year 1777. An
ardent patriot, he served through the War of Independence as chaplain.
In 1790 he was chosen a trustee of the College of New Jersey. A warm and
constant friend, a devout Christian, a tender husband and parent, steady
in his attentions on the judicatories of the Church, throughout life he
was distinguished as a fervent and affectionate minister of the Gospel,
and resigned his soul to his Creator and Redeemer on the 19th of
January, 1816. 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.' Amen! Even so
come, Lord Jesus."
[[[Departure from Trenton.--Buck's County.--St. Tammany.--Old
Villages.--Frankford.]]]
{247}