A few days after Washington's victory at Trenton, Cornwallis, in
January, 1777, advanced across Jersey to crush the Americans, but he
was repulsed at the ford of Assunpink Creek in Trenton. Then
Washington resorted to a ruse. Leaving his camp-fires brightly burning
near the creek at night to deceive the enemy, he quietly withdrew, and
made a forced march ten miles northeast to Princeton, and fell upon
three British regiments there, who were hastening to join Cornwallis,
defeating them, and storming Nassau Hall, in which some of the
fugitives had taken refuge. Trenton is in Mercer County, named in
honor of General Hugh Mercer, who fell in this battle, at the head of
the Philadelphia troops. Princeton is a town of about thirty-five
hundred inhabitants, a quiet place of elegant residences, in a level
and luxuriant country. It is the seat of the College of New Jersey,
originally founded at Elizabeth, near New York, in 1746, and
transferred here in 1757. It is best known as Nassau Hall, or
Princeton University, being liberally endowed, and having notable
buildings surrounding its spacious campus, and is a Presbyterian
foundation, which has about eleven hundred students. The original
Nassau Hall erected in 1757, but burnt many years ago, was so named by
the Synod "to express the honor we retain in this remote part of the
globe to the immortal memory of the glorious King William the Third,
who was a branch of the illustrious House of Nassau." Dr. John
Witherspoon, the celebrated Scotch Presbyterian divine, who was one of
the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was for thirty years
its President, and among the early graduates were two other signers,
Richard Stockton and Benjamin Rush. The final conflict of the battle
of Princeton raged around this venerated building, and Washington
presented fifty guineas to the College to repair the damage done by
his bombardment. In the adjacent Presbyterian Theological Seminary
have been educated many able clergymen. In Princeton Cemetery are the
remains of the wonderful preacher and metaphysician, Jonathan Edwards,
who became President of the College in 1758, dying shortly afterwards.
A panegyrist, describing his merits as a great Church leader,
compressed all in this remarkable sentence: "These three--Augustine,
Calvin and Jonathan Edwards." His son-in-law and predecessor as
President was Rev. Aaron Burr; and near his humble monument is
another, marking the grave of his grandson, who was an infant when the
great preacher died, and whose career was in such startling
contrast--the notorious Aaron Burr, Vice-President of the United
States.