Princeton Battlefield State Park is a 681 acre state park located in Princeton, NJ. The park is maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry. The park include the Princeton Battlefield site; the Clarke House Museum; the site of the Mercer Oak, a tree which stood in the middle of the battlefield until recent years; the Ionic Colonnade, and a stone patio marking the grave of 21 British and 15 American soldiers killed in the battle.
SITE FEATURES
Surviving Structures
On this site...
The first European to find his home in the boundaries of the future municipality was Henry Greenland. He built his house in 1683 along with a tavern, where representatives of West and East Jersey met to set the boundaries between the two provinces. Then, Princeton was known only as part of nearby Stony Brook. The community was later known by a variety of names, including: Princetown, Prince's Town and finally Princeton. The name Princeton was first used in 1724 and became common within the subsequent decade.
VILLAGE
EST. 1683
BATTLEFIELD
Jan 3, 1777
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 the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood in Princeton. Following a surprise attack at Trenton early in the morning of December 26, 1776, General George Washington of the Continental Army decided to attack the British in New Jersey before entering the winter quarters.
On December 30, he crossed the Delaware River back into New Jersey. On the night of January 2, 1777, Washington repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek. That night, he evacuated his position, circled around General Cornwallis' army, and went to attack the British garrison at Princeton. On January 3, Brigadier General Hugh Mercer of the Continental Army clashed with two regiments under the command of Mawhood. Mercer and his troops were overrun, and Mercer was mortally wounded. Washington sent a brigade of militia under Brigadier General John Cadwalader to help them. The militia, on seeing the flight of Mercer's men, also began to flee. Washington rode up with reinforcements and rallied the fleeing militia. He then led the attack on Mawhood's troops, driving them back. Mawhood gave the order to retreat, and most of the troops tried to flee to Cornwallis in Trenton.
In Princeton, Brigadier General John Sullivan encouraged some British troops who had taken refuge in Nassau Hall to surrender, ending the battle. After the battle, Washington moved his army to Morristown, and with their third defeat in 10 days, the British evacuated Central Jersey. The battle was the last major action of Washington's winter New Jersey campaign.
HISTORIC PEOPLE
George Washington
Commander-in-Chief
Hugh Mercer
Brigadier General
Alexander Hamilton
Lt Colonel