Baltimore 9th January 1777
Dear Sir,
I have no doubt but that Mr. President inclosed you with his last dispatches the printed account of General Washingtons success at Trenton. The number of Hessian prisoners there made, do not fall much short of 1100. Since that event we have had no regular account from the army, but from a Committee of Congress at Philadelphia we have the accounts brought into Philadelphia by a number of persons and believed there, in substance as follows. The British forces stationed at Brunswick, Trenton, and other places in New Jersey, hearing of the success at Trenton, collected and marched towards that place to attack our army, now strengthened by the junction of all its detachments and by several corps of Militia. Gen. Washington ordered two Brigades to advance on the Princeton road and interrupt the enemies march. About 3 miles from Trenton they met the enemy and being attacked by a much superior force, were compelled to retreat, which they did slowly keeping up a retreating engagement until they joined the main body drawn up on the heigh grounds on this side a bridge that divides the village of Trenton nearly in two parts. The enemy attempting to force the bridge were received by Gen. Mifflin with the Philadelphia militia and a number of Field pieces, who drove them back with great loss, and some batteries being now opened on the heights commanding the enemies part of the Town, they were soon obliged to quit it with loss. The armies still continued posted opposite each other until midnight, when Gen. Washington (having received certain intelligence that Gen. Howe was on his march in person, with a large reinforcement to join his army)having previously directed large fires to be made to deceive the enemy, decampt, made a forct march that night to meet Gen. Howe, met with him at a place called Quakers bridge, gave him battle and routed his troops, taking from 6 to 800 prisoners. Pursuing the fugitives he entered Princeton where a number of Officers, 6 or 7 field pieces, and the 40th Regiment were taken. The British army that remained at Trenton knew nothing of General Washingtons design until they heared the firing next morning, and then, having possessed themselves of the heights for some time, they retreated towards Brunswick along the Pennytown road, a circuitous, western way, leaving the place of engagement on the right hand a good distance. This extraordinary motion denotes panic, because their direct rout to the scene of action was along the road to Princetown, as thus1
The account goes on - That our Army was pursuing from Princeton to Brunswick, where the enemy had large Stores kept. We know that Gen. Heath with above 3000 men is about Hackingsack and Colo. Ford with 1500 Jersey militia is before him in the way to Trenton. This is the posture we understand things to be in, and we wait in hourly expectation of receiving authentic intelligence of the total rout of the enemies army in
Jersey and their disgraceful evacuation of that State. Thus we bid fair to derive great advantage from what we once apprehended would injure us extremely, the dispersion of our army. The enemy knowing we had no army, and trusting to their Tory intelligence that no forces could be collected, had divided their troops in such a manner as to expose them to ruin from Militia only, or chiefly so; for excepting about 1500 Eastern troops, the same number of Virginians, about 200 of Smallwoods Marylanders and a broken Pennsylvania regiment, the rest of Gen. Washingtons army is Militia. Another valuable consequence will result from this success, it will prove to our enemies that America, without an army, is formidable in its militia. For sudden exertions, the Militia certainly do well, but they cannot bear the continued discipline of camps and campaigns. This certainty makes it of the last importance that our regular Army should be assembled with all possible dispatch, and such you will find to be the sense of Congress by their requests to the several States for this purpose. Our wicked Enemy to Freedom & all its friends, are actually preparing to try Gen. Lee by a special Court Martial. For it seems, that in order to be aided by a court martial that Gentlemans resignation of his commission was not accepted. We have sent to remonstrate with Mr. Howe on this subject, to demand Gen. Lees enlargement on his parole, and to assure that the same infliction exactly that is applied to Gen. Lee, shall directly be applied to 5 Hessian Field officers and Colo. Campbell their favorite Engineer who shall be reserved for that special purpose. We have offered 6 Hessian field Officers in exchange for Gen. Lee.
I heartily wish you the compliments of the season, and am with great esteem dear Sir
your most affectionate and obedient servant,
Richard Henry Lee
Receiver's copy, Library of Virginia.
Printed in William Wirt Henry, Patrick Henry, Life, Correspondence and Speeches, 3 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1891), 3:36 - 39. Printed also in James Curtis Ballagh, The Letters of Richard Henry Lee, Volume 1, 1762 - 1778, pp. 246 - 49. The copy in the Library of Virginia is mutilated, and missing words supplied from the copy printed in Henry.
1 At this point Lee drew a diagram of the Trenton-Brunswick area, showing Washington's line of march and the british army's retreat. See Henry, Patrick Henry, Life, Correspondence and Speeches, 3:38.