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attack began.x The well-sited American cannons played a key role in dispersing
Hessian attacks and in keeping them from organizing. As the
Hessians began to be overwhelmed and fall back, Rall was mortally
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100 Hessians killed and wounded and more than 900 captured.
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daring and successful raid immediately captured the American
public’s imagination and rekindled enthusiasm for the war. Howe
immediately dispatched Cornwallis, who had not yet departed on
his ship for England, back to New Jersey to take charge.
x Washington was determined to compound the momentum by
launching an even more ambitious offensive, but he required
additional manpower. He was able to consolidate under himself
troops from other commanders, but he also needed to convince
enough of his own veterans not to depart as their enlistment expired.
He was able to retain about 1,400 of his experienced men, giving
him a solid core of veterans for the coming campaign. They crossed
over the Delaware to Trenton again and took up defensive positions
along a ridge near Assunpink Creek.
x Intent on avenging the embarrassing defeat of the Hessians at Trenton,
Cornwallis stormed through New Jersey, gathering forces as he went.
As he approached Trenton, he had an army of more than 9,000 men,
and he ordered one brigade of about 1,000 under Lieutenant Colonel
Mawhood to hold position as a reserve at Princeton. On January 2,
he engaged the American line at Assunpink Creek. Fighting from the
woods and prepared positions, the Americans stubbornly resisted the
British advance, throwing back several attacks, but steady pressure
forced them to give ground.
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Americans were close to breaking and that when the battle resumed