Second Battle of Trenton

Battle of the Assunpink Creek
Part of the American Revolutionary War
General George Washington at Trenton, by the Assunpink Creek on the night of the battle, painting by John Trumbull
Date January 2, 1777 Location Trenton, New Jersey Coordinates: 40°13′18″N 74°45′22″W / 40.22167°N 74.75611°W / 40.22167; -74.75611 Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
George Washington	Charles Cornwallis
Strength
6,000 40 guns	5,000 28 guns
Casualties and losses
7–100 killed or wounded	55–365 killed, wounded or captured

The Battle of the Assunpink Creek, also known as the Second Battle of Trenton, was a battle between American and British troops that took place in and around Trenton, New Jersey, on January 2, 1777, during the American Revolutionary War, and resulted in an American victory.

Following the victory at the Battle of Trenton early in the morning of December 26, 1776, General George Washington of the Continental Army and his council of war expected a strong British counter-attack. Washington and the council decided to meet this attack in Trenton, and established a defensive position south of the Assunpink Creek.

Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis led the British forces southward in the aftermath of the December 26 battle. Leaving 1,400 men under Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood in Princeton, Cornwallis advanced on Trenton with about 5,000 men on January 2. His advance was significantly slowed by defensive skirmishing by American riflemen under the command of Edward Hand, and the advance guard did not reach Trenton until twilight. After assaulting the American positions three times, and being repulsed each time, Cornwallis decided to wait and finish the battle the next day. Washington moved his army around Cornwallis's camp that night and attacked Mawhood at Princeton the next day. That defeat prompted the British to withdraw from most of New Jersey for the winter.

On the night of December 25–26, 1776, George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, crossed the Delaware River with his army, and attacked the Hessian garrison at Trenton on the morning of December 26. The Hessian garrison was surrounded and quickly defeated. Washington crossed the river again and returned to his camp in Pennsylvania that afternoon. On December 30, Washington moved his army back to Trenton and stationed his men on the south side of the Assunpink Creek.

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