through a violent storm of snow and hail, did not in the least abate their ardour; but when they came to the charge, each seemed to vie with the other in pressing forward: and were I to give a preference to any particular corps, I should do great injustice to the others. Colonel Baylor, my first aid-de-camp, will have the honour of delivering this to you; and from him you may be made acquainted with many other particulars. His spirited behaviour, upon every occasion, requires me to recommend him to your particular notice. I have the honour to be, &c. GEO. WASHINGTON. General Washington to the President of Congress. SIR, I HAVE the honour to inform you, that since the date of my last from Trenton, I have removed, with the army under my command, to this place. The difficulty of crossing the Delaware, on account of the ice, made our passage over tedious, and gave the enemy an opportunity of drawing in their several cantonments, and assembling their whole force at Princeton. Their large piquets advanced towards Trenton: their great preparations, and some intelligence I had received-added to their knowledge that the first of January brought on a dissolution of the best part of our army-gave me the strongest reasons to conclude that an attack upon us was meditating. Our situation was most critical, and our force small. To remove immediately, was again destroying every dawn of hope which had begun to revive in the breasts of the Jersey militia; and to bring those troops which had first crossed the Delaware, and were lying at Crosswixs' under General Cadwalader, and those under General Mifflin at Bordentown, (amounting in the whole to about three thousand six hundred,) to Trenton, was to bring them to an exposed place. One or the other, however, was unavoidable: the latter was preferred; and they were ordered to join us at Trenton, which they did, by a night-march, on the first instant. On the second, according to my expectation, the enemy began to advance upon us; and, after some skirmishing, the head of their column reached Trenton about four o'clock, whilst their rear was as far back as Maidenhead. They attempted to pass Sanpink Creek, which runs through Trenton, at different places; but, finding the fords guarded, halted, and kindled their fires. We were drawn up on the other side of the creek. In this situa tion we remained till dark, cannonading the ene my, and receiving the fire of their field-pieces, which did us but little damage. Having by this time discovered that the enemy were greatly superior in number, and that their design was to surround us, I ordered all our baggage to be removed silently to Burlington soon after dark; and at twelve o'clock, after renewing our fires, and leaving guards at the bridge in Trenton, and other passes on the same stream above, marched by a roundabout road to Princeton, where I knew they could not have much force left, and might have stores. One thing I was certain of, that it would avoid the appearance of a retreat, (which was of course, or to run the hazard of the whole army being cut off,) whilst we might, by a fortunate stroke, withdraw General Howe from Trenton, and give some reputation to our arms. Happily we succeeded. We found Princeton about sunrise, with only three regiments and three troops of light-horse in it, two of which were on their march to Trenton. These three regiments, espe cially the two first, made a gallant resistance, and in killed, wounded, and prisoners, must have lost five hundred men: upwards of one hundred of them were left dead in the field, and, with what I have with me, and what were taken in the pursuit, and carried across the Delaware, there are near three hundred prisoners, fourteen of whom are officers, all British. This piece of good fortune is counterbalanced by the loss of the brave and worthy General Mer. cer, Colonels Hazlet and Potter, Captain Neale, of the artillery, Captain Fleming, who commanded the first Virginia regiment, and four or five other valuable officers, who, with about twenty-five or thirty privates, were slain in the field. Our whole loss cannot be ascertained, as many who were in pursuit of the enemy (who were chased three or four miles) are not yet come in. The rear of the enemy's army, lying at Maiden. head, (not more than five or six miles from Prince. ton,) was up with us before our pursuit was over: but, as I had the precaution to destroy the bridge over Stony Brook, (about half a mile from the field of action,) they were so long retarded there as to give us time to move off in good order for this place. We took two brass field-pieces, but, for want of horses, could not bring them away. We also took some blankets, shoes, and a few other trifling articles, burned the hay, and destroyed such other things as the shortness of the time would admit of. My original plan, when I set out from Trenton, was to have pushed on to Brunswick; but the harassed state of our troops, (many of them having had no rest for two nights and a day,) and the danger of losing the advantage we had gained by aiming at too much, induced me, by the advice of my officers, to relinquish the attempt: but, in my judgment, six or eight hundred fresh troops, upon a forced march, would have destroyed all their stores and magazines-taken (as we have since learned) their military chest, containing seventy thousand pounds and put an end to the war. The enemy, from the best intelligence I have been able to get, were so much alarmed at the apprehension of this, that they marched immediately to Brunswick without halting, except at the bridges, (for I also took up those on Millstone, on the different routes to Brunswick,) and got there before day. From the best information I have received, General Howe has left no men either at Trenton or Princeton. The truth of this I am endeavouring to ascertain, that I may regulate my movements accordingly. The militia are taking spirits, and, I am told, are coming in fast from this state; but I fear those from Philadelphia will scarcely submit to the hardships of a winter campaign much longer, especially as they very unluckily sent their blankets with their baggage to Burlington. I must do them the justice, however, to add, that they have undergone more fatigue and hardship than I expected militia (especially citizens) would have done at this incle ment season. I am just moving to Morristown, where I shall endeavour to put them under the best cover I can: hitherto, we have been without any; and many of our poor soldiers quite barefoot, and ill-clad in other respects. I have the honour to be, &c. GEO. WASHINGTON. LETTERS TO RELATIVES. Dr. Franklin to Mrs. Abiah Franklin. HONOURED MOTHER, We received your kind letter of the 2d instant, by which we are glad to hear you still enjoy such a measure of health, notwithstanding your great age. We read your writing very easily. I never met with a word in your letters but what I could easily understand, for though the hand is not always the best, the sense makes every thing plain. My leg, which you inquire after, is now quite well. I shall keep these servants, but the man not in my own house. I have hired him out to the man that takes care of my Dutch printing-office, who agrees to keep him in victuals and clothes, and to pay me a dollar a week for his work. The wife, since that affair, behaves exceeding well; but we conclude to sell them both the first good opportunity, for we do not like negro servants. We got again about half what we lost. As to your grandchildren, Will is now nineteen years of age, a tall, proper youth, and much of a beau. He acquired a habit of idleness on the Expedition; but begins of late to apply himself to business, and I hope will become an industrious |