On orders from General Washington to pull Hessian troops southward from positions of support near Trenton, 600 Americans stationed at Mount Holly under Colonel Samuel Griffin attacked a Hessian outpost at Petticoat Bridge on December 21. When the 3,000 Hessians quartered in Burlington County retaliated by marching against Petticoat Bridge on December 23, they were met with a barrage of gunfire. Following a sharp skirmish, the Americans withdrew to Mount Holly, luring the Hessians still further from Trenton.