The Battle of Princeton on this site was the final battle of General George Washington’s campaign to salvage the American Revolution. Between December 25, 1776 and January 3, 1777, during the Ten Crucial Days, the Continental Army launched a daring offensive that shocked the British high command, revived faith in independence, and established Washington as a heroic military leader and symbol of American determination. At the beginning of December, the British had driven Washington and his men out of New York City and New Jersey, and victory seemed almost a foregone conclusion, even among Americans. Weakened by defeat and desertion, Washington privately admitted that if the situation did not improve, “the game is pretty near up.” In the ten days between the crossing of the Delaware River and the Battle of Princeton, Washington showed that a volunteer army using clever tactics could defeat highly trained English and Hessian regulars. His attacks at Trenton and Princeton shocked the British and forced them to abandon much of New Jersey. The battles of Trenton, Assunpink Creek, and Princeton greatly improved morale, helped pave the way for French backing in the war, and after Princeton, many Americans began for the first time to see themselves as part of something larger: a nation. Although another six-and-a-half years passed before the war ended and Great Britain recognized the United States of America, those Ten Crucial Days lifted colonial spirits and strengthened fading resolve at a pivotal moment in the struggle for independence.
