Talk:Battle of the Assunpink Creek

Who Won?

Who won this battle? I have looked around, and I have been unable to find a reliale reference which gives this answer. One could say it is an American Victory, because they inflicted heavier casualties and out manuvered the British, or one could say it wasa British Victory because they held the field of battle. Red4tribe (talk) 16:46, 5 July 2008 (UTC)

On the article it states it was a "British Pyrrhic Victory" which basically describes the situation you see, they kept the area but took heavy losses, a pyrrhic victory. The website that is cited: http://www.myrevolutionarywar.com/battles/770102b.htm says that the victory was british and that seems to be a credit worthy website, given it is a website about the revolution. -Kirkoconnell (talk) 19:30, 5 July 2008 (UTC)

For the record, the US Army does NOT recognize this battle as a seperate action, but view it as a continuation of the Battle of Trenton, and as preparation for the Battle Of Princeton. For that reason, they do not credit any of the US units that participated with Campaign Credit, and thus there is no Streamer for this battle for the US Army Flag, or for the Unit Colors of the units that participated.

Here is the official summary of the two campaigns from the US Army Center for Military History. I've highlighted the pertinent information.

Trenton, 26 December 1776. The British followed up their success on Long Island with a series of landings on Manhattan Island which compelled Washington to retire northward to avoid entrapment. When Forts Washington and Lee on the Hudson above Manhattan were lost in mid-November 1776, Washington retreated across New Jersey with General Howe in close pursuit, escaping finally over the Delaware into Pennsylvania with about 3,000 men. Howe then went into winter quarters in New York City, leaving garrisons at Newport, R. I., and in several New Jersey towns. In December 1776, Washington determined to make a surprise attack on the British garrison in Trenton, a 1,400-man Hessian force, in the hope that a striking victory would lift the badly flagging American morale. Reinforcements had raised Washington's army to about 7,000 and on Christmas night (25-26 December) he ferried about 2,400 men of this force across the ice-choked Delaware. At 0800 hours they converged on Trenton in two columns, achieving complete surprise. After only an hour and a half of fighting, the Hessians surrendered. Some 400 of the garrison escaped southward to Bordentown, N. J., when two other American columns failed to get across the Delaware in time to intercept them. About 30 were killed and 918 captured. American losses were only 4 dead and a like number wounded.

Princeton, 3 January 1777. After the successful coup at Trenton, Washington recrossed the Delaware into Pennsylvania with his Hessian prisoners. But he reoccupied Trenton on 30 - 31 December 1776, and collected there a force of 5,200 men, about half militia. Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Charles Cornwallis, British commander in New Jersey, who was in New York at the time of the attack on Trenton, returned gathering troops as he came. He entered Trenton with some 6,ooo British regulars on 2 January and faced Washington's forces, which had withdrawn southward behind Assunpink Creek. The Americans were in a most precarious position with their backs to the Delaware. Fortunately, Cornwallis delayed his attack until the following morning. This gave Washington's men an opportunity to steal off quietly by a side road during the night of 2 - 3 January, leaving their campfires burning brightly. They slipped southward and eastward undetected around the enemy's flank and by morning of the 3rd had arrived at Princeton, where they encountered a column of British regulars led by Col. Charles Mawhood just leaving the town to join Cornwallis. In a brief engagement the Americans defeated the British, inflicting losses of 400-600 killed, wounded, and prisoners at a cost of 30 patriots killed and wounded. Mawhood's force retired in disorder toward Trenton and New Brunswick while Washington moved on north to Morristown, where thickly wooded hills provided protection against a British attack. Here he established his winter headquarters on the flank of the British line of communications, compelling General Howe to withdraw his forces in New Jersey back to New Brunswick and points eastward.

SSG Cornelius Seon (Retired) (talk) 07:24, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

That is very weird, as this battle was clearly a seperate engagement. Every historian that has written a book on this subject that I have read also regards it as a seperate engagement. Also, the same is for Washington's Crossing Historic Park.-Kieran4 (talk) 02:21, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

The battle was essentially a draw with the British unable to dislodge the Americans from the positions and the Americans unable to prevent the British from occupying Trenton which they did with some loss of life on the American side. I think it would be best to characterize the result as inconclusive.--Karl franz josef (talk) 03:05, 27 December 2009 (UTC)

Not an American victory

The definition of victory seems to change on almost every article to suit the American sideBen200 (talk) 01:53, 6 November 2011 (UTC)

No, of course it was a British victory. The British were obviously so busy celebrating their great "victory" that they were unable to help out their compatriots who were annihilated by the same obviously defeated Americans at Princeton the very next day. Jsc1973 (talk) 16:27, 25 December 2011 (UTC)

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