These actions frayed the nerves of the troops, as the uncertainty of when and where such attacks would take place, and by what size force, put the men and their commanders on edge, leading them to jump up to investigate every rumored movement.

Griffin's force, whose exact composition is uncertain, probably included some Virginia artillerymen, Pennsylvania infantry, and New Jersey militia, and numbered five to six hundred.

[12][13] By December 21, Griffin had advanced to Mount Holly and established a rough fortification atop a hill near an iron works, south of the Rancocas Creek and the village center.

[18] On the morning of December 23, von Donop brought about 3,000 troops (the 42nd British (Highland) Regiment and the Hessian Grenadier battalions Block and Linsing) to Petticoat Bridge where they overwhelmed Griffin's men.

Jäger Captain Johann Ewald reported that "some 100 men" were posted on a hill "near the church", who "retired quickly" after a few rounds of artillery were fired.

[19] Griffin, whose troops had occupied Mount Holly, slowly retreated to their fortified position on the hill, following which the two sides engaged in ineffectual long-range fire.

[20] Von Donop's forces bivouacked in Mount Holly on the night of December 23, where, according to Ewald, they plundered the town, breaking into alcohol stores of abandoned houses and getting drunk.

Dr. Bancroft had married Mary Magdalene Valleau, a niece raised by Dr. Peter Bard and his wife, relatives of the owners of the iron works in town.

A diarist describes her: "At the period of which we are now speaking she had just entered her eighteenth year, and was possessed of an elegant figure, a fascinating manner, and was endowed with great conversational powers, all of which caused her to be esteemed a beauty."

[20] For whatever reason, von Donop and his contingents remained in Mount Holly, 18 miles (29 km) and a full day's march from Trenton,[24] until a messenger arrived on December 26, bringing the news of Rall's defeat by Washington that morning.