Following the victory at the Battle of Trenton early in the morning of December 26, 1776, General George Washington of the Continental Army and his council of war expected a strong British counterattack.

Washington and the council decided to meet this attack in Trenton and established a defensive position south of the Assunpink Creek.

Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis led the British forces southward in the aftermath of the December 26 battle.

[8] On December 30, Washington moved his army back to Trenton and stationed his men on the south side of the Assunpink Creek.

[12] Washington then wheeled his horse around and rode in front of the troops, saying, "My brave fellows, you have done all I asked you to do, and more than could be reasonably expected; but your country is at stake, your wives, your houses and all that you hold dear.

[3] On January 2, Cornwallis left part of his force there under the command of Charles Mawhood, and with 5,500 men, set off down the road to Trenton, 11 miles (18 km) away.

[3] When Cornwallis reached Maidenhead (now Lawrenceville), he detached Colonel Alexander Leslie with 1,500 men and ordered them to remain there until the following morning.

[3] Out in front of his army, Cornwallis placed a skirmish line of Hessian jägers and British light infantry.

[18] Two days before, Washington had troops under the command of Matthias Alexis Roche de Fermoy place an outer defensive line halfway between Trenton and Princeton to delay the British advance.

The intense fire confused the British into thinking that the entire American army was up against them, and they formed into battle lines, bringing up their cannon.

[20] By three in the afternoon, the British had reached a ravine known as Stockton Hollow, about half a mile (0.8 km) from Trenton where the Americans were forming another line of defense.

Washington, seeing the chaos, rode out through the crowd of men crossing the bridge and shouted that Hand's rear guard should pull back and regroup under the cover of the American artillery.

[22] As the British prepared to attack the American defenses, cannon, and musket fire were exchanged between the opposing sides.

"[23] But James Grant disagreed and argued that there was no way for the Americans to retreat, and that the British troops were worn out, and that it would be better for them to attack in the morning after they had rested.

[23] During the night, the American artillery, under the command of Henry Knox, occasionally fired shells into Trenton to keep the British on edge.

With their third defeat in ten days, Cornwallis' superior, General William Howe, ordered the army to withdraw from southern New Jersey and nearly back to New York.

[28] The battle was commemorated on April 21, 1789, with a triumphal arch erected on the bridge over the Assunpink Creek during George Washington's reception at Trenton on his way to his first inauguration.