PRINCETON: Tour retraces Battle of Princeton

By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
   A mix of adults and children marched the same ground Saturday afternoon that George Washington and his army helped make famous one winter’s day in 1777.
   ”They really had this town covered,” said tour guide Eve Mandel of the Historical Society of Princeton from behind Nassau Hall, one of seven stops along the 60-minute tour marking the battle between the British and Continental armies on Jan. 3, 1777.
   The “they” were the British, who outnumbered the Continental troops 8,000 to 6,800 when the two armies clashed.
   During the battle, fighting came up as far as Nassau Street, then known as King’s Highway, she said.
   The tour group paused on the Princeton University campus, an otherwise idyllic place that was disrupted by war.
   Ms. Mandel, director of programs and visitors service, explained that under Alexander Hamilton, Continental troops fired cannon balls at Nassau Hall, then in British hands. As part of its permanent collection, the society has bullets that were retrieved from the walls of a building that today houses the university administration.
   Using a microphone, Ms. Mandel pointed out a spot on Cannon Green, located behind Nassau Hall, where a Revolutionary War cannon is buried muzzle first in the ground. Of note, the cannon was used during the War of 1812 during a battle at New Brunswick.”A lot of history in this town,” said tour-goer Peter Hoine.
   Though Washington’s troops endured hardships, their victory at Princeton — coming as part of Washington’s attacks inf New Jersey — is viewed by historians as a critical moment in the Revolutionary War.
   Toward the end of the tour, Ms. Mandel stood at the second to last stop: in front of old Borough Hall, at the Princeton Battle Monument that was commissioned in 1908: the limestone image of Washington shows him atop his horse as Liberty leads the way.
   Saturday’s walking tour was billed as a family program that was meant to be accessible to children and adults.
   ”It was excellent,” said Kim Luke afterward. “This was really nice for the whole family.”