The Battle of Princeton was on January,1777,it was one more gritty, brave victory for the Americans, won sheer determination and a bit of George Washington ingenuity. After being overtaken at Trenton, Washington had been forced to retreat across the Delaware River. He and his men were now crossing back over the river and into Trenton. The date was December 31,1776. General Washington and his army had scarcely been across the river for 24 hours when he received the word that 8,000 British troops , led by General Cornwallis, were on their way to attack him. While Washington lamented over the situation of having to hold off 8,000 men with his 1,500, Cornwallis wasted no time in preparing for his attack.