Trenton, sent out scouting parties, and roused the country so
that in every bit of forest along the road to Princeton there
were men, dead shots, to make difficult a British advance to
retake Trenton.

The reverse had brought consternation at New York. Lord
Cornwallis was about to embark for England, the bearer of news of
overwhelming victory. Now, instead, he was sent to drive back
Washington. It was no easy task for Cornwallis to reach Trenton,
for Washington's scouting parties and a force of six hundred men
under Greene were on the road to harass him. On the evening of
the 2d of January, however, he reoccupied Trenton. This time
Washington had not recrossed the Delaware but had retreated
southward and was now entrenched on the southern bank of the
little river Assanpink, which flows into the Delaware.
Reinforcements were following Cornwallis. That night he sharply
cannonaded Washington's position and was as sharply answered. He
intended to attack in force in the morning. To the skill and
resource of Washington he paid the compliment of saying that at
last he had run down the "Old Fox."

Then followed a maneuver which, years after, Cornwallis, a
generous foe, told Washington was one of the most surprising and
brilliant in the history of war. There was another "old fox" in
Europe, Frederick the Great, of Prussia, who knew war if ever man
knew it, and he, too, from this movement ranked Washington among
the great generals. The maneuver was simple enough. Instead of
taking the obvious course of again retreating across the Delaware
Washington decided to advance, to get in behind Cornwallis, to
try to cut his communications, to threaten the British base of