Letter to the Editor: Had Washington Lost the Battle of Princeton, IAS Would Not Exist

To the Editor:

The history of the Princeton Battlefield and the Institute's housing is complex. While the Institute has made valuable contributions to the Battlefield, the one individual who is most responsible for its preservation and its establishment as a State Park is Moses Taylor Pyne. (Pyne halted a trolley line from dissecting the battlefield along Mercer Road; in 1913, Pyne bought the land from developers in order to preserve it.) The Institute has stated its first choice for the housing was a portion of the Institute Woods, but this was preserved from development by a permanent trust. It was a trade- a wooded park for Institute members and the public to enjoy, but at the sacrifice of the tract adjacent to the Battlefield Park. 

It is important to recognize the two stages of the battle which occurred in and around the Battlefield Park: the first was a battle on William Clarke's farm, fought in an orchard and wheat field just north of his house. Mercer's Brigade was routed in this action; Mercer was bayoneted near William Clarke's barn. The remnants of his brigade fled towards the Quaker Meeting House, Thomas Clarke's house and a patch of woods just south of these structures. They were met by Cadwalader's Brigade and by General Washington. The first counterattack against the British was repulsed; during the second, Washington on horseback took a position between both lines, rallied the faltering troops and broke the British line. This occurred between two fences on Thomas Clarke's farm- the center of the current Battlefield Park. The state of preservation of the Battlefield is such that these fencelines are visible on many aerial and satellite photographs. James Peale painted "A View of the Battle of Princeton" from a perspective on the current battlefield facing William Clarke's farm. 

The greatest destruction of the Princeton Battlefield occurred on two occasions: the construction of the Trenton-Princeton Turnpike in 1804, which cut the American position at William Clarke's in two; and the construction (c.1959-1963) of Veblen Circle and Stone House Drive, effectively obliterating the site of William Clarke's farm. 

The Princeton Battlefield Preservation Society chose to commission a study to "prove" that Washington's counterattack occurred on the disputed tract. The conclusion of the study was predetermined- they had a set of "facts" and then sought for evidence to prove those facts. The result was wildly erroneous. Those who participated in the study had no knowledge of local history. This contributed to the numerous errors of the report. The greatest explanation why this report is in error may be found in Professor Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker's study (The Princeton Battlefield Monument, 1922, see pp. 95-97; readily available at archive org); why did Washington's Army not counterattack from the "Saw Mill Road" as the study contends? Because "the army was not there" as Wertenbaker has irrefutably demonstrated. Wertenbaker was the finest historian ever to study the Battle of Princeton; Washington’s biographer Douglas Southall Freeman, who spoke at the Battlefield Park dedication in 1946, deferred his opinions to Wertenbaker's. 

The College of New Jersey (future Princeton University) was presided over by the Rev. John Witherspoon from 1768 to 1794. His graduates are among the greatest statesmen that America (and the world) has ever produced. When the British entered Princeton following the Battle of Princeton, they bragged to the townspeople "We killed your Damn'd rebel Parson and College President." (They had in actuality killed the Reverend John Rosbrugh in Trenton the previous night, a man who had a remarkable resemblance to Dr. Witherspoon.) 

Dr. Witherspoon's curriculum is credited with the proliferation of physics and astronomy in American colleges; an astronomer he brought to Princeton, Walter Minto, wrote a prayer he appended to his 1788 Inaugural oration: this prayer summarizes the wishes of his fellow Princetonians upon the recent establishment of the American Republic: "to prosper the interests of science and literature in the United States of America ... to protect this country as a secure and happy asylum to the oppressed in all quarters of the globe; to enlighten the inhabitants of the eastern hemisphere in the knowledge of the rights of mankind, and in the arts of government and peace." 

As for the statement in a previous letter (Mark Sheibner, “Why I Support the Institute’s Housing Plan” December 5) that the common graves of the American and British dead is located on park property, it is not. Moses Taylor Pyne marked the site when he resided at Drumthwacket: it is at the northernmost of three ponds, in what was a stone quarry in 1777. It is my understanding that the Battlefield Society was searching for the site and that the question was posed to members of the battlefield report but they did not know of this location. 

Had Washington failed to obtain victory in the Battle of Princeton, a victory so important that he placed himself between the fires of British and American lines, it is safe to assert that the Institute for Advanced Study would never have been established; more significantly, the American Republic would not exist. 

The Institute must demonstrate greater integrity in its plans for the site as well as a greater respect for the archaeological potential of the land which they occupy- particularly battlefield land which has already been developed. They are placing convenience and a "nice view" above the interests of historical study and preservation. If their intentions are respectful of historical knowledge, the entire site ought to be subject to a comprehensive archaeological survey. The Institute has done next to nothing but some sweeps by an inexperienced archaeologist with a metal detector. Ground-penetrating radar may locate the remnants of the Clarke house and barn (near Veblen Circle) without incurring damage to the grounds. On the other hand, valuable resources of the Princeton Battlefield Preservation Society have been diverted from such important measures as the proper restoration and maintenance of the Thomas Clarke House. 

William Myers

Highland Park 

P.S. My interests in the Battle of Princeton are manifold; I am a direct lineal descendant of Princeton's first settlers; also a FitzRandolph descendant; and my 5^th great uncles were Thomas Leonard and James Leonard, the latter of whom namedPrinceton in 1724. My seventh-great-grandmother Frances Horner had the Quaker Meeting House built as a provision of her late husband's will. Her granddaughter was Frances Vliet Piatt, mother of 5 officers in the 1st New Jersey Continental Line: Frances Piatt is supposed to have died during the Battle of Princeton "within hearing if the guns," if a grandson's letter in the NJ Historical Society may be trusted. The Rev. Rosbrugh is also an ancestor.