Battle of Iron Works Hill | |||||||
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Part of the American Revolutionary War | |||||||
Map, c. 1806, showing towns most relevant to the Battle: Bordentown, Moorestown and Mount Holly, NJ. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States |
Great Britain Hesse-Kassel | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Samuel Griffin | Carl von Donop | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
500–600 militia[1][2] | 2,000 British and Hessian troops[3] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Minor (see Aftermath)[4] | Minor (see Aftermath)[4] | ||||||
The Battle of Iron Works Hill, also known as the Battle of Mount Holly, was a series of minor skirmishes that took place on December 22 and 23, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War. The fighting took place in Mount Holly, New Jersey, between an American force mostly composed of colonial militia under Colonel Samuel Griffin and a force of 2,000 Hessians and British regulars under Carl von Donop.
While the American force of 600 was eventually forced from their positions by the larger Hessian force, the action prevented von Donop from being in his assigned base at Bordentown, New Jersey, and in a position to assist Johann Rall's brigade in Trenton, New Jersey, when it was attacked and defeated by George Washington after his troops crossed the Delaware on the night of December 25–26, 1776.[5][6]