Ten Facts About Battle of Princeton-- Part 6: The Final Actions Took Part on the Campus of Princeton

8.  THE FINAL ACTIONS TOOK PART ON THE CAMPUS OF PRINCETON

After the Americans were victorious at the Clarke Farm segment of the battle, fighting shifted toward the town of Princeton itself.  Roughly 200 British Regulars had fortified Nassau Hall at the center of Princeton University today.  They intended to hold the Americans off from there until a relief party arrived.

The Americans positioned cannons around the building and opened fire.  Legend has it that one American cannonball decapitated a portrait of King George II hanging inside.

Nassau Hall still stands on Princeton's campus and damage from the Americans can still be seen on the outside of it.  As for that :damaged" portrait of King George II?  The original was destroyed, but a different  painting of the king now hangs opposite  Peale's portrait of George Washington at the Battle of Princeton.

--Cooter