Battle of Bound Brook

Battle of Bound Brook
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Map by Johann Ewald depicting the Bound Brook area and the plan of attack. New Brunswick is at the bottom, and the Bound Brook outpost at the center. British movements are drawn in red.
Date April 13, 1777 Location Bound Brook, New Jersey, U.S. 40°33′32″N 74°31′40″W / 40.5589°N 74.5278°W / 40.5589; -74.5278 Result British victory
Belligerents
United States	Great Britain Hesse-Cassel
Commanders and leaders
Benjamin Lincoln	Charles Cornwallis
Strength
500[1]	4,000[2]
Casualties and losses
Reports vary: 40 to 120 killed, wounded or captured	Light: 7 wounded[3]

The Battle of Bound Brook (April 13, 1777) was a surprise attack by British and Hessian forces on a Continental Army outpost in Bound Brook, New Jersey, during the American Revolutionary War. Although the British aimed to capture the garrison, they fell short and took some prisoners. U.S. commander Major General Benjamin Lincoln left quickly, abandoning papers and personal effects.

Late on the evening of April 12, 1777, four thousand British and Hessian troops under the command of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis marched from the British stronghold of New Brunswick. All but one detachment reached positions surrounding the outpost before the battle began near daybreak the next morning. During the battle, most of the 500-man garrison escaped by the unblocked route. U.S. reinforcements arrived in the afternoon, but not before the British plundered the outpost and began the return march to New Brunswick.