On these New Jersey fields, George Washington rallied his forces to defeat British troops, a crucial turning point in the Revolutionary War. Waged on January 3, 1777, the battle at Princeton transformed prospects for the American Revolution. Not only did Washington's success inspire countless soldiers to renew their commissions, it reinvigorated support for the sometimes desperate Colonial effort. The story of our country's fight for independence is incomplete without a fully preserved Princeton Battlefield.

A portion of the battle site faced a significant threat –the construction of eight townhouses and seven large, detached homes for faculty of the Institute for Advanced Study. As proposed initially, the project would have substantially destroyed the integrity of a rare, intact battlefield.