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Lt. Bartholomew Yates Birth: 1759 Gloucester County Virginia, USA Death: Jan. 9, 1777, Princeton Mercer County New Jersey, USA

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By the end of December 1776, Washington's immediate army had shrunk from casualties, disease, desertion, and the termination of enlistments to about 2,500 men fit for duty. In the hope of seizing another morale victory, if not a strategic one, Washington decided on a daring attack on Hessian troops at Trenton, New Jersey.

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In the early morning hours of December 26, Washington's small band, including the First Virginia, crossed the Delaware River, reaching the outskirts of Trenton about 8:00 am. The surprised Hessians tried in vain to hold off the Americans, but by 9:45 am the Germans were forced to surrender. Within a few days of the American victory at Trenton, British troops marched to the town to engage Washington's small army. The two armies began firing on each other across a creek, but darkness soon put an end to the fighting.

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When dawn arrived the next morning, the British were surprised to find that Washington's army had quietly pulled out in the dark. The Continentals had marched all night to the village of Princeton where they stumbled into a British force just setting out for Trenton. The Americans were divided into two groups, with the Virginians part of Green's division under Gen. Hugh Mercer, guarding the road to Trenton.

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The remaining Americans proceeded to attack Princeton from the west. Col. Mawhood's two British regiments had already departed Princeton when Mercer's troops were spotted behind them. The British turned back toward Princeton and engaged Mercer's troops. With about 300 men on each side facing one another, the British soon charged with bayonets. Mercer was one of the first to fall victim to the bayonet charge.

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Twenty-one-year-old Captain John Fleming of the First Virginia rallied the Regiment but was soon killed, and 18-year-old 2nd Lieutenant Bartholomew Yates was mortally wounded on January 3, 1777, and died 6 days later.

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Family links: Parents: Robert Yates (1715 - 1761) Mary Elizabeth Randolph Yates (1729 - 1768) Sibling: Bartholomew Yates (1759 - 1777) Catharine Randolph Yates Wellford (1760 – 1831)

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