Scotch Plains Union New Jersey United States

General Howe had moved a sizable army to Somerset Court House, south of New Brunswick, for reasons that are not entirely clear.

If he performed this move as a feint to draw Washington out from his strong position, it had failed, as Washington refuses to move his army out in force.

Washington had intelligence that Howe had not brought the necessary equipment for either bringing or constructing watercraft, so this move seemed unlikely to him to be a move toward the Delaware River.

When Howe eventually withdraws his army back toward Perth Amboy, Washington does follow.

Launching a lightning strike, Howe sends forces under Cornwallis in an attempt to cut Washington off from the high ground; this attempt is foiled in a skirmish in Scotch Plains later known as the Battle of Short Hills.