George Washington and his army crossed the Delaware River on the night of December 25, 1776, during a fierce winter storm, as part of a surprise attack on Hessian troops in Trenton, New Jersey.

The Date and Timing

  • Washington’s main crossing began in the late afternoon of December 25, 1776 (Christmas Day) , when his troops started gathering at McConkey’s Ferry (now Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania).
  • The Continental Army began crossing the river around 4:00 PM that day, but the operation took much longer than planned due to ice, snow, and strong winds.
  • Washington himself crossed sometime after 6:00 PM, likely in the early evening, but the entire force (including artillery and horses) wasn’t fully on the New Jersey side until about 3:00 AM on December 26.

The Plan and Conditions

  • Washington’s goal was to cross quietly at night, march about 10 miles to Trenton, and attack the Hessian garrison just before dawn on December 26.
  • The weather was brutal: freezing rain, sleet, snow, and ice floes made the river extremely dangerous, and many boats nearly capsized.
  • Despite the delays, the army reassembled in New Jersey and launched the successful Battle of Trenton in the early morning hours of December 26, capturing nearly 1,000 Hessian soldiers.

Why It’s Famous

  • This daring crossing and victory at Trenton were a major turning point in the Revolutionary War, boosting morale when the American cause seemed near collapse.
  • The event is famously depicted in Emanuel Leutze’s 1851 painting Washington Crossing the Delaware , which shows the general standing in a boat on the icy river.

So, in short: Washington crossed the Delaware on the night of December 25, 1776 , with the crossing stretching from late afternoon into the early hours of December 26.