On what dates did George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River occur during the American Revolution?

George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River occurred during the night of December 25–26, 1776.

Washington led Continental Army troops from Pennsylvania across the ice-choked river into New Jersey. The dangerous operation was conducted in worsening rain, sleet, and snow, with the aim of surprising Hessian troops stationed at Trenton.

The crossing was the opening move of a larger maneuver. On the morning of December 26, Washington’s force attacked the Hessian garrison in the Battle of Trenton and achieved a significant American victory. The result helped restore morale after a difficult series of defeats.

The famous crossing was not a single simple trip. Washington’s army crossed back to Pennsylvania after the battle, then crossed the Delaware again later in the campaign. Emanuel Leutze’s 1851 painting made the event an especially enduring American image, although its artistic details are not a precise record of the conditions.