On what holiday did George Washington lead the 1776 crossing of the Delaware River?

George Washington led the 1776 crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas Day.

Washington and his army crossed the river during the night of December 25–26, 1776, then attacked Hessian troops at Trenton, New Jersey, on the morning of December 26. The victory was important because the Continental Army had suffered repeated defeats and faced expiring enlistments.

The operation was dangerous: ice, wind, and strong currents made the crossing difficult, and the army could not complete every planned movement. Despite those problems, the surprise attack captured about 900 Hessian soldiers and restored confidence in the revolutionary cause.

The event inspired Emanuel Leutze’s famous 1851 painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware. That artwork is a dramatic later interpretation rather than a precise visual record; the actual crossing used larger military boats and included many soldiers. Washington crossed near present-day Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, and Trenton, New Jersey.