Who commanded the Continental Army during the 1776 crossing of the Delaware River?

George Washington commanded the Continental Army during the 1776 crossing of the Delaware River.

Washington led the nighttime operation on December 25–26, 1776, during the Revolutionary War. His army crossed the ice-filled river from Pennsylvania into New Jersey and then attacked the Hessian garrison at Trenton.

The resulting Battle of Trenton was a major morale-boosting victory for the American side. Washington followed it with further operations in New Jersey, including the Battle of Princeton in January 1777.

The famous crossing is often remembered through Emanuel Leutze’s 1851 painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. The painting is an artistic interpretation rather than a literal photograph, and its boat, figures, and composition do not reproduce every historical detail exactly.