George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River

George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, which occurred on the night of December 25–26, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, was the first move in a complex and surprise military maneuver organized by George Washington, the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, which culminated in their attack on Hessian forces garrisoned at Trenton. Washington and his troops successfully attacked the Hessian forces in the Battle of Trenton on the morning of December 26, 1776.

The military campaign was organized in great secrecy by Washington, who led a column of Continental Army troops from today's Bucks County, Pennsylvania across the icy Delaware River to today's Mercer County, New Jersey in what was one of the Revolutionary War's most logistically challenging and dangerous clandestine operations. Other planned crossings in support of the operation were either called off or ineffective, but this did not prevent Washington from surprising and defeating the Hessian troops encamped in Trenton under the command of Johann Rall. After prevailing in the Battle of Trenton, Washington and his Continental Army troops crossed the Delaware River again, returning to Pennsylvania west-bound with Hessian prisoners and military stores taken in the battle.

Washington's army then crossed the Delaware River a third time at the end of 1776 under difficult circumstances by the uncertain thickness of the ice on the river. They defeated British reinforcements under Lord Cornwallis at Trenton on January 2, 1777, and were also triumphant over his rear guard at Princeton the following day prior to retreating to his winter quarters in Morristown, New Jersey. As a celebrated location and development in the ultimately victorious Revolutionary War, the unincorporated communities of Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania and Washington Crossing, New Jersey are both named in honor of Washington and the logistically complicated covert crossing of the Delaware River.

Background

Although 1776 started well for Washington and the Continental Army with the evacuation of British troops from Boston in March, attempts to defend New York City from the British were unsuccessful. British General William Howe and his troops landed on Long Island in August and pushed Washington's Continental Army completely out of New York by mid-November, when he captured the remaining troops on Manhattan.

The main force of British troops returned to New York for the winter season, and they left their allied Hessian troops in New Jersey under the command of Colonels Rall and Von Donop. Both colonels were ordered to form small outposts in and around Trenton. Howe then sent troops under the command of Charles Cornwallis across the Hudson River, where they chased Washington and his troops across New Jersey.

Washington's army was shrinking because of expiring enlistments and desertions. The remaining troops were suffering from poor morale because of the defeats in the New York area. Most of Washington's army crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania north of Trenton, and destroyed or moved to the western shore all boats for miles in both directions.

Rather than attempting to immediately chase Washington further, Cornwallis, under Howe's orders, established a chain of New Jersey outposts from New Brunswick to Burlington, including one at Bordentown and one at Trenton, and ordered his troops to bunker there in winter quarters. The British were happy to end the campaign season when they were ordered to winter quarters. This was a time for the generals to regroup, resupply, and strategize for the upcoming campaign season the following spring.

Washington's final plan included plans for three crossings of the river, with his troops, the largest contingent, to lead the attack on Trenton. A second column under Cadwalader was to cross at Dunk's Ferry and create a diversion to the south. A third column under Brigadier General James Ewing was to cross at Trenton Ferry and hold the bridge across the Assunpink Creek, just south of Trenton, in order to prevent the enemy's escape by that route. Once Trenton was secure, the combined Continental Army would move against the British posts in Princeton and New Brunswick. A planned fourth crossing, by men provided by General Israel Putnam to assist Cadwalader, was aborted after Putnam indicated that he did not feel he had enough men fit for such a military operation.

Preparations for the attack began immediately, on December 23. The following day, on December 24, boats were used to begin bringing the Continental Army across the Delaware from New Jersey were brought down from Malta Island near present-day New Hope, Pennsylvania. The boats were hidden behind Taylor Island at McConkey's Ferry, Washington's planned crossing site, and security was tightened at and around the crossing. A final planning meeting took place that day, with all of the general officers present. Washington outlined the detailed plans for the crossing of the river and planned attacks on the Hessians in Trenton on December 25, 1776

Watercraft

thumb|Reenactors cross the [[Delaware River|Delaware in Durham boats on December 25, 2005]]

A wide variety of watercraft were assembled for the crossing of the Delaware River, primarily through the work of militia men from surrounding counties in New Jersey and Pennsylvania with assistance from the Pennsylvania Navy.

Captain Daniel Bray, along with Captain Jacob Gearhart and Captain Jacob Ten Eyck, were chosen by Washington to take charge of the boats used in the crossing, supervising the transport of infantry, cavalry, and cannon. In addition to the large ferry vessels, which were big enough to carry large coaches, and likely served for carrying horses and artillery during the crossing, a large number of Durham boats were used to transport soldiers across the river. These boats were designed to carry heavy loads from the Durham Iron Works, featured high sides and a shallow draft, and could be poled across the river.

The boats were operated by experienced watermen, including John Glover's Marblehead Regiment, a company of experienced seamen from Marblehead, Massachusetts. These men were joined by seamen, dockworkers, and shipbuilders from Philadelphia and local ferry operators and boatsmen who knew the Delaware River well, including Kirby Francis Kane from Rhode Island.

Crossing

thumb|[[Henry Knox, Washington's chief of artillery]]

thumb|right|An icy Delaware River at the crossing point in January 2025, showing conditions likely similar to the ones Washington faced on the night of the attack

thumb|Map showing Washington's movements on the night of December 25–26, 1776, prior to his successful surprise attack in the [[Battle of Trenton]]

On the morning of December 25, Washington ordered his Continental Army troops to prepare three days' food and issued orders that every soldier be outfitted with fresh flints for their muskets. Washington was somewhat worried by intelligence reports that the British were planning their own crossing once the Delaware was frozen over. At 4 pm on December 25, Washington's army arrived to begin the crossing of the river. The troops were issued ammunition, and even the officers and musicians were ordered to carry muskets. They were told that they were departing on a secret mission. Marching eight abreast in close formations and ordered to be as quiet as possible, they left the camp for McConkey's Ferry. Washington's plan required the crossing to begin as soon as it was dark enough to conceal their movements on the river, but most of the troops did not reach the crossing point until about 6 pm, about ninety minutes after sunset. As the evening progressed, the weather became progressively worse, turning from drizzle to rain and then to sleet and snow. "It blew a hurricane," one soldier recalled.

Washington had given charge of the crossing to his chief of artillery, Henry Knox. In addition to the crossing of large numbers of troops (most of whom could not swim), he had to safely transport horses and eighteen pieces of artillery over the river. Knox wrote that the crossing was accomplished "with almost infinite difficulty", and that its most significant danger was floating ice in the river. One observer noted that the whole operation might well have failed "but for the stentorian lungs of Colonel Knox". The unusually cold weather of the 1770s and the icy river were likely related to the Little Ice Age.

Washington was among the first of the troops to cross, going with Virginia troops led by General Adam Stephen. These troops formed a sentry line around the landing area in New Jersey, with strict instructions that no one was to pass through. The password was "Victory or Death". The rest of the army crossed without significant incident, although a few men, including Delaware's Colonel John Haslet, fell into the water.

Others who crossed included Arthur St. Clair, who later served as President of the Continental Congress and Governor of the Northwest Territory and John Gano, a brigade chaplain and friend of George Washington, who later served as the first chaplain in the Kentucky state legislature.

The amount of ice on the river prevented the artillery from finishing the crossing until 3 am on December 26. The troops were ready to march around 4 am.

The two other crossings fared less well. The treacherous weather and ice jams on the river stopped General Ewing from even attempting a crossing below Trenton. Colonel Cadwalader crossed a significant portion of his men to New Jersey, but when he found that he could not get his artillery across the river he recalled his men from New Jersey. When he received word about Washington's victory, he crossed his men over again but retreated when he found out that Washington had not stayed in New Jersey.

Attack

On the morning of December 26, as soon as the Continental Army was ready, Washington ordered it split into two columns, one Washington personally commanded with General Greene, and a second led by General Sullivan. The Sullivan column would take River Road from Bear Tavern to Trenton while Washington's column would follow Pennington Road, a parallel route that lay a few miles inland from the Delaware River.

Meanwhile, the Hessians were held up at Trenton. In the days approaching Christmas, they experienced numerous skirmishes around Trenton, and were subjected to frequent gunfire at night, along with repeated false alarms. By Christmas Eve, the Hessians were tired and weary. As a storm and heavy snowfall began Christmas night, Colonel Rall assumed there would be no attack of any consequence to worry about. While Rall was in Trenton, he and some of his top officers spent Christmas evening at the home of Abraham Hunt, Trenton's postmaster, where Hunt played the role of a Loyalist and placated Rall and his officers with food and plenty of drink into the late hours of the evening and morning, which, by many accounts, compromised Rall's ability to respond to Washington's surprise attack at daybreak.

Washington attacked an unsuspecting Rall and his troops and in little time had scattered and divided them and ultimately won the battle. Only three Americans were killed and six wounded, while 22 Hessians were killed, with 98 wounded. During the battle Colonel Rall was mortally wounded, and died the next day. The Americans captured nearly 1,000 prisoners, and seized muskets, gunpowder, artillery pieces, and drums. In the following days, the British withdrew to New Brunswick, and the Continental Army entered winter quarters in Morristown, New Jersey.

Legacy

Both sides of the Delaware River where the crossing took place have been preserved, in an area designated as the Washington's Crossing National Historic Landmark. In this district, Washington Crossing Historic Park in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, preserves the area in Pennsylvania, and Washington Crossing State Park in Washington Crossing, New Jersey preserves the area in New Jersey. The two areas are connected by the Washington Crossing Bridge.

{| style="margin:1em auto;"

| thumb|upright=0.8 |[[Statue of George Washington (Trenton, New Jersey)|George Washington (), Mill Hill, Trenton]]

| thumb |upright=0.7 |The landing area of Washington and his troops at [[Washington Crossing State Park]]

| thumb|upright=0.8 | [[James Monroe, along with George Washington one of the two future U.S. presidents who took part in the crossing]]

In 1851, the artist Emmanuel Leutze painted Washington Crossing the Delaware, an idealized and inspirational portrait of the crossing.

Fictional portrayals in film of the crossing have also been made, with perhaps the most notable recent one being The Crossing, a 2000 television movie starring Jeff Daniels as George Washington.

A marble statue of George Washington, displayed at the Centennial Exposition in 1876, is located near the Douglass House in the Mill Hill neighborhood of Trenton. He is shown standing on a boat, symbolically representing the crossing. An image of Washington Crossing the Delaware has also appeared on the 1999 New Jersey State Quarter and on the reverse of the 2021 Quarter.

In 1970, the Vietnam Veterans Against the War invoked the crossing when they marched from Morristown to Valley Forge, performing guerrilla theatre, holding press conferences, and passing out flyers in a three-day event called Operation RAW.

Citations

Bibliography

Robbins, Michael W. "The Durham Boat" MHQ: Quarterly Journal of Military History (2015) 27#2 pp 26–28, the boat Washington used.

External links

Annual Reenactment website
Sierra Activist article on the reenactment