AMERICA AT WAR
Victory or Death: Washington’s Christmas Crossing and the Fight for Trenton
In December 1776, expiring enlistments and a battered army left Washington little time to reverse the Revolution’s fortunes.
On Christmas night 1776, George Washington led about 2,400 men across the ice-filled Delaware River. The victory at Trenton gave the Continental Army a chance to survive its year-end enlistment crisis.
By late December 1776, George Washington’s army faced a deadline as dangerous as any British force. Many enlistments would expire on December 31, and desertion had added to the pressure. Congress had left Philadelphia for Baltimore amid fears of a British advance. In a December 18 letter to his brother Samuel, Washington wrote that “the game is pretty near up” without reinforcements. [4]
Washington answered the crisis with a winter attack across the Delaware River. The password for the operation was “Victory or Death.” [4]
An Army With Little Time
The target was Trenton, New Jersey, where a Hessian garrison commanded by Col. Johann Rall held an isolated post. Hessian troops were German auxiliaries serving with the British army. A successful strike could give the Continental Army an urgently needed victory before the year-end enlistment deadline.
Thomas Paine’s newly published *The American Crisis* was read to Continental soldiers in the days before the offensive, part of an effort to steady an army facing a hard winter and uncertain prospects. [3]
Washington’s plan called for three forces to cross the Delaware at separate points and converge on Trenton. He would lead the largest column. Col. John Cadwalader was to cross farther south, while Brig. Gen. James Ewing was assigned to cross near Trenton. Ice would prevent Cadwalader and Ewing from getting their forces across. [2]
The Crossing
Washington’s column assembled at McConkey’s Ferry on the evening of December 25. About 2,400 Continental soldiers, along with horses, supplies, and 18 field guns, had to reach the New Jersey shore. Col. John Glover’s Marblehead mariners handled the large Durham boats and ferry flats used in the operation. [1]
The crossing was slow and punishing. Sleet, snow, wind, and river ice delayed the movement, and the last of Washington’s men did not reach the New Jersey side until about 4 a.m. on December 26. [1]
Emanuel Leutze’s later painting of Washington standing in a boat made the crossing iconic, but it was not a practical image of the operation. In overloaded boats moving through ice and rough winter weather, the work was a matter of moving men, animals, and artillery safely from shore to shore. [2]
Col. Henry Knox got all 18 field guns across. They would matter once the army entered Trenton. [1][3]
Washington could have turned back. Instead, his force marched roughly nine to ten miles toward Trenton through the winter storm. Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene led one division on an inland route, while Maj. Gen. John Sullivan led the other nearer the river. Two soldiers died from exposure on the march. [3]
The Fight at Trenton
Washington’s divisions reached Trenton on the morning of December 26 and struck from different directions. The battle lasted about two hours. Continental artillery was particularly effective in the town’s streets, disrupting Hessian efforts to organize and maneuver. [3]
Rall was mortally wounded, and his command surrendered. The Americans captured nearly 900 Hessian soldiers, as well as weapons and supplies. Continental combat losses were light; about five Americans were wounded in the fighting. Lt. James Monroe, then 18, was among them. [3]
The familiar claim that the Hessians were helpless from Christmas drinking does not fit the evidence. The garrison had faced local militia activity and patrols. Washington’s advantage came from surprise, the pressure of converging American columns, and artillery in Trenton’s confined streets—not from a drunk and defenseless enemy. [2][3]
The Campaign Continued
Washington did not remain in Trenton. On December 26 and 27, his army returned across the Delaware to Pennsylvania with prisoners, arms, and captured supplies. [5]
The victory gave Washington a stronger case to make to soldiers whose enlistments were about to expire. When the army crossed into New Jersey again on December 30, veterans agreed to remain beyond December 31. [4][5]
That decision carried the campaign forward. Continental forces fought Lord Cornwallis’s army at Assunpink Creek in the Second Battle of Trenton on January 2, 1777. Washington then moved around Cornwallis’s position during the night and defeated British regulars at Princeton on January 3. The sequence became known as the Ten Crucial Days. [3][5]
Trenton did not end the war. Britain retained a powerful army, and American independence remained far from certain. But the victory showed that the Continental Army could take the offensive in winter. It helped keep the army in the field, made British positions in New Jersey less secure, and strengthened the Revolution’s standing abroad, including French interest in the American cause. [5]
The Delaware had served as a barrier after Washington’s retreat from New Jersey. On Christmas night, it became the route into a counteroffensive that gave the Continental Army time to continue the fight.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many men crossed the Delaware with Washington?
Washington led about 2,400 Continental soldiers across the Delaware River on the night of December 25–26, 1776. They crossed with horses, supplies, and 18 field guns. [1]
Why did Washington attack on Christmas night?
Washington needed a quick success before many Continental enlistments expired on December 31. An attack on the isolated Trenton post also offered the possibility of surprise, though bad weather made the operation far more difficult. [1][4]
What happened to Cadwalader’s and Ewing’s columns?
Severe river ice prevented both supporting columns from completing their crossings. Washington’s force was the only one to reach New Jersey in time to attack Trenton. [2]
How did Trenton affect Continental enlistments?
The victory improved Washington’s position as he appealed to soldiers whose enlistments were ending. Veterans agreed to remain when the army crossed back into New Jersey on December 30, allowing the campaign to continue through Second Trenton and Princeton. [4][5]
TIMELINE
Key moments
Sources
- Crossing of the Delaware — George Washington's Mount Vernon
- 10 Facts about Washington's Crossing of the Delaware River — George Washington's Mount Vernon
- Trenton Battle Facts and Summary — American Battlefield Trust
- Crossing the Delaware — National Museum of the United States Army
- Stories - Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River — National Park Service
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