Washington Crossing
Upper Makefield Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Here Washington and his men braved ice and sleet Christmas night, 1776, to cross the Delaware and to surprise and defeat the Hessians at Trenton. The victory gave new life to the patriot cause.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
On the night of Christmas 1776, George Washington and his men crossed the ice-choked Delaware River from this vicinity, enduring sleet and bitter cold in a daring gamble. Marching through the storm, they surprised the Hessian garrison at Trenton the next morning and won a decisive victory. Coming after a string of demoralizing defeats, the triumph revived a patriot cause many had feared was collapsing.
Why it matters
Washington's crossing and the victory at Trenton rank among the most celebrated turning points of the Revolution, rescuing American independence at its lowest ebb.
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Related people
- · George Washington
Related events
- · Crossing of the Delaware
- · Battle of Trenton
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Washington Crossed the Delaware
Upper Makefield Township, PA
Near this spot on the night of December 25–26, 1776, George Washington led the Continental Army across the ice-choked Delaware River in a daring surprise maneuver. The crossing set up the victory at Trenton the next morning, a stunning reversal that revived the flagging American cause at one of the Revolution's darkest moments. The Pennsylvania bank where the troops embarked is remembered as one of the war's most storied sites.
Washington and His Army Crossed the Delaware
Hopewell Township, NJ
On the bitter night of December 25, 1776, George Washington ferried the Continental Army across the ice-choked Delaware River in a daring surprise maneuver, then marched inland through freezing sleet toward Trenton. The gamble came at one of the Revolution's darkest hours, with enlistments expiring and the cause near collapse. The next morning his troops overwhelmed the Hessian garrison at Trenton in a stunning, nearly bloodless victory. Markers like this one trace the routes and river approaches the army used on that pivotal march.
Loyalist Raid of 1778
Newtown, PA · est. 2001
On February 19, 1778, with the British holding Philadelphia and Washington's army wintering at Valley Forge, roughly 40 armed Loyalists raided the tavern that stood here. The fighting left five American soldiers dead, four wounded, and eleven captured. Tailors working at the site had been sewing uniforms for the troops at Valley Forge, and some 2,000 yards of cloth were carried off.
Summerseat
Morrisville, PA · est. 1949
Built in 1773 by Thomas Barkley, this fine house near Morrisville briefly sheltered George Washington and his army from December 8 to 14, 1776, in the desperate weeks before the crossing of the Delaware. Its later owners included Robert Morris, financier of the Revolution, and George Clymer, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The house was restored in 1931.