Washington’s Crossing

Washington’s Crossing begins with the military disasters of 1776, when the Continental Army was driven from New York and retreated across New Jersey. With enlistments expiring and the revolutionary cause close to collapse, George Washington crossed the Delaware on Christmas night and struck the Hessian garrison at Trenton.

Fischer follows the campaign through the second confrontation at Trenton, the American night march and the victory at Princeton. By examining American, British and German soldiers as well as civilians, intelligence, weather and command decisions, the book shows how a short sequence of contingent victories restored morale and changed the course of the war.