In this bonus episode of Revolution Revisited, host Maggie and guest Michael Plumb explore the perilous decision that George Washington made in December 1776 to cross the Delaware River in order to hold off the British Army – and more importantly, secure an important morale victory for his troops. 

Inside the Episode:

By December 1776, the American Revolution was hanging by a thread. The Continental Army was underpaid, underfed, and freezing, retreating in the face of repeated defeats while Congress fled Philadelphia and enlistments ticked toward expiration. In this episode, we follow Washington and his army through that darkest hour — from anxious letters and crumbling morale to the risky, ice-choked crossing of the Delaware and the surprise victory at Trenton. Along the way, we unpack the realities behind the legend: the Hessian soldiers, the logistics, the overlooked figures who made the crossing possible, and the morale boost that gave the revolution new life. What emerges is not a tidy myth, but a story of fragile hope, collective effort, and a revolution that very nearly failed — until it didn’t.

Recommended Resources

• Washington Crossing the Delaware
• Map: Battle of Trenton
•  Washington Crossing the Delaware

Related Content

• The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775­–1777 (Wilkinson Lecture 2019)
• Movie Mythbusting: Liberty's Kids
• The Painter’s Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution