New Jersey's gritty capital — where Washington crossed the Delaware and won the Revolution
Trenton is the capital of New Jersey and the site of the Battle of Trenton (1776), one of the decisive turning points of the American Revolution. After a string of defeats, George Washington led 2,400 Continental soldiers across the ice-choked Delaware River on Christmas night and launched a surprise attack on the Hessian garrison at dawn, capturing nearly 1,000 soldiers and reviving American morale. The Old Barracks Museum, dating from 1758, is one of the last remaining French and Indian War barracks in the US. Trenton's gritty bridge boasts the famous neon sign: 'Trenton Makes, The World Ta…
Trenton was founded by Quaker settlers in 1679 on a ford of the Delaware River. The Battle of Trenton on 26 December 1776 is one of those hinge moments: Washington had suffered repeated defeats, enlistments were expiring, and the Revolution was on the verge of collapse. The victory, and the subsequent Battle of Princeton four days later, gave the Continental Army momentum and persuaded France to consider entering the war on the American side. Trenton became the state capital in 1790 and briefly served as the national capital in 1784, when the Continental Congress met here.