Christmas 1776. Things were set in motion...

It was on Christmas night, December 25, 1776 that General Washington and American troops began crossing the Delaware River on their way to take the town of Trenton, New Jersey, which was in the hands of Hessian troops serving as mercenaries working for the British crown. The battle of Trenton took place on the morning of December 26, 1776.

Engraving from the 1870s

Washington inspects the Hessian colors after taking Trenton.
Percy Morgan, artist. Published 1914.