25 Dec 1776: Patriot General George Washington Crosses the Delaware River with 5,400 troops. The Patriot forces crossed the river to launch a surprise attack on Hessian (German mercenary) forces located in Trenton, New Jersey.
26 DEC 1776: After crossing the Delaware River Patriot forces fought the Battle of Trenton. The Hessian forces were caught off guard due to a low expectation of the Patriot forces ability to launch a attack. Due to the fact that not all the the Patriot forces crossed the river in time, the attack was not as successful as planned. Regardless, the Patriot forces only lost 4 Soldiers for 1,000 captured Hessians.
The small victory invigorated Patriot forces in the colonies, who after mostly losses had been on the verge of collapse.