I’ve seen this picture forever & never knew a thing about it.
Washington crossing the Delaware. Please click to enlarge.
A German-American painter named Emanuel Leutze made his famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware in 1850 to encourage freedom-loving Germans after the defeat of democratic revolutions in 1848.
The original remained in Germany and did not survive World War Two, but Leutze made a copy that survives today in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Although the accuracy of some details has been question, historian David Hackett Fischer, in his book, Washington’s Crossing, gives Leutze credit for showing what a great feat it was to cross the Delaware River on Christmas Day, 1776.
The crossing succeeded partly for the same reason that General MacArthur’s Inchon landing succeeded during the Korean Conflict. It was so difficult a feat that the enemy didn’t consider it as a possibility.
Fischer also gave Leutze credit for recognizing the diversity and individuality of the American troops…
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