Washington's Crossing (book)

Washington's Crossing
First edition
AuthorDavid Hackett Fischer
Cover artistEmanuel Leutze, Washington Crossing the Delaware - 1851
GenreNon-fiction
PublisherOxford University Press
Publication date
2004
Pages576
ISBN0-19-517034-2 (hardcover)
ISBN 0-19-518159-X (paperback)
OCLC53075605
973.3/32 22
LC ClassE263.P4 F575 2004

Washington's Crossing is a Pulitzer Prize-winning book written by David Hackett Fischer and part of the "Pivotal Moments in American History" series. It is primarily about George Washington's leadership during the 1776 campaign of the American Revolutionary War, culminating with George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River and the subsequent campaign, with the Battle of Trenton, the Battle of the Assunpink Creek, and the Battle of Princeton.

The main theme of Fischer's book is the concept of contingency history, one major theory of history. Contingency history is the idea that people's decisions matter, and it is because of these decisions that certain events take place. Washington's decisions changed the course of the Revolutionary War and ultimately led the Continental Army to victory.