[143] Now reduced to 5,400 troops, Washington's army retreated through New Jersey, and Howe broke off pursuit, delaying his advance on Philadelphia, and set up winter quarters in New York.[144]

Crossing the Delaware, Trenton, and Princeton
Main articles: George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, Battle of Trenton, Battle of the Assunpink Creek, and Battle of Princeton
See also: George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River and Washington at Princeton
Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze (1851), now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City[l]
The Passage of the Delaware by Thomas Sully (1819), now housed in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776 by John Trumbull, depicting the Battle of Trenton and now housed at the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut
Washington crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania, where Lee's replacement John Sullivan joined him with 2,000 more troops.[146] The future of the Continental Army was in doubt for lack of supplies, a harsh winter, expiring enlistments, and desertions. Washington was disappointed that many New Jersey residents were Loyalists or skeptical about the prospect of independence.