The New Jersey quarter shows General George Washington leading his troops across the Delaware River to Trenton, New Jersey.  During the next 10 days, the Colonial Army beat the British at the battles of Trenton and Princeton.  The coin design is based on an 1851 painting by Emmanuel Leutze.

New Jersey's location put it at the heart of many famous Revolutionary battles and earned it the nickname "Crossroads of the Revolution."  It was before the Battle of Trenton that George Washington made his famous surprise crossing of the Delaware on Christmas night to defeat the Hessian army.