The Delaware River is a major waterway stretching approximately 282 miles (454 km) through the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware before emptying into Delaware Bay. According to Wikipedia, it is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States, and its watershed provides drinking water for an estimated 17 million people. Visitors to the river's mid-section near Trenton and Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania encounter a historically rich landscape that looks relatively little changed from its 18th-century character, particularly along the 152 miles designated as the Upper, Middle, and Lower Delaware National Scenic Rivers. In Season 13 of Expedition Unknown, Gates used the river as the dramatic opening stage for his investigation into the Doan Gang — colonial-era outlaws loyal to the British Crown — by reenacting Washington's famous crossing to set the Revolutionary War stakes that define the entire episode.
The river serves as the homeland of the Lenape people, who called it Lenapewihittuk, meaning 'Lenape River'
Dutch East India Company expedition led by Henry Hudson visits the river, setting the stage for European colonization
After the English expel the Dutch, the river is renamed 'Delaware' after Sir Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr
General George Washington leads approximately 2,400 Continental Army troops across the ice-choked river on the night of December 25–26, leading to victory at the Battle of Trenton
Josh Gates features the Delaware River in Expedition Unknown S13E03 'Traitors' Treasure of 1776'
The Battle of Trenton, which Washington's crossing made possible, is broadly regarded by historians as a turning point in the American Revolution. By the winter of 1776, as Gates notes in the episode, Continental Army morale was low, provisions were running short, and New York had been lost to British forces. The surprise assault on the Hessian garrison at Trenton on December 26, 1776, revitalized the Patriot cause at one of its most precarious moments.
The legend of Moses Doan observing Washington's crossing and attempting to warn the British is rooted in documented history of Doan Gang activity, though specific details — like the card-playing colonel ignoring the warning note — belong to the realm of popular tradition rather than firmly verified record. Gates is careful to frame the story as legend: 'according to legend, this pivotal win very nearly doesn't happen at all.' The Doan brothers were real colonial-era outlaws whose loyalist sympathies and criminal enterprises, including what Gates calls 'the largest ever theft of US public funds' at the time, are matters of historical record, though the whereabouts of any buried treasure remain unconfirmed.
The Delaware River itself carries enormous ecological and cultural significance beyond any single battle. Recognized by the National Wildlife Federation as one of the country's Great Waters, the river drains roughly 13,539 square miles and remains one of the few major Eastern rivers without a mainstem dam — a distinction that has helped preserve its watershed and the communities that depend on it. The Lenape people inhabited its banks for centuries before European contact, and their name for it, Lenapewihittuk, predates any of the colonial-era events Gates investigates.
Gates' episode uses the crossing primarily as dramatic framing rather than as an archaeological investigation of the river itself — the Delaware is the stage, not the mystery. The real investigative work of S13E03 moves inland to sites associated with the Doan Gang's alleged buried treasure, with the river reenactment serving to ground viewers in the Revolutionary War context that gives those later findings their historical weight.
The Delaware River is considered the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States, stretching approximately 282 miles from its Catskill Mountain headwaters to Delaware Bay.
The river's watershed provides drinking water for an estimated 17 million people, including half of New York City via the Delaware Aqueduct.
The Lenape people called the river Lenapewihittuk — meaning 'Lenape River' — long before European explorers arrived; the English name 'Delaware' comes from Sir Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, the Virginia colony's first royal governor.
Henry Hudson, an English navigator hired by the Dutch East India Company, visited the Delaware River in 1609 while searching for a western route to China.
The area around Washington Crossing Historic Park on the Pennsylvania and New Jersey sides of the river is generally accessible to visitors and preserves the landscape associated with Washington's famous crossing. The park typically offers living history programs, period exhibits, and river views; visitors should check current park hours and programming schedules before visiting. Much of the Upper and Middle Delaware is also accessible via trails and boat launches along the National Scenic River corridor.
Trenton, New Jersey, sits directly on the Delaware River at the site of Washington's famous battle; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is approximately 30 miles to the southwest.
Late spring through early fall offers the most comfortable conditions for exploring the river corridor and surrounding historic sites. The annual reenactment of Washington's crossing draws large crowds each December 25–26 near Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, and is a memorable — if cold — way to experience the site's Revolutionary War history.
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the immediate destination of Washington's crossing and the site of the pivotal Hessian battle that forms the Revolutionary War backdrop for the entire S13E03 investigation.
Tomlinson Farm, Newtown, Pennsylvania
Tomlinson Farm in Newtown, Pennsylvania is another key site investigated in S13E03 as part of Gates' search for the Doan Gang's legendary buried treasure.
Doan Gang Cave, Buckingham Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
The Doan Gang Cave in Bucks County is directly associated with the Doan brothers whose loyalist activities — including allegedly spotting Washington's crossing — Gates investigates throughout the episode.
Mercer Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania
The Mercer Museum in Doylestown is featured in the same episode as Gates consults historical records related to the Doan Gang and the Revolutionary War period.
Historical data sourced from Wikipedia