NJ History NERD Tour #5 ... Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Monmouth Battlefield State Park, Manalapan, NJ... Jim Aupperlee (Absent), Bill Bogertman, Gary Link, and Probies John Breur and John Dyksen, 10:45am to 1:45pm
In early 1778, an alliance between France and the new United States of America forced the main British Army to abandon the rebel capital of Philadelphia to concentrate their forces in New York City. As the British marched across New Jersey, the main Continental Army marched from Valley Forge to intercept them. At Monmouth, a Continental Army attack on the rear of the British column failed, but when the British counter attacked, they were bloodily repulsed. After a 3-hour cannonade – the largest field artillery duel of the war – the British were forced to withdraw. The Continental Army and Washington had won a major psychological victory.
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| “Washington Rallying the Troops at Monmouth” 23 feet by 13 feet Painting by 1857 Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze |
From the Internet... Leutze’s painting is one of those heroic mid-nineteenth century canvases which one can look at again and again without seeing everything. The painter tried to be meticulously accurate with regard to uniforms, weapons, facial types of the soldiers, and i^mtntits of the leading figures. The coni|X)sition is carefully balanced, but packed with action. In the center, Washington, the sunlight shining on his wrathful face, waves aloft his sword as he starts to rally the troops of the advance corps. Hamilton and a bareheaded Lafayette have ridden up with him and arc reining in their horses. Lee sits back in the saddle, his crestfallen face in shadow. In the foreground, exhausted riflemen—and a thirsty dog—scoop water from a spring; farther back, on the left, the soldiers raise a cheer for their Commander in Chief, while some of them have already turned to fire on the redcoats, who can be seen outside Monmoulh Court House, in the distance at upper left. On the hilltop, behind the figure of Washington, American artillery gallops into position to stem the retreat, and at far right the regular ranks of Continentals approach the scene to do battle.
Note: This painting now resides in Freehold, NJ at the Monmouth County Historical Society Museum.
Notes on the Battle from the Brochure and the WWWeb...
Our plans for the day were to take in the Visitor's Center then walk some of the battleground itself. But we found the Visitor's Center (and bookstore) closed, but met the Park Historian who talked to us for over an hour inside the Visitor's Center lobby. We were able to take a short tour of the Visitor's Center artifacts and panoramic battlefield views as well as go outside and hear the Historian comment about the battle. We then walked the Hedgerow and Parsonage trail of abou 1.5 miles and found different markers explaining the battle. After returning to the Visitor's Center, we went to lunch at Moore's Tavern. It was a good day of RevWar learning!
Von Steuben's drilling and training previously at Valley Forge was incredibly valuable and important. Monmouth was a symbolic coming of age of the American army, facing off now against the world's best army but now able to fight againist the British Army, to a draw here at Monmouth.
Closest contact fighting was in the orchard. The Craig house was used as a hospital as well. American Casualties: Killed: 72. Wounded: 161. Missing: 130. ... British Casualties: Killed: 147. Wounded: 170.
On a blistering hot day on June 28, 1778 the land that is now Monmouth Battlefield State Park was the site of one of the longest battles of the American Revolutionary War. Here at Monmouth, Washington restored a reputation battered by defeats in 1777. In the day-long battle in the hills, wood lots, farm fields and meadows, the main Continental Army, retrained at Valley Forge, repulsed attacks by the main British Army. By the end, over 600 men were dead, dying or wounded and the Continental Army held the field.
In early 1778, an alliance between France and the new United States of America forced the main British Army to abandon the rebel capital of Philadelphia to concentrate their forces in New York City. As the British marched across New Jersey, the main Continental Army marched from Valley Forge to intercept them. At Monmouth, a Continental Army attack on the rear of the British column failed, but when the British counter attacked, they were bloodily repulsed. After a 3-hour cannonade – the largest field artillery duel of the war – the British were forced to withdraw. The Continental Army and Washington had won a major psychological victory.
From the Monmouth Battlefield Brochure... (refer to map below for sites (numbers)...
To silence the Continental artillery commanding the bridge, the British positioned ten cannon and howitzers in front of the hedgerow. For hours during the afternoon, the largest field artillery battle of the American Revolution raged. The Continental artillery won the duel when in the late afternoon, General Nathaniel Greene brought a brigade of Virginians and four guns to the top of Combs Hill (6).
The American guns raked the hedgerow, forcing the British artillery to withdraw and their infantry to shift position. As the British artillery fell silent, Washington cautiously counterattacked. First, two battalions of light infantry advanced along Spotswood North Brook to skirmish with the retreating Royal Highlanders (7).
MOLLY PITCHER “You girls should have been with me at the battle of Monmouth and learned how to load a cannon.” Mary Hays McCauly to Susan Hackendorn, c. 1830. The “Molly Pitcher” of myth was a water-carrier who took over firing a cannon when her husband was killed. The real "Molly" was luckier - her husband was not killed, and she was only one member of a large gun crew. "Molly" was Mary Hays, wife of William Hays, Gunner, Captain Proctor’s company of the Pennsylvania or 4th Continental Artillery Regiment. The myth evolved from memories of Mary Hays and Margaret Corbin – the latter wounded defending Fort Washington in 1776 – and the hundreds of other soldiers’ wives who cooked, mended, and laundered for the armies of both sides.
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Routes taken by the Continental Army from Valley Forge (dark blue) and the British Army from Philadelphia (red) to the Battle of Monmouth. Where the roads allowed, the British first division took the western route while the second division followed a parallel route farther east. The dashed blue line shows Lafayette's attempt to catch the British when he was commander of the vanguard. BackgroundWhen Clinton began his move northeast from Philadelphia to New York, Patriot spies and citizens got word to the Continentals. Washington ordered 3k solders with Lafayette’s 1,000 solders to harass the British at Monmouth Courthouse. Lee, being Senior Officer with experience in the British army, was affronted that Washington offered Lafayette command. Instead Lee proposed that Washington send 5k solders to follow the British. Lee had no plan at all and didn’t know his Officers, men or that they were very prepared to fight better under von Steuben’s training at Valley Forge. Daniel Morgan with his 900 men was not at the meeting Lee had with his commanders. Daniel Morgan was a cousin to Daniel Boone. Morgan did not engage the British? NOTE: Monmouth Battlefield farmer families helped preserve the land 7 farms were fought over. They now lease the land to farm soybeans and corn and orchards, from NJ.
The British fall into a trap after Lee retreated and suffered many casualties. The June heat was 100+ degrees and killed Washington’s horse and up to 80 British soldiers. Lee demands a courts martial. There was definitely a conflict between Lee and Washington but consider the following analogy: But Lee has definitely been misunderstood. He had courage (guts), was a good tactician and overall good leader. - Washington was like Eisenhower- big picture, politically gifted communicator and tactician with Congress and Officers. - Lee was like Patton- emotional, hot headed, effective battle leaders But the discipline and fighting spirit of the Continentals and Militia showed at Monmouth. The battle of Monmouth was the largest artillery duel in the RevWar, was the longest, full day battle of the RevWar. The battle itself was like a chess game with all Commanders jockeying for position, with many smaller engagements. The battle was fought in June 1778 100+ degree heat. Where we now stand in the Visitor’s Center is where the afternoon battle was fought. (This is Comb’s Hill). Here was the largest artillery battle, the largest single day battle of the RevWar. 10k British and 15k Americans fought here. General’s Nathaniel Greene, Henry Knox, George Washington, Charles Lee, Anthony Wayne, von Steuben, the RevWar who’s who, fought here. Henry Clinton, Charles Cornwallis and Hession von Knyphausen were the British Generals. The Monmouth battle started at Monmouth Courthouse, now Freehold, NJ. Lee and Washington met 3 times during the battle. He wasn’t fired, but dressed down… Lee didn’t realize he was fired. from American Battlefield Trust SiteConfusion reigned everywhere as the battle ensued one veteran complaining later, “The dust, smoke… sometimes so shut out the view that one could form no idea of what was going on.” The 100 degree weather dripped with high humidity and that contributed to the confusion as orders sent were never received and in other instances officers took matters into their own hands, further confusing the American line of battle. Enraged, Washington galloped ahead of his wing and in an angry confrontation on the field of battle removed Lee from command. Washington then rallied what troops remained to continue their assault and pursuit of the British. The delaying action led by Washington gave time for the rest of the Continental Army to come up and join the battle. Washington’s troops took a position near a ravine on the grounds of the Monmouth Court House. Washington deployed his forces with General Nathanael Greene's division securing the right flank with General William “Lord” Stirling's division holding the left. Lee’s men were turned over to the Marquis de Lafayette who kept those troops is reserve. General “Mad” Anthony Wayne assumed other elements of Lee’s command and manned Lafayette’s front. Artillery was placed on both flanks with the cannons on the right flank having the advantage to use enfilade fire should the British offer a challenge. They did. American artillery played a significant role in the battle under the command of General Henry Knox holding off at various times repeated British counterattacks. The repeated thumping of Knox’s cannonade rent the air with an unceasing loud din. Cornwallis attacked Stirling’s men but were held at bay by the resistance put up by a better organized and trained Continental Army. An American counterattack on the British right flank forced them back where they had to reorganize. The commencement of fighting forced Cornwallis to move his troops towards the growing fight where they engaged Greene’s men. Greene’s troops supported by some artillery stiffened their line repulsing Cornwallis and his troops. The fighting see-sawed back and forth under te brutal June sun for several hours. Wayne’s men were attacked in his forward position by another British column. His troops, protected behind a hedge repulsed the British three times before their flank was turned. Wayne’s men retreated in good order returning to the main American line. British soldiers struggled mightily in the heat, too, each man carrying eighty pound packs and wearing heavy woolen uniforms. Continental Army Private Joseph Plumb Martin wrote in his memoirs that it was like fighting in the “mouth of a heated oven.” Many men on both sides were felled by the heat in addition to bullets. By 6:00 pm the British called off the fight. Wayne wanted to press the fight, but Washington believed his men were “beat out with heat and fatigue” American total casualties of killed, wounded and captured numbered about 600. The British loss was estimated at 300 killed with the wounded possibly totaling as high as 700. The British did not give Washington a chance to renew the fight in the morning, slipping away under the cover of darkness and resuming their withdrawal to New York City. One of the most enduring legends to emerge from the history of the War for Independence is the story of the heroism of Molly Pitcher taking the place of her fallen husband who was manning one of the artillery pieces. According to the story the woman was most probably Mary Ludwig Hays who lived in the area and during the battle had been running water to the American soldiers and when her husband went down she took his place at the gun. Molly Pitcher remains prominent in the lexicon of American history. While the Americans held the field at day's end and the British resumed their retreat most historians consider the Battle of Monmouth a tactical draw. Most significantly, the Continental Army fought for the first time as a cohesive unit, having been expertly trained during their Valley Forge crucible by the Prussian officer Friedrich von Steuben who gave them an air of martial professionalism. That training paid off in north central New Jersey as men who endured a bitter cold winter encampment blossomed in the summer sun of 1778. |
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| Inside the Visitor's Center where here in the lobby, we met the Historian-Archeologist Michael XX? |
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| Inside the Visitor's Center |
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| Two History Nerd Probies on the right. |
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| The Village of Monmouth Courthouse. Is John Longstreet above on map (Loyalist) an ancester of Confederate Major General Peter Longstreet (Langestraet)? From: A LONGSTREET FAMILY HISTORY, OR ...DESCENDANTS OF DIRCK STOFFELS LANGESTRAET, WHO SETTLED IN AMEERSFOORT, NEW AMSTERDAM, IN 1657, Coming From De Langstraat, North Brabant, The Netherlands. A LONGSTREET FA MILY HISTORY by R(ubert) J(ames) Longstreet, DeLand, Fla, 1960 ... [Note] 47. JOHN (F=12), b. 1744, m. 1-28-1769 Lucy Tapscott (Misc. 12, 22:243), d. June, 1819 (cem. inscr. Jacobstown, NJ...Bill's note which is 21 miles southwest), Lucy, his wife, d. 10-21-1836 in her 86th year (b cem inscr). John was living in Burlington County, NJ, in 1776 (Deed Bk A-H, p. 500). The "Ratables" of Upper Freehold Tp list him in 1797 and 1808. He was a private in the Revolution (Misc. 12, p. 670). He left no will. In (TH 2) his children are listed as Stoffel, William, Johon, Daniel, Abigail and Lydia. But according to the Family Bible in possession of a descendant, Mrs. Emma Taylor of Allentown, NJ, the children were: 105. Gilbert b. 12-11-1788; 106. Lucy, 107. William, 108. Lydia, 109. Abigail b 1778 (cem inscr Jacobstown, NJ). |
NOTE: Molly Pitcher - Mary Ludwig Hays was a woman who fought in the American War of Independence at the Battle of Monmouth. The woman behind the Molly Pitcher story is most often identified as Hays, but it is likely that the legend is an amalgam of more than one woman seen on the battlefield that day. The deeds in the story of Molly Pitcher are generally attributed to Mary Ludwig Hays, who was married to William Hays, an artilleryman in the Continental Army. She joined him at the Army's winter camp at Valley Forge in 1777, and was present at the Battle of Monmouth, where she served as a water-carrier. Her husband fell and she took his place swabbing and loading the cannon, and was later commended by George Washington. The incident was recorded by Joseph Plumb Martin in his memoir published in 1830.
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| From the Monmouth Battlefield Monument |
Corbin and Hays were both real women who performed bravely during the war. "Molly Pitcher," in contrast, is a legend, a symbol of courage in the face of adversity.
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| The British march route from the Monmouth Battlefield to Sandy Hook, NJ and eventual escape to New York City 28June to 6July 1778. |
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Plaque Reads: General Von Steuben Statue ...Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Baron von Steuben was born September 17, 1730 in Magdeburg, Prussia (Germany) to a military family. Reared in the rigorous military school of Frederick the Great, von Steuben served with distinction in the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) and as an Aide-de-Camp to the Prussian King. In the fledgling US, after the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress sought foreign assistance in the struggle against the British. In 1777, Benjamin Franklin met von Steuben, who then came to America that December, offering his service without rank or pay, to aid the Revolution. In January 1778, the Continental Congress accepted von Steuben’s service as a volunteer in the Continental Army and ordered him to report to General Washington’s quarters at Valley Forge as soon as possible. Even in the face of desperate conditions, including frost, disease, inadequate shelter and lack of supplies, von Steuben gave military training and discipline to the citizen soldiers fighting for American independence. In May 1778, Congress approved General Washington’s recommendation to appoint von Steuben as Inspector General of the Continental Army. On June 28, 1778, at the Battle of Monmouth, the benefits of von Steuben’s training were evidenced by the American troops opposing the British Army. The heroic American performance, a turn in the tide of the war, is attributed in large part to the work of von Steuben. Colonel Alexander Hamilton, an eyewitness, declared that von Steuben’s system of drilling, reviews and inspection imbued the officers and soldiers with the confidence that, from now on, they were on equal ground with the armies of the enemy.  Von Steuben was instrumental in further American victories, including the defeat of the British at Yorktown in 1781, where the Baron received the overture of capitulation from the British General Cornwallis. During 1778-1779, von Steuben prepared a complete set of regulations for Continental troops, the “Blue Book”, which became the United States Army training manual. In 1783, von Steuben became an American citizen. In 1784, von Steuben was discharged from the military with honor and turned his energies to preparing for the defense of New York harbor and designing the plans for a military academy that were later realized at West Point. In 1786, the State of New York, wishing to express its gratitude for his service, granted him 16,000 acres north of the Mohawk River. Von Steuben died on November 28, 1794, and was laid to rest in a hero’s grave in Remsen, New York, where we read the following inscription: “Indispensable to the Achievement of American Independence” Erected 2004 by the Steuben Society of America and the Friends of Monmouth Battlefield in grateful recognition of his valiant service to America in her struggle for liberty. |
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| Monmouth Historian explaining the battle from the Visitors Center. |
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| Comb's Hill Cannonade Plaque |
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| Locating the Continental Artillary on Combs Hill Plaque |
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| Walking along the Hedgerow Trail. The Old Orchards are to our right. |
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| Hold the Hedgerow Plaque |
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| The British Rush the Hedgerow |
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| The British Grenadiers Plaque |
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| Battle at the Parsonage Plaque |
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| On the trail... |
NOTE:
- The Nerds forgot about Molly Pitcher- “Molly! Pitcher!” and where she and her husband fought.
- Fatal Sunday by Gary Stone and Mark Lender
- Internet – NJ Studies
- Internet- NJ Journal (Rutgers) for Michael’s papers and publishings.
- Paterson Museum Foundation
We hydrated, then headed towards Moores Tavern and Pub for lunch: "Moore's Tavern is a historic landmark dating back to the Revolutionary War. While the bar area has been preserved from the original 1770 building—the dining area is home to an array of wide screen TV's for sports games, live music and great burgers."
From their website:...The history of Moore’s can be traced to Moses Mount, who lived in the original structure which now serves as our tavern. Moses was an aide to General Washington during the Revolutionary War. Upon his return to his beloved Freehold, Moses began operating a tavern in his home, at this location, for the local gentry and an inn for weary travelers. According to an order of the Monmouth County court of Quarter Sessions, dated April 25th, 1787, Moses was granted a “continued license” for “keeping a public house of entertainment.” The date of the earliest license that was granted to Moses has not been determined...
So we left Moores Pub around 2:45pm. Took BillB 3+ hours to return home to PA at 6:10pm
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