The Battle of Monmouth was the last major engagement in the north. I came as a result of the British realizing it was no longer strategically advantageous to pin their army down in Philadelphia. General Sir Henry Clinton on orders from London mobilized his army to cross the Delaware and go back to New York, for use elsewhere. In “The Fate of the Day”, Rick Atkinson writes “no place in America had been more routinely despoiled by war than New Jersey, and for the fourth time in eighteen months a British host was again on the march through Jersey fields and woodlands like a scarlet dragon.” Clinton’s two columns stretched nearly twelve miles and were comprised of 21,000 soldiers, armed loyalists, refugees and camp followers. The redcoats by then had come to fear armed irate farmers resisting attempts to steal their stores almost as much as the rebel soldiers.
Major Samuel Cabell and his Virginia 14th Regiment crossed the Delaware yet again with Washington. The Continental Army followed the British, shadowing them and harassing with skirmishers as they moved northward. Washington and his generals debated the wisdom of attacking in force and risking unacceptable losses or simply letting the British complete the trip to New York. Lafayette, Greene and some other generals made the case for an attack while not risking too much. Some believed it would be a loss of face not to. Washington was eventually convinced. He found this opportunity near Monmouth Courthouse, present day Freehold, New Jersey. Recently popularized in the musical Hamilton, the Battle of Monmouth was highlighted by General Charles Lee’s inept leadership and retreat, extreme summer heat, and Washington himself intervening to turn retreat into fierce resistance, which resulted in a bloody stalemate.
Washington sent General Richard Henry Lee forward into the battle on June 27, 1778. He held forces in Englishtown in reserve, including Major General von Steuben’s four brigades, which included Samuel Cabell’s 14th Virginia Regiment. Holding the units in reserve was a form of insurance in case the battle took an unexpected turn. It was also a way for Washington to protect his vulnerable west flank in case of a surprise attack by an unseen British column coming from the northwest to Clinton’s aid. From five miles away, Samuel and his men surely heard the high pitched continuous patter of small arms fire when the battle starting at 8:00 AM and the din of artillery through the afternoon. The noise would have finally subsided around 5:00 PM. Samuel and his men were no doubt anxious to know the outcome, but the Virginia 14th Regiment was not engaged in the bloody struggle.
While the result of the battle was indecisive, it was proof that the American Army could now stand toe to toe against the British Army, which retreated under cover of darkness that night to the safety of Sandy Hook and passage in boats across Lower New York Bay to British-held New York. After the battle, Samuel and the 14th Virginia would continue north with the army to Morristown, New Jersey to shadow the British Army in New York.
Chapter 10 – A Petition to Headquarters
Sources
- Atkinson, The Fate of the Day, page 356.Atkinson, The Fate of the Day, page 356.
- Lender, Mark Edward; Stone, Garry Wheeler (2016). Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of Battle. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-5335-3.