Charles Lee’s Disgrace at the Battle of Monmouth

By Noah Andre Trudeau | MHQ  | one comment  |  Print This Post  |  Email This Post

Clinton had hoped to draw the main force of the American army into the fight at a disadvantage, but Washington made his stand with the West Morass to his front and not his rear. It was a strong position. Adding to Clinton’s problems, the day had been terribly hot, his men were ?overpowered with fatigue,? and Clinton himself ?was near going raving mad with heat.? He had by now assembled his artillery (some ten guns) along the western side of the hedgerow. These were soon engaged with cannons massed by the Americans along Perrine Ridge. The cannonade filled time with martial activity (doing little actual damage) while the gasping foot soldiers rested and their officers looked for openings. It was during this part of the battle that Mary Hayes, the wife of a Pennsylvania cannoneer, briefly replaced her husband on one of the gun crews, giving credence to the story of ?Molly Pitcher.?

The small force that Clinton had sent off on a wide flanking swing found its way to the American left and rear blocked by militia stiffened with some Continentals. The fighting here sputtered listlessly until the British broke contact about 3 p.m. Even as Clinton’s weak effort to flank the American left was faltering, a small force of American infantry and artillery came to a halt on Comb’s Hill. Guided there by Colonel Rhea, the gunners found themselves on an elevated piece of ground well protected along its base by a marsh and squarely on the left flank of the main British line. When this battery opened fire, it so effectively enfiladed the position that Clinton deemed it no longer tenable and began to withdraw his troops.

The retrograde movement necessarily left some of Clinton’s regiments momentarily isolated. Once Washington observed that the British were pulling back, he threw troops forward to challenge the exposed units. This led to some brief but fierce firefights. One pitted the famous 42nd Foot (the Black Watch) against two American battalions, while another three regiments led by Wayne clashed near the hedgerow with the 1st Grenadiers. Said an officer involved in the first action, ?[W]hen they found we ware Determin?d to Push upon them they Retreated to their main body which was giving way.? On his part of the field, Wayne had the British veterans in trouble for a few moments, but his small force (about four hundred men) had already spent itself when the timely arrival of the 33rd Foot sent the Americans scrambling for cover.

Both sides were thoroughly exhausted. Clinton withdrew to Monmouth Courthouse and halted. Washington, who had tried but was unable to organize his weary troops for further counterattacks, did send a brigade forward to keep an eye on things, but when dawn came the British were gone. After only a brief rest, Clinton pushed his columns along and by sunrise had reunited with the wagon train and his other division. By July 1 his supplies had been cleared from Sandy Hook for New York, followed by his infantry on July 5. Washington did not bother to pursue, and after resting on the battleground for a few days, he began a series of slow marches that, by the end of July, would find him near White Plains, outside New York.

Monmouth proved to be the last major battle in the Northern colonies, as well as one of the largest and longest sustained conflicts of the war. Given the many variables involved, even the most careful tabulation of casualties on both sides results only in general estimates. Clinton officially reported 358 casualties, a figure accepted by few later historians. The best calculations put his losses at slightly over 1,100, not counting more than six hundred desertions. Washington likewise lowballed his count and reported 362 killed, wounded or missing. A more likely figure is five to six hundred.

The Americans quickly claimed the victory and used it to good propaganda effect. If a victory, it was so only within a narrow definition of the term. Washington had not upset the British withdrawal, nor did he ever penetrate the protective layers around the supply train. The ground Washington held at the end of the day had no strategic importance and only conferred upon its possessor an obligation to bury the dead. Yet the American army had fought well, and von Steuben’s training had paid handsome dividends in prompt movements, efficient formation changes, and even adhesion in retreat.

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Tags: 17th - 18th Century, American Revolutionary War, Historical Conflicts, Historical Figures

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