MONMOUTH COURT HOUSE, BATTLE OF. The battle of Monmouth Court House was fought (June 28, 1778) between the Americans under Gen. Washington and the British commanded by Sir Henry Clinton, who having evacuated Phila delphia (June 18) was marching through New Jersey to Sandy Hook. Washington had decided that for his country's honour and his own reputation he must strike a vigorous blow at the retreating enemy even at the risk of bringing on a general engage ment, and ordered Charles Lee with the advanced guard to attack the British rear (June 28), promising to support him with the main body of the army. Lee had claimed this command, as the senior major-general in the army, though it had been originally assigned to Lafayette, and Washington now added to it two brigades, bringing it up to a strength of about 5.000. But Lee had no inten tion of carrying out the spirit of his orders. An ex-officer of the British army, who had seen much service in the Seven Years' War, he believed the Continental troops to be no match for Brit ish regulars in the field and held it madness to risk a pitched battle before the arrival of French troops in America. He con templated nothing more than a forced reconnaissance. Clinton after a 4o hours' halt at Monmouth Court House (now Freehold) made an early start (June 281. His baggage train of 1,500 wag ons led the way under escort of Knyphausen's German division, and Cornwallis's British division formed the rear-guard.
When Lee approached Monmouth he found only a small cover ing force there. He was executing an elaborate manoeuvre to envelop it, when Cornwallis's division appeared. Clinton had ordered his lieutenant to turn back and strike hard at the attack ing force, in order to prevent any attempt to harass his trains. Instead of fighting a delaying action with a force not much stronger than his own on ground well adapted for the purpose and gaining time for Washington to come up, Lee allowed his troops to retreat. He had ordered his right to fall back, but gave no orders to the rest, and they finding themselves in danger of being cut off, also retired. Lee made little effort to check the somewhat disorderly retreat and sent Washington no warning that he was retiring. When the commander-in-chief came up, he
was surprised and indignant, and hastened to form a line of battle with the divisions of Greene and Alexander (called by the Americans Lord Stirling) on the right and left, while part of Lee's force rallied under Wayne and checked the pursuit of the British cavalry. Cornwallis brought up his infantry and endeavoured to dislodge Washington but without success. The fiercest fighting was in front of the centre behind a hedge fence held by the heroic Wayne, who repulsed three fierce assaults of British grenadiers. Towards evening Cornwallis fell back. Washington sent forward three brigades to renew the battle. but darkness forestalled them. During the night Cornwallis withdrew, unde tected by the American outposts, and overtook Knyphausen near Middletown, where the high ground secured them from further attack. Washington finding the enemy gone attempted no pur suit and presently marched to the Hudson to join Gen. Gates, whilst Clinton's army was conveyed by transports from Sandy Hook to New York. The two combatants resumed the positions, which they had held two years before.
Of the two armies Clinton's seems to have been a little the larger—about 17,000 to 14,00o. But not much more than half of the British army was actually engaged. Washington returned 36o casualties and Clinton 358, but the Americans claimed to have buried 249 British dead on the battlefield. Owing to the intense heat nearly 10o men in the two armies died of sheer fatigue. A court-martial suspended Lee from any command in the American armies for twelve months. Subsequently he was dismissed from the American service on account of his attacks upon Washington. In 186o Lee's letter to Gen. Howe, written when he was a prisoner in British hands, suggesting a plan of campaign for Howe's forces, came to light, and later writers have added to the charge of incompetence and insubordination against Lee that of deliberate treachery. The evidence seems in favour of acquitting Lee of any worse crime than disloyalty to his commander.
See W. S. Stryker, The Battle of Monmouth (Princeton, 1927).