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From Primedia Publications
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Monmouth Battlefield State Park
Confronting a Retreating General
By Tom Huntington
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Visitors to New Jersey's Monmouth Battlefield State Park will have some difficulty finding the spot where George Washington confronted the retreating General Charles Lee. Somebody stole the historical marker. In any event, says on-site historian Garry Stone, the bronze plaque was in the wrong place. Stone, who is working on 25 new markers that will orient visitors on the battlefield, says the old sign was off by three-quarters of a mile, and that Washington and Lee most likely met on a rise east of the present Wemrock Road. "It's quite clear from the descriptions where they were," he says.
The battleground where the Americans and the British met in the sultry heat on June 28, 1778, is still an open, rolling area. Since 1995 the park has cleared 120 acres and built split-rail fences in an effort to return the landscape to its Revolutionary War appearance, but in many places rows of apple trees stand in place of the lines of British and American soldiers. The park's visitor center sits atop the gentle rise of Comb's Hill, where American cannon under Nathanael Greene sent a withering fire down the British line. One shot, it is said, knocked the muskets from the hands of an entire platoon. The center contains some modest displays about the battle and a number of artifacts recovered from the field. A few are somewhat grisly reminders of the reality of combat, including a lead musket ball that bears the imprint of a human tooth made by its fatal impact.
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 | A less-tangible reminder from the Battle of Monmouth is the
story of Molly Pitcher, one of the best-known legends of American history. | |
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A less-tangible reminder from the Battle of Monmouth is the
story of Molly Pitcher, one of the best-known legends of American history. The story goes that Mary Ludwig Hays was on the battlefield with her husband, who served in a Pennsylvania artillery regiment. During the fighting she brought water to thirsty Americans, took over her husband's cannon after he was wounded, and was presented to Washington after the battle. Stone is certain that the Molly Pitcher story is at least founded on fact, pointing out that Mary Hays really did get a pension for her service in the Revolutionary army. "It all fits together fairly well once you get rid of the nineteenth-century romantic stories that were made up out of whole cloth," he says. Pinpointing the exact spot where Hays played her role, however, has been difficult. "We now have seven projected sites," Stone says. "I'm sure that the next set of grad students will demolish number seven and come up with eight, nine, and ten."
Legends have also formed around the Village Inn in nearby Englishtown. Some claim it was the place where Washington drew up the papers for Lee's court-martial. Stone says that the story is doubtful, but that Lee may have had his headquarters there. A recently discovered map shows that the establishment—which dates to 1726—was a functioning tavern at the time, and there's a contemporary description of Lee standing at a tavern window. And the Washington connection? "Washington did meet with Lee on the night before the battle, so if Lee was there, then Washington met him there," Stone remarks.
Visitors to the area should also visit the nearby town of Freehold (formerly known as Monmouth Court House) to see the Battle of Monmouth Monument, a tall granite shaft topped by a statue of "Liberty Triumphant." Along the base are five bronze tablets depicting events of the battle, including Molly Pitcher at her husband's cannon.
Across the street from the monument is the Monmouth County Historical Association, whose collection of battle relics includes British Lieutenant Colonel Henry Monckton's sword, which was taken from beneath his dead body by Captain William Wilson and presented to the Marquis de Lafayette. On display is another gift to Lafayette, a silver snuffbox bearing the initials GW that was given to him by Washington. The museum also exhibits Emanuel Gottleib Leutze's painting, Washington Rallying the Troops at Monmouth, the second, and smaller, version of the scene by the German painter famous for his better-known Washington Crossing the Delaware. The first received criticism because Leutze painted a visibly angry Washington, then considered a somewhat disrespectful portrayal.
Tom Huntington is the editor and publisher of the print edition of Historic Traveler, as well as the editor of American
History magazine.
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