Monmouth Courthouse, Where the Americans Find Their Mettle...

In late June of 1778, General Sir Henry Clinton and the British Army in North America were preparing to evacuate Philadelphia, which they had occupied since October 1777. After the Americans defeated British General Burgoyne at Saratoga, NY in October 1777, the French had decided to help the American cause. In response, the British decided to abandon Philadelphia and return to New York City. Clinton had planned to sail to New York City, but a French fleet had arrived and driven off his transport ships, so he decided to march his army the 100 miles across New Jersey to New York City instead.?

The Continental Army had just spent the starving winter at Valley Forge. But despite the cold, disease and hunger, the Americans had been training under the quixotic Prussian drillmaster Baron Friedrich von Stueben. The Continental Army had been handicapped in battle because unit training was administered from a variety of field manuals, making coordinated battle movements awkward and difficult. Von Steuben developed and executed an effective training program, tirelessly drilling the soldiers, improving their battle and formation techniques greatly.?

Fresh from feasting on a fortuitous shad run on the nearby Schuylkill River, the Americans pursued the British across New Jersey. American militia blocked roads and muddied wells, all the while sniping and nipping at Clinton's column, hoping to slow it down so Washington could catch up. 245 years ago today, on June 28, 1778, General George Washington and the Continental Army caught up with the British at Monmouth Courthouse, near today's Freehold, NJ.?

New Jersey in late June can be hot, and it certainly was that June. The battle was fought in temperatures approaching 100F. Initially, the battle went badly for the Americans as General Charles Lee issued confusing orders, resulting in a piecemeal and disorganized attack. After several hours of fighting in the severe heat, several American brigades executed a tactical retreat, which developed into a general withdrawal. The British rear guard under General Charles Cornwallis counterattacked and Lee ordered a retreat, which rapidly became a rout.

Washington, advancing with the main American force along the Monmouth road, encountered Lee's fleeing troops and finally Lee himself, with the British in hot pursuit. After a heated exchange with Lee, Washington relieved him of command and sent him to the rear. He then rallied Lee's troops, who delayed the British pursuit until the main force could take up positions further to the west.

Seeing an opportunity to smash the Continentals, Cornwallis pressed his attack. The battle demonstrated the new effectiveness of the Americans, learned in the Valley Forge cold. Washington consolidated his troops in a new line on heights behind marshy ground and after prolonged engagement, for the first time in the Revolution, George Washington fought the British Army to a standstill.

Darkness fell, and Henry Clinton and the British escaped under cover of night, making it to Sandy Hook, NJ, where British ships took his army to New York. Though a tactical victory for the British, it was a cheering change for the Americans under Washington. From then on, the Continental Army would fight the British as equals.