Battle of monmouth how many died

WeatherBrains CATastrophe. Day 1 Severe Weather Outlook. Day 2 Severe Weather Outlook. Day 3 Severe Weather Outlook. The Tropics — Atlantic Basin. In Memoriam: J. On June 25, Washington moved to Kingston. Lee was offered command of this advance guard, but he declined. Lafayette eagerly accepted. When this dawned on Lee, he decided that the command was not something to be sniffed at after all, and he demanded that he replace Lafayette, whom he had referred to as the little French boy.

For days, the temperature had stood above 90 degrees. Violent evening thunderstorms had served only to churn the dusty roads to muck, and the mosquito-bitten, exhausted soldiers struggled on in the stifling, humid air. Washington decided to abandon all his heavy baggage and steal a march on Clinton in the cool of the night. By the morning of the 26th, he had reached Cranbury, but his forces had dispersed so widely in the darkness that Hamilton wrote, We are entirely at a loss where the Army is.

One thing was certain: The two armies were so close to each other that a fight could break out at any time. Washington therefore sent Lafayette with the men still directly under his command east to join Lee at Englishtown, which was only about five miles from Monmouth Court House present-day Freehold , where Clinton had encamped.

But even with the additional troops, Lee had no stomach for the fray. On Saturday, June 27, Washington summoned Lee to his headquarters at Penelopen presently called Manalapan , a little village a few miles south of Englishtown. None came. At midnight, Washington dispatched a courier ordering Lee to have Philemon Dickinson make contact with the enemy as soon as possible. Lee grudgingly passed the order on to Dickinson, but later, at 4 a.

The British, meanwhile, were already preparing to march. As the stars faded, Dickinson stood on a hill overlooking the road to Monmouth Court House, with the Tennent Church at his back. In front of him, a wooden bridge crossed the marshy West Ravine, which carried the north branch of Wemrock Creek into the south branch.

Next along the road was the sluggish Middle Ravine, crossed only by a crude causeway. When the road finally came into the village, it merged with the road from Allentown, which could then be taken north to Briar Hill. Before reaching Briar Hill, however, that road branched off into the road to Middletown and Sandy Hook.

Farther on the way to Briar Hill was the East Ravine, part of McGellaird Brook, which would form the northern border for most of the battle to come.

He then dispatched a scouting party under Colonel William Grayson, which advanced about a half mile beyond Tennent Church before Grayson saw firing, and a party of militia retreating from the enemy.

The longest single battle of the American Revolution was just beginning. Grayson sent a regiment with a single cannon across the bridge, and the British retired in good order. He immediately ordered his men to drop their packs by the roadside, march to Englishtown and join Lee, who was once again exhorted by courier to press the attack.

It was 7 a. News of the opening skirmish had reached him. Some reports claimed that the British were in retreat, but the flanking party seems to have convinced Dickinson that the British were advancing. In the confusion, the brigades of Scott and Varnum first crossed and then recrossed the bridge over the West Ravine, not knowing whether to attack or withdraw. Lee, who had never liked Dickinson, did accept the report of Colonel John Laurence, who claimed that the entire British army was definitely moving onto the road.

After wasting an hour considering the matter, Lee had finally made up his mind to fight, but he had neither reconnoitered the field nor drawn up even the sketchiest battle plan, and when he ordered his troops to deploy, they spilled off the road in all directions, picking whatever terrain seemed to suit them.

Believing that there was no more than a holding force of some 2, men left at the courthouse, Lee ordered Wayne, joined by Lt. A ragged volley rang out, green-coated Tories tumbled from their saddles, and the Rangers withdrew. Exulting, the general led his men across the East Ravine and formed up on the opposite rim.

Word of that plan was sent to Washington. He then did the right thing for the wrong reason — he started back toward the courthouse with most of his cavalry and several other regiments, including his Grenadiers and Coldstream Guards, while Lee continued his now pointless encircling movement. Since Lee had failed to inform all his subordinates of his plan, an already confusing engagement degenerated into outright chaos.

When he finally saw the British 3rd, 4th and 5th brigades advancing over Briar Hill, Lee ordered Maxwell and Scott to line their troops up to face them.

Scott also thought that Lafayette was retreating and began withdrawing his own men to the western side of the East Ravine. That left Grayson isolated, and he, too, decided to withdraw to protect himself. Like an avalanche started by a few loose stones, the entire American line began to disintegrate as Lafayette, having been informed that Scott had retired, began to fall back. Clinton now saw his chance. Ordering Knyphausen to halt, he brought up reinforcements.

With 3, troops heading toward the courthouse, Cornwallis was ordered to attack immediately with the soldiers at hand and turn the Yankee retreat into a rout. The Redcoats swarmed over abandoned Yankee positions by Briar Hill. Learning of that, Lee abandoned his feckless attempt at encirclement, and by p. The training and discipline instilled by von Steuben at Valley Forge paid dividends, and the Continental troops were able to fight the British regulars to a standstill.

Late in the afternoon, with both sides bloodied and exhausted from the summer heat, the British broke off the battle and withdrew toward New York. Washington wished to continue the pursuit, but his men were too exhausted and Clinton had reached the safety of Sandy Hook.

While many of the details regarding the involvement of a "Molly Pitcher" in the fighting at Monmouth have been embellished or are in dispute, it seems there was indeed a woman who brought water to American artillerymen during the battle. This would have been no small feat, as it was desperately needed not only to alleviate the men's suffering in the intense heat but also to swab the guns during the reloading process. In one version of the story, Molly Pitcher even took over from her husband on a gun crew when he fell, either wounded or from heatstroke.

It is believed that Molly's real name was Mary Hayes McCauly, but, again, the exact details and extent of her assistance during the battle is unknown.

Casualties for the Battle of Monmouth, as reported by each commander, were 69 killed in battle, 37 dead from heatstroke, wounded, and 95 missing for the Continental Army. British casualties included 65 killed in battle, 59 dead from heatstroke, wounded, 50 captured, and 14 missing. In both cases, these numbers are conservative and losses were more likely to for Washington and over 1, for Clinton. The battle was the last major engagement fought in the northern theater of the war.

Thereafter, the British holed up in New York and shifted their attention to the southern colonies. Following the battle, Lee requested a court-martial to prove that he was innocent of any wrongdoing. Washington obliged and filed formal charges.

Six weeks later, Lee was found guilty and suspended from the service. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data.

Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. When the force was increased to 5, men and given to the Marquis de Lafayette, Lee changed his mind and insisted on having the command. On 28 th June , suspecting that Washington intended to attack his army in strength, General Clinton ordered General Knyphausen to begin his march up the Middletown road to the North that day at 4am.

Lee lay to the west of the Middletown road and was expected to deliver an attack on the slow-moving British column.

Lee gave no proper orders to his commanders and permitted them to act as they saw fit. Finally, Lee ordered his troops to retreat on the main American army. As Lee withdrew down the road, Clinton launched his troops in pursuit. This is said to be the one occasion that Washington swore. He unleashed a volley of oaths at Lee, to the admiration of those listening, before ordering Lee to the rear. These regiments resisted strongly but were driven back by the British 16 th Light Dragoons.

Fierce fighting took place as the British attempted to drive back the American line. As the evening wore on, the British troops fell back and returned to their journey north, leaving the Americans on the field.

Casualties at the Battle of Monmouth: The British suffered some casualties and the Americans