EVACUATION OF PHILADELPHIA.--BATTLE OF MONMOUTH COURT HOUSE.
The delay of the British to evacuate Philadelphia tasked the sagacity
of Washington, but he supposed it to have been caused by the arrival
of the commissioners from Great Britain. The force in the city in the
meantime had been much reduced. Five thousand men had been detached to
aid in a sudden descent on the French possessions in the West Indies;
three thousand more to Florida. Most of the cavalry with other troops
had been shipped with the provision train and heavy baggage to New
York. The effective force remaining with Sir Henry was now about nine
or ten thousand men; that under Washington was a little more than
twelve thousand Continentals, and about thirteen hundred militia. It
had already acquired considerable proficiency in tactics and field
manoeuvring under the diligent instructions of Steuben.
Early in June it was evident that a total evacuation of the city was
on the point of taking place; and circumstances convinced Washington
that the march of the main body would be through the Jerseys. Some of
his officers thought differently, especially General Lee, who had now
the command of a division composed of Poor, Varnum, and Huntington's
brigades. In consequence, Washington called a general council of war
on the 17th, to consider what measures to adopt; whether to undertake
any enterprise against the enemy in their present circumstances--whether
the army should remain in its actual position, until the final
evacuation had taken place, or move immediately toward the
Delaware--whether, should the enemy march through the Jerseys, it
would be advisable to attack them while on the way, or to push on
directly to the Hudson, and secure that important communication
between the Eastern and Southern States? In case an attack while on
the march were determined on, should it be a partial or a general one?
Lee was opposed to an attack of any kind. He would make a bridge of
gold for the enemy. They were nearly equal in number to the Americans,
and far superior in discipline. An attack would endanger the safety of
the cause. He advised merely to follow the enemy, observe their
motions, and prevent them from committing any excesses. Lee's opinions
had still great weight with the army; most of the officers, both
foreign and American, concurred with him. Greene, Lafayette, Wayne,
and Cadwalader, thought differently. They could not brook that the
enemy should evacuate the city, and make a long march through the
country unmolested. Washington seeing such want of unanimity among his
generals, requested their opinions in writing. Before these were given
in, word was brought that the enemy had actually evacuated the city.
Sir Henry had taken his measures with great secrecy and despatch. The
army commenced moving at three o'clock on the morning of the 18th,
retiring to a point of land below the town formed by the confluence of
the Delaware and Schuylkill, and crossing the former river in boats.
By ten o'clock in the morning the rear-guard landed on the Jersey
shore.
On the first intelligence of this movement, Washington detached
General Maxwell with his brigade, to co-operate with General Dickinson
and the New Jersey militia in harassing the enemy on their march. He
sent General Arnold, also, with a force to take command of
Philadelphia, that officer being not yet sufficiently recovered from
his wound for field service; then, breaking up his camp at Valley
Forge, he pushed forward with his main force in pursuit of the enemy.
As the route of the latter lay along the eastern bank of the Delaware
as high as Trenton, Washington was obliged to make a considerable
circuit, so as to cross the river higher up at Coryell's Ferry, near
the place where, eighteen months previously, he had crossed to attack
the Hessians.
Heavy rains and sultry summer heat retarded his movements; but the
army crossed on the 24th. The British were now at Moorestown and Mount
Holly. Thence they might take the road on the left for Brunswick, and
so on to Staten Island and New York; or the road to the right through
Monmouth, by the Heights of Middletown to Sandy Hook. Uncertain which
they might adopt, Washington detached Colonel Morgan with six hundred
picked men to reinforce Maxwell, and hang on their rear; while he
himself pushed forward with the main body toward Princeton, cautiously
keeping along the mountainous country to the left of the most northern
road.
The march of Sir Henry was very slow. From his dilatory movements,
Washington suspected Sir Henry of a design to draw him down into the
level country, and then, by a rapid movement on his right, to gain
possession of the strong ground above him, and bring him to a general
action on disadvantageous terms. He himself was inclined for a general
action whenever it could be made on suitable ground: he halted,
therefore, at Hopewell, about five miles from Princeton, and held
another council of war. The result of it, writes his aide-de-camp,
Colonel Hamilton, "would have done honor to the most honorable society
of midwives, and to them only." The purport was to keep at a distance
from the enemy, and annoy them by detachments. Lee, according to
Hamilton, was the prime mover of this plan, in pursuance of which a
detachment of fifteen hundred men was sent off under Brigadier-general
Scott, to join the other troops near the enemy's line.
Generals Greene, Wayne, and Lafayette were in the minority in the
council, and subsequently gave separately the same opinion in writing,
that the rear of the enemy should be attacked by a strong detachment,
while the main army should be so disposed as to give a general battle,
should circumstances render it advisable. As this opinion coincided
with his own, Washington determined to act upon it. Sir Henry Clinton
in the meantime had advanced to Allentown, on his way to Brunswick, to
embark on the Raritan. Finding the passage of that river likely to be
strongly disputed by the forces under Washington, and others advancing
from the north under Gates, he changed his plan, and turned to the
right by a road leading through Freehold to Navesink and Sandy Hook;
to embark at the latter place.
Washington, no longer in doubt as to the route of the enemy's march,
detached Wayne with one thousand men to join the advanced corps,
which, thus augmented, was upwards of four thousand strong. The
command of the advance properly belonged to Lee as senior
major-general; but it was eagerly solicited by Lafayette, as an attack
by it was intended, and Lee was strenuously opposed to everything of
the kind. Washington willingly gave his consent, provided General Lee
were satisfied with the arrangement. The latter ceded the command
without hesitation. Scarce, however, had he relinquished the command,
when he changed his mind. In a note to Washington he declared that, in
assenting to the arrangement, he had considered the command of the
detachment one more fitting a young volunteering general than a
veteran like himself, second in command in the army. He now viewed it
in a different light. Lafayette would be at the head of all the
Continental parties already in the line; six thousand men at least; a
command next to that of the commander-in-chief. Should the detachment
march, therefore, he entreated to have the command of it.
Washington was perplexed how to satisfy Lee's punctilious claims
without wounding the feelings of Lafayette. A change in the
disposition of the enemy's line of march furnished an expedient. Sir
Henry Clinton, finding himself harassed by light troops on the flanks,
and in danger of an attack in the rear, placed all his baggage in
front under the convoy of Knyphausen, while he threw the main strength
of his army in the rear under Lord Cornwallis. This made it necessary
for Washington to strengthen his advanced corps; and he took this
occasion to detach Lee, with Scott's and Varnum's brigades, to support
the force under Lafayette. As Lee was the senior major-general, this
gave him the command of the whole advance. Washington explained the
matter in a letter to the marquis, who resigned the command to Lee
when the latter joined him on the 27th. That evening the enemy
encamped on high ground near Monmouth Court House. Lee encamped with
the advance at Englishtown, about five miles distant. The main body
was three miles in his rear.
About sunset Washington rode forward to the advance, and anxiously
reconnoitred Sir Henry's position. It was protected by woods and
morasses, and too strong to be attacked with a prospect of success.
Should the enemy, however, proceed ten or twelve miles further
unmolested, they would gain the heights of Middletown, and be on
ground still more difficult. To prevent this, he resolved that an
attack should be made on their rear early in the morning, as soon as
their front should be in motion. This plan he communicated to General
Lee, in presence of his officers, ordering him to make dispositions
for the attack keeping his troops lying on their arms, ready for
action on the shortest notice; a disposition he intended to observe
with his own troops. This done, he rode back to the main body.
Early in the morning, Washington received an express informing him
that the enemy were in motion. He instantly sent orders to Lee to push
forward and attack them, unless there should be powerful reasons to
the contrary, adding that he was coming on to support him. For that
purpose he immediately set forward with his own troops, ordering them
to throw by their knapsacks and blankets.
Knyphausen, with the British vanguard, had begun about daybreak to
descend into the valley between Monmouth Court House and Middletown.
To give the long train of wagons and pack horses time to get well on
the way, Sir Henry Clinton with his choice troops remained in camp on
the heights of Freehold, until eight o'clock, when he likewise resumed
the line of march toward Middletown.
In the meantime, Lee had advanced with the brigades of Wayne and
Maxwell, to support the light troops engaged in skirmishing. The
difficulty of reconnoitring a country cut up by woods and morasses,
and the perplexity occasioned by contradictory reports, embarrassed
his movements. Being joined by Lafayette with the main body of the
advance, he had now about four thousand men at his command,
independent of those under Morgan and General Dickinson. Arriving on
the heights of Freehold, and riding forward with General Wayne to an
open place to reconnoitre, Lee caught sight of a force under march,
but partly hidden from view by intervening woods. Supposing it to be a
mere covering party of about two thousand men, he detached Wayne with
seven hundred men and two pieces of artillery, to skirmish in its rear
and hold it in check; while he, with the rest of his force, taking a
shorter road through the woods, would get in front of it, and cut it
off from the main body. He at the same time sent a message to
Washington, apprising him of this movement and of his certainty of
success.
Washington in the meantime was on his march with the main body, to
support the advance, as he had promised. The booming of cannon at a
distance indicated that the attack so much desired had commenced, and
caused him to quicken his march. Arrived near Freehold church, where
the road forked, he detached Greene with part of his forces to the
right, to flank the enemy in the rear of Monmouth Court House, while
he, with the rest of the column, would press forward by the other
road.
Washington had alighted while giving these directions, and was
standing with his arm thrown over his horse, when a countryman rode up
and said the Continental troops were retreating. Washington was
provoked at what he considered a false alarm. The man pointed, as his
authority, to an American fifer who just then came up in breathless
affright. The fifer was ordered into custody to prevent his spreading
an alarm among the troops who were advancing, and was threatened with
a flogging should he repeat the story. Springing on his horse,
Washington had moved forward but a short distance when he met other
fugitives, one in the garb of a soldier, who all concurred in the
report. He now sent forward Colonels Fitzgerald and Harrison to learn
the truth, while he himself spurred past Freehold meeting house.
Between that edifice and the morass beyond it, he met Grayson's and
Patton's regiments in most disorderly retreat, jaded with heat and
fatigue. Riding up to the officer at their head, Washington demanded
whether the whole advanced corps were retreating. The officer believed
they were.
It seemed incredible. There had been scarce any firing--Washington had
received no notice of the retreat from Lee. He was still almost
inclined to doubt, when the heads of several columns of the advance
began to appear. It was too evident--the whole advance was falling
back on the main body, and no notice had been given to him. One of the
first officers that came up was Colonel Shreve, at the head of his
regiment. Washington, greatly surprised and alarmed, asked the meaning
of this retreat. The colonel smiled significantly--he did not know--he
had retreated by order. There had been no fighting excepting a slight
skirmish with the enemy's cavalry, which had been repulsed.
A suspicion flashed across Washington's mind of wrongheaded conduct on
the part of Lee, to mar the plan of attack adopted contrary to his
counsels. Ordering Colonel Shreve to march his men over the morass,
halt them on the hill beyond and refresh them, he galloped forward to
stop the retreat of the rest of the advance, his indignation kindling
as he rode. At the rear of the regiment he met Major Howard; he, too,
could give no reason for the retreat, but seemed provoked at
it--declaring that he had never seen the like. Another officer
exclaimed with an oath that they were flying from a shadow. Arriving
at a rising ground, Washington beheld Lee approaching with the residue
of his command in full retreat. By this time he was thoroughly
exasperated.
"What is the meaning of all this, sir?" demanded he, in the sternest
and even fiercest tone, as Lee rode up to him. Lee for a moment was
disconcerted, and hesitated in making a reply, for Washington's
aspect, according to Lafayette, was terrible. "I desire to know the
meaning of this disorder and confusion," was again demanded still more
vehemently.
Lee, stung by the manner more than the words of the demand, made an
angry reply, and provoked still sharper expressions, which have been
variously reported. "I am very sorry," said Washington, "that you
undertook the command, unless you meant to fight the enemy." "I did
not think it prudent to bring on a general engagement." "Whatever your
opinion may have been," replied Washington, disdainfully, "I expected
my orders would have been obeyed." This all passed rapidly, and, as it
were, in flashes, for there was no time for parley. The enemy were
within a quarter of an hour's march. Washington's appearance had
stopped the retreat. The fortunes of the day were to be retrieved, if
possible, by instant arrangements. These he proceeded to make with
great celerity. The place was favorable for a stand; it was a rising
ground, to which the enemy could approach only over a narrow causeway.
The rallied troops were hastily formed upon this eminence. Colonels
Stewart and Ramsey, with two batteries, were stationed in a covert of
woods on their left, to protect them and keep the enemy at bay.
Colonel Oswald was posted for the same purpose on a height, with two
field-pieces. The promptness with which everything was done showed the
effects of the Baron Steuben's discipline.
Washington, having made all his arrangements with great dispatch but
admirable clearness and precision, rode back to Lee in calmer mood,
and inquired, "Will you retain the command on this height or not? if
you will, I will return to the main body, and have it formed on the
next height." "It is equal to me where I command," replied Lee. "I
expect you will take proper means for checking the enemy," rejoined
Washington. "Your orders shall be obeyed; and I shall not be the first
to leave the ground," was the reply.
A warm cannonade by Oswald, Stewart and Ramsey had the desired effect.
The enemy were brought to a stand, and Washington had time to gallop
back and bring on the main body. This he formed on an eminence, with a
wood in the rear and the morass in front. The left wing was commanded
by Lord Stirling, who had with him a detachment of artillery and
several field-pieces. General Greene was on his right.
Lee had maintained his advanced position with great spirit, but was at
length obliged to retire. He brought off his troops in good order
across a causeway which traversed the morass in front of Lord
Stirling. Having formed his men in a line, beyond the morass, he rode
up to Washington. "Here, sir, are my troops," said he, "how is it your
pleasure I should dispose of them?" Washington saw that the poor
fellows were exhausted by marching, countermarching, hard fighting and
the intolerable heat of the weather: he ordered Lee, therefore, to
repair with them to the rear of Englishtown, and assemble there all
the scattered fugitives he might meet with.
The batteries under the direction of Lord Stirling opened a brisk and
well-sustained fire upon the enemy; who, finding themselves warmly
opposed in front, attempted to turn the left flank of the Americans,
but were driven back by detached parties of infantry stationed there.
They then attempted the right; but here were met by General Greene,
who had planted his artillery, under Knox, on a commanding ground, and
not only checked them but enfiladed those who were in front of the
left wing. Wayne too, with an advanced party posted in an orchard, and
partly sheltered by a barn, kept up a severe and well-directed fire
upon the enemy's centre. Repeated attempts were made to dislodge him,
but in vain. Colonel Monckton now undertook to drive Wayne from his
post at the point of the bayonet. Having made a brief harangue to his
men, he led them on in column. Wayne's men reserved their fire, until
Colonel Monckton, waving his sword, called out to his grenadiers to
charge. At that instant a sheeted volley laid him low, and made great
slaughter in his column, which was again repulsed.
The enemy at length gave way, and fell back to the ground which Lee
had occupied in the morning. Here their flanks were secured by woods
and morasses, and their front could only be approached across a narrow
causeway. Notwithstanding the difficulties of the position, Washington
prepared to attack it; ordering General Poor with his own and the
Carolina brigade, to move round upon their right, and General Woodford
on their left; while the artillery should gall them in front. Before
these orders could be carried into effect the day was at an end. Many
of the soldiers had sunk upon the ground, overcome by fatigue and the
heat of the weather; all needed repose. The troops, therefore, which
had been in the advance, were ordered to lie on their arms on the
ground they occupied, so as to be ready to make the attack by
daybreak. The main army did the same, on the field of action, to be at
hand to support them. Washington lay on his cloak at the foot of a
tree, with Lafayette beside him, talking over the strange conduct of
Lee; whose disorderly retreat had come so near being fatal to the
army.
It was indeed a matter of general perplexity, to which the wayward
character of Lee greatly contributed. Some who recollected his
previous opposition to all plan of attack, almost suspected him of
wilfully aiming to procure a defeat. It would appear, however, that he
had been really surprised and thrown into confusion by a move of Sir
Henry Clinton, who, seeing the force under Lee descending on his rear
from Freehold heights, had suddenly turned upon it, aided by troops
from Knyphausen's division, to oblige it to call to its assistance the
flanking parties under Morgan and Dickinson, which were threatening
his baggage train. So that Lee, instead of a mere covering party which
he had expected to cut off, had found himself front to front with the
whole rear division of the British army; and that too, on unfavorable
ground, with a deep ravine and a morass in his rear.
At daybreak the drums beat the reveillé. The troops roused themselves
from their heavy sleep, and prepared for action. To their surprise,
the enemy had disappeared: there was a deserted camp, in which were
found four officers and about forty privates, too severely wounded to
be conveyed away by the retreating army. Sir Henry Clinton, it
appeared, had allowed his wearied troops but short repose on the
preceding night. At ten o'clock, when the American forces were buried
in their first sleep, he had set forward to join the division under
Knyphausen, which, with the baggage train, having pushed on during the
action, was far on the road to Middletown. So silent had been his
retreat, that it was unheard by General Poor's advance party, which
lay near by.
The distance to which the enemy must by this time have attained, the
extreme heat of the weather, and the fatigued condition of the troops,
deterred Washington from continuing a pursuit through a country where
the roads were deep and sandy, and there was great scarcity of water.
Besides, persons well acquainted with the country assured him that it
would be impossible to annoy the enemy in their embarkation, as he
must approach the place by a narrow passage, capable of being defended
by a few men against his whole force. Detaching General Maxwell's
brigade and Morgan's rifle corps, therefore, to hang on the rear of
the enemy, prevent depredation and encourage desertions, he determined
to shape his course with his main body by Brunswick toward the Hudson,
lest Sir Henry should have any design upon the posts there.
The American loss in the recent battle was eight officers and
sixty-one privates killed, and about one hundred and sixty wounded.
The officers who had charge of the burying parties reported that they
found two hundred and forty-five non-commissioned officers and
privates, and four officers, left dead by the enemy on the field of
battle.
After giving his troops a day's repose, Washington decamped on the
30th. His march lay through a country destitute of water, with deep,
sandy roads wearying to the feet, and reflecting the intolerable heat
and glare of a July sun. Many of the troops, harassed by previous
fatigue, gave out by the way. Some few died, and a number of horses
were likewise lost. Washington, ever considerate of the health and
comfort of his men, encamped near Brunswick on open, airy grounds, and
gave them time to repose; while Lieutenant-colonel Aaron Burr, at that
time a young and enterprising officer, was sent on a reconnoitring
expedition, to learn the movements and intentions of the enemy.
Sir Henry Clinton with the royal army had arrived at the Highlands of
Navesink, in the neighborhood of Sandy Hook, on the 30th of June. He
had lost many men by desertion, Hessians especially, during his march
through the Jerseys, which, with his losses by killed, wounded and
captured, had diminished his army more than two thousand men. The
storms of the preceding winter had cut off the peninsula of Sandy Hook
from the mainland, and formed a deep channel between them. Fortunately
the squadron of Lord Howe had arrived the day before, and was at
anchor within the Hook. A bridge was immediately made across the
channel with the boats of the ships, over which the army passed to the
Hook on the 5th of July, and thence was distributed.
Having brought the army to a halt, we have time to notice a
correspondence between General Lee and Washington, immediately
subsequent to the affair of Monmouth. The pride of the general had
been deeply wounded by the rebuke he had received on the field of
battle. On the following day (June 29th) he addressed a note to
Washington on the subject. By mistake it was dated July 1st. "From the
knowledge I have of your Excellency's character," writes he, "I must
conclude that nothing but the misinformation of some very stupid, or
misrepresentation of some very wicked person, could have occasioned
your making use of so very singular expressions as you did on my
coming up to the ground where you had taken post. They implied that I
was guilty either of disobedience of orders, want of conduct, or want
of courage. Your Excellency will therefore infinitely oblige me by
letting me know on which of these three articles you ground your
charge."
Washington, in reply, wrote: "I received your letter (dated through
mistake the 1st of July), expressed as I conceive in terms highly
improper. I am not conscious of making use of any very singular
expressions at the time of meeting you, as you intimate. What I
recollect to have said was dictated by duty and warranted by the
occasion. As soon as circumstances will permit, you shall have an
opportunity of justifying yourself to the army, to Congress, to
America, and to the world in general."
To this Lee rejoined, in a note, misdated 28th June: "Sir, you cannot
afford me greater pleasure than in giving me the opportunity of
showing to America the sufficiency of her respective servants. I trust
that temporary power of office, and the tinsel dignity attending it,
will not be able, by all the mists they can raise, to obfuscate the
bright rays of truth. In the meantime, your Excellency can have no
objection to my retiring from the army," etc. Shortly after
despatching this note, Lee addressed another to Washington. "I have
reflected on both your situation and mine," writes he, "and beg leave
to observe, that it will be for our mutual convenience that a court of
inquiry should be immediately ordered.... I must entreat, therefore,
from your love of justice, that you will immediately exhibit your
charge, and that on the first halt I may be brought to a trial."
Washington in reply acknowledged the receipt of the two last notes,
and added, "I have sent Colonel Scammel and the adjutant-general to
put you under arrest, who will deliver you a copy of the charges on
which you will be tried."
A court-martial was accordingly formed on the 4th of July, at
Brunswick, the first halting place. It was composed of one
major-general, four brigadiers, and eight colonels, with Lord Stirling
as president. It moved with the army, and convened subsequently at
Paramus, Peekskill, and Northcastle, the trial lasting until the 12th
of August. The result of the prolonged and tedious investigation was
that he was found guilty of all the charges exhibited against him.
[1st. Disobedience of orders. 2d. Misbehavior before the enemy, by
making an unnecessary and disorderly retreat. 3d. Disrespect to the
commander-in-chief in letters dated July 1st and June 28th.] He was
sentenced to be suspended from all command for one year; the sentence
to be approved or set aside by Congress.
We must anticipate dates to dispose briefly of the career of General
Lee, who is not connected with subsequent events of the Revolution.
Congress were more than three months in coming to a decision on the
proceedings of the court-martial. At length, on the 5th of December,
the sentence was approved in a very thin session of Congress, fifteen
members voting in the affirmative and seven in the negative. From that
time Lee was unmeasured in his abuse of Washington, and his
reprobation of the court-martial, which he termed a "court of
inquisition." His aggressive tongue at length involved him in a
quarrel with Colonel Laurens, one of Washington's aides, a
high-spirited young gentleman who felt himself bound to vindicate the
honor of his chief. A duel took place, and Lee was wounded in the
side. Towards spring he retired to his estate in Berkley County in
Virginia, where he led a kind of hermit life. Dogs and horses were his
favorite companions. His house is described as being a mere shell,
destitute of comforts and conveniences. For want of partitions the
different parts were designated by lines chalked on the floor. In one
corner was his bed; in another were his books; his saddles and harness
in a third; a fourth served as a kitchen.
The term of his suspension had expired when a rumor reached him that
Congress intended to take away his commission. The intelligence
"ruffled his temper beyond all bounds." In his hurry and heat, without
attempting to ascertain the truth of the report, he scrawled the
following note to the President of Congress: "Sir, I understand that
it is in contemplation of Congress, on the principle of economy, to
strike me out of their service. Congress must know very little of me
if they suppose that I would accept of their money, since the
confirmation of the wicked and infamous sentence which was passed upon
me. I am, sir," etc. This insolent note occasioned his prompt
dismissal from the service.
Though bitter in his enmities, Lee had his friendships, and was warm
and constant in them as far as his capricious humors would allow.
There was nothing crafty or mean in his character, nor do we think he
ever engaged in the low intrigues of the cabal; but he was a
disappointed and embittered man, and the gall of bitterness overflowed
his generous qualities. In such a discordant state of feeling, he was
not a man for the sweet solitude of the country. He became weary of
his Virginia estate; though in one of the most fertile regions of the
Shenandoah Valley. His farm was mismanaged; his agents were
unfaithful; he entered into negotiations to dispose of his property,
in the course of which he visited Philadelphia. On arriving there he
was taken with chills, followed by a fever, which went on increasing
in violence, and terminated fatally. A soldier even unto the end,
warlike scenes mingled with the delirium of his malady. In his dying
moments he fancied himself on the field of battle. The last words he
was heard to utter were, "Stand by me, my brave grenadiers!"