LAFAYETTE AT MONMOUTH
The alliance with France put a new color upon every phase of the American
contest. If, for instance, a French fleet should be already on its way
across the Atlantic, and should enter Chesapeake Bay and threaten
Philadelphia, the English would have to evacuate that city and retire to
New York, risking the danger of being intercepted on the way by
Washington's army. In view of such a possibility as this, the commander
in chief of the American army held a council of war in which it was
decided that they were not strong enough to risk a decisive engagement.
It was, however, highly important that exact information should be gained
as to the movements of the British around Philadelphia. In order that
this might be accomplished, General Washington detached a group of
soldiery from among the most able and valued of his army, and put them
under Lafayette, with instructions to proceed into the country between
the Delaware and Schuylkill, and there interrupt communications with
Philadelphia, obstruct the incursions of the enemy's parties, and obtain
intelligence of their motives and designs.
Lafayette was overjoyed at being chosen for so important a charge; and
on the 24th of May, 1778, he started out with about twenty-two hundred
men. His force included the band of Iroquois warriors who had come
from Albany to follow his fortunes, and who, because of their
knowledge of forest-craft, were invaluable as scouts. The British
could command about four times as many soldiers as had been assigned
to Lafayette, but their intention was to keep the American force out
of their way and, if possible, to avoid a direct encounter.
For his camp Lafayette selected a piece of rising ground near the
eleventh milestone north of Philadelphia, where there was a church, a
grave-yard, and a few stone houses that might afford some protection
in case of attack, and where four country roads led out to the four
points of the compass. The place was called Barren Hill--name of
ill-omen! But the fate of the day proved not altogether unfortunate
for the young and intrepid commander.
Naturally, the people in Philadelphia had heard of the approach of the
young French noble whose fame had been ringing in their ears, and they
prepared to go out and engage him--capture him, if possible. At that
time they were indulging in a grand, week-long festival, with
masquerades, dancing, and fireworks; and in anticipation of the quick
capture of the young French hero, a special party was invited for the
next evening at which the guests were promised the pleasure of meeting
the distinguished prisoner.
Lafayette had chosen his position in a region he had carefully
examined. But the English were able to send bodies of troops up all
the traveled approaches to the hill. While Lafayette was planning to
send a spy to Philadelphia to find out, as Washington had directed,
what preparations were there being made, the cry suddenly arose in his
camp that they were being surrounded. It was a terrible moment. But
Lafayette had this great quality--the power of being self-possessed
under sudden danger. He did not lose his head, and he instantly
thought of a plan of escape.
There was a dilapidated road that his keen eye had detected leading
along beneath a high bank which protected it from observation. He
directed the main body of his men to pass down that old road, while a
small number were commanded to make a pretense of a demonstration near
the church; others were to show some false heads of columns along the
edge of the forest by the stone houses. These were withdrawn as the
main body of soldiers disappeared down the hidden road and began to
dot the surface of the river with their bobbing heads as they swam
across. Lafayette and his loyal aid-de-camp, Major de Gimat, brought
up the rear with the remainder of the men, whom they transferred
across the river without loss. Then they formed on the farther bank
and determined to contest the ford if the British followed. But the
British had marched up the hill from the two opposite sides, simply
meeting each other at the top; they then marched down again and did
not seem to be in any mind to pursue their enemy further.
The only real encounter of that serio-comic day's adventures took
place between the band of Iroquois and a company of Hessians in the
pay of the British. The Indians were concealed in the brush at the
side of the road when the Hessians, with waving black plumes in their
tall hats and mounted on spirited horses, came along. The Indians rose
as if from under the ground, giving their war whoop as they sprang.
The horses, unused to this form of war cry, started back and fled far
and wide; and the Indians, never having seen soldiers so accoutered,
were as frightened as if confronted by evil spirits, and swiftly made
good their escape from the impending "bad medicine."
The British carried their chagrin with them back to Philadelphia, and
the diners were disappointed in their guest of honor. Next morning
Lafayette returned to the top of Barren Hill, thence marched back to
Valley Forge, and there relieved the anxiety of General Washington who
had feared for his safety.
But the incident of Barren Hill, while it was not in any way an engagement,
must be looked upon as a serious matter after all, for it gave Lafayette
an opportunity to show that he was cool and self-possessed in a critical
moment, and that he was clever and resourceful in finding ways to extricate
himself from difficulties--both essential qualities in one who is to be
trusted with great enterprises.
In about a month the anticipated event took place--the British
evacuated Philadelphia; and, with a baggage-train eleven miles long,
started northward with the intention of joining forces with the army
at New York.
The question now was whether the army under General Washington should
leave Valley Forge and with their inferior force make an attempt to
intercept the British and bring on a battle. Several councils of war
were held; one of special importance at Hopewell, a place north of
Valley Forge, where the project of preparing for attack was earnestly
favored by Lafayette, together with General Greene and Colonel
Alexander Hamilton, but violently (and unaccountably at that time)
opposed by General Lee. This council has been made the subject of one
of the reliefs on the celebrated Monmouth Battle Monument. In this
design Washington is represented as standing by the table in the
center of the group, while Lafayette is spreading the map before the
council and urging them to make a strong demonstration against the
British, even if it should bring on a battle.
The various generals sit about the table and each expresses in his
attitude what his feelings are in this crisis. Steuben and Duportail
(at the extreme left) evidently agree with Lafayette, and eagerly
press for compliance with his plan. General Patterson (seated at the
table) is of the same mind, and so is the true-hearted Greene (seated
at the right of Patterson). Brave Colonel Scammel (between Washington
and Lafayette), Washington's Adjutant General, carefully notes the
opinion of each for the guidance of his chief. Back in the shadow sits
the treacherous General Lee, who looks sulky and is evidently planning
mischief. The homely rooftree covers a critical scene in the history
of the Revolution.
[Illustration: _From a photograph by Norman L. Coe & Son._
THE COUNCIL AT HOPEWELL.
This bas-relief, by the sculptor J.E. Kelly, appears on
the Monmouth Battle Monument. It shows a conference of
Washington and his generals. Lafayette is shown standing
opposite to Washington.]
Finally, Washington turned to General Wayne (behind Greene) and said,
"Well, General, what would _you_ do?"
"Fight, Sir!" crisply replied the ardent and indomitable Wayne--an
answer that pleased alike the commander in chief and the young
volunteer major general, to whom it seemed an intolerable insult that
a hostile army should be allowed to march through one's own country
unchallenged.
General Lee was determined that the British should be allowed to pass
through New Jersey without molestation. His sympathies were afterwards
found to have been entirely with the British. At any rate, Washington
did not follow his advice. He sent out men to fell trees in the
enemy's path, to burn bridges before them, and to harass them as much
as possible; and he forwarded detachments of such size that he needed
a major general to take command of that branch of his army. The
position was offered first to General Lee. He refused to take it.
General Washington was then free to offer it to Lafayette, who
accepted it with delight.
As these plans were being matured, General Lee suddenly changed his
mind and announced that he would take command of the advance force;
and he appealed to Lafayette's generosity to allow him to do so, even
after having once given his refusal. Lafayette unselfishly resigned
the command. It is the opinion of historians that the outcome of the
battle of Monmouth would have been very different if the American side
had been left in the capable hands of the young Lafayette.
The battle of Monmouth, which took place on the 28th of June, was
widely scattered in its action over a hot and sandy plain. The outcome
was that General Lee first brought his troops face to face with the
enemy, and then, instead of leading on to the attack, gave the order
for retreat. Afterwards, in the court-martial of Lee, it was made
evident that the movement of the troops as ordered by Lee would have
left Lafayette and his detachment abandoned in an extremely exposed
position on the open plain, the troops that should have supported him
having been withdrawn by Lee's orders and directed to retreat.
Lafayette and the other generals felt great bitterness on that day
because they had been swept into battle but had not been allowed to
strike a blow.
Everybody knows how Washington rode up, and when he saw the retreat,
how he indignantly reproved General Lee and commanded the battalions
to turn back and form in position for battle. Lafayette was in command
of a division stationed at the second line under Lord Stirling who
sustained the left wing; they were now placed on an eminence behind a
morass and there played the batteries to such good effect that they
were able to check the advance of the British. This halt gave
Washington time to place his army to advantage. The British were
driven from a strong position they had taken, and before dark the
American troops had turned the British back. That night they lay upon
the field in bright moonlight, and while Washington and Lafayette
discussed the possible outcome of the next day, the British were
silently withdrawing from the Monmouth plains. The next morning all
had disappeared except some forty of their wounded. At Sandy Hook,
where the British army crossed to New York, it was learned that they
had lost about two thousand men by desertions and by losses at
Monmouth. Many of the soldiers on both sides had died from the extreme
heat on that 28th of June.
During the battle Lafayette was master of himself. Almost fifty years
later, Colonel Willett related that in the hottest of the fight he
saw Lafayette ride up to one of the officers and, in a voice cool,
steady, and slow, and with as much deliberation as if nothing exciting
prevailed, say,
"General, the enemy is making an attempt to cut off our right wing;
march to his assistance with all your force."
So saying he galloped off. Colonel Willett remembered that he was
exceedingly well mounted, though plainly dressed, and "very sedate in
his air for a Frenchman."
A number of situations arose soon after this in which Lafayette found
himself of great use. The French fleet under Count d'Estaing appeared
near Delaware Bay and sailed up the coast. Washington was at White
Plains. The British held New York. It was thought that the French
fleet could accomplish much by going to Newport and there coöperating
with the land forces. Lafayette was given a detachment and commanded
to proceed to Providence where he was to stand ready to give all
possible aid.
But he was doomed to still another disappointment. The French fleet
arrived off Point Judith near Newport; visits of ceremony were
exchanged by the French and American generals; preparations were made;
but through misunderstandings, the plans never worked out to an
actual engagement. Before anything was accomplished, a severe storm
overtook the fleet, and it withdrew to Boston for necessary repairs.
During this trying time, Lafayette was a trusted resource to
Washington, who devoutly wished to reconcile all differences and to
bring peace out of dissension. For this Lafayette had peculiar
qualities, as he understood the character of both the French and the
Americans, and believed absolutely in the good intentions of the
officers on both sides. Twice he rode to Boston and back again to help
in settling some difficulty, making on one of those occasions a
journey of seventy miles, at night, in six and a half hours--a feat
paralleled only by Sheridan's famous ride to Winchester.
But the fleet sailed away, bearing many disappointments with it,
though much good had been done by its coming; it meant that the
American cause had received definite encouragement from France.
It was now October of 1778 and autumn weather was closing the campaign
of the year. The sending of the French fleet to our shores had been
virtually a declaration that a state of war existed between France and
England, and the thought that this might develop into an actual war in
which Lafayette, after his practical experience and training in the
Continental army, could take part and win glory, inclined him strongly
at this point to return to his native land. Permission was given to
him to do this. The proper farewells, official and private, were made,
and Lafayette started on his way to Boston where he was to embark.
But the strain of the summer's excitement and overwork had been too
much for Lafayette, and at Fishkill he was taken ill with a violent
fever which prostrated him for some weeks. The greatest concern was
felt for his life; the soldiers' love for him was shown by their great
solicitude, and General Washington called upon him every day.
Lafayette slowly recovered and finally resumed his journey to Boston,
where he went on board the _Alliance_ which the government had given
him to take him to France. At the moment of sailing he sent a letter
to General Washington, in which he said:
"Farewell, my dear General. I hope your French friends will ever be
dear to you. I hope I shall soon see you again and tell you myself
with what emotions I now leave the land you inhabit, and with what
affection and respect I shall ever be your sincere friend."
They set sail for Havre on the 11th of January, 1779. The voyage was
not to be without adventure. They sailed into the teeth of a terrible
three days' storm. Lafayette, as usual, was very seasick, and, as
usual, was much discouraged thereby. For a time glory and fame had no
charms for him! He declared he was surely going where he had wished to
send all the English--namely, to the bottom of the sea!
Still worse was to follow. No sooner was the storm over than another
danger loomed up. The ship's crew included a number of renegade
English sailors who conspired to mutiny, to overwhelm the officers,
and to kill the crew and passengers. By including in their confidence
an American sailor, whom they mistook for an Irishman, their plot came
to naught. Lafayette summoned the whole crew, put thirty-three
mutineers in chains, and thus saved himself from capture and the ship
from being towed into a British port as a prize. Shortly after this
Lafayette brought the frigate into the harbor of Brest, where he had
the pleasure of seeing, for the first time, the American flag receive
the national salute as the symbol of an acknowledged sister nation in
alliance with his native country.