Battle of Monmouth

28 June 1778

Inconclusive

France’s entry into the war led the British to send reinforcements to the West Indies, leaving them too weak to continue occupying Philadelphia. In mid-June 1778, 12,000 British soldiers and a 12-mile-long wagon train left the city and headed for New York. General George Washington followed cautiously. He gave his second in command, Maj. Gen. Charles Lee, command of the advance section of the Army. On 28 June, in intense heat, Lee attacked the British rearguard near Monmouth, New Jersey. The British strongly counterattacked. Lee retreated but was reinforced by the main Continental Army. British rearguard commander Lt. Gen. Charles, Lord Cornwallis went on the offensive but Washington’s timely arrival on the battlefield with more troops halted the Crown attacks. Though the battle was inconclusive, it demonstrated the increasing professionalism and organization of the Continental Army.

Lee and Washington disagreed about the best strategy for the Battle of Monmouth. Lee, feeling that his force was in an untenable position and underestimating the training transformation of the American Army during the encampment at Valley Forge, fell back in confusion. Washington rode up and, exceedingly irate to find the advance guard in retreat, exchanged harsh words with Lee. He then assumed a defensive position against a British counterattack. For the first time the Americans fought well with the bayonet as well as with the musket and rifle, and their battlefield behavior generally reflected the Valley Forge training. Nevertheless, Washington failed to strike a telling blow at the British Army, for General Sir Henry Clinton slipped away in the night and retreated to New York.

Lee demanded and got a court-martial at which he was judged, perhaps unjustly, guilty of disobedience of orders, poor conduct of the retreat, and disrespect for the Commander in Chief. As a consequence, he retired from the Army, though the controversy over his actions at Monmouth went on for years.

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