In the Days of Washington: A Story of the American Revolution

by F. S. Brereton

  CHAPTER V

  IN WHICH BEGINS A MEMORABLE BATTLE

  As the spring months wore on, bringing sunshine and warmth instead ofsnow and ice, the situation at Valley Forge changed decidedly for thebetter. The shadows of the winter were fading before the hopes offreedom promised by the fresh campaign soon to be opened. Most of thesick had recovered, and the troops fit for active service numbered aboutfifteen thousand. They had much to cheer them, and the greatest sourceof gratification was the good news from France. For, early in February,Benjamin Franklin had negotiated a treaty with that nation, news ofwhich reached the United States in the following May, and was promptlyratified by Congress. And, to further encourage the struggling people,it was learned that a French fleet, commanded by Count d'Estaing, hadalready sailed for Philadelphia.

  Meanwhile, on the 11th of May, Lord Howe had been superseded in commandof the British army by Sir Henry Clinton, and it was generally believedthat the latter had been ordered by the ministry to evacuatePhiladelphia.

  But that much-desired event was long delayed. The enemy spent weeks inslothful preparation, and the middle of June found the boats of thefleet all collected and moored below the town--which was taken as apretty sure sign that the flight would be by water. At almost any daythe French armament might be expected to sail up the Delaware.

  But, in spite of this danger of a blockade, the British still lingered,to the satisfaction of Tory citizens and the disgust of all goodpatriots. And at Valley Forge, Washington was patiently watching andwaiting, with his orders written out, his baggage ready to be packed ata moment's notice, and his troops in condition to form in line of marchat the first beat of the drum.

  It was past midday of the 17th of June, 1778, when the long-expectedword came at last to the American camp. It was in the form of a privatedispatch, the tenor of which was not at once communicated to the army.But a conference took place between Washington and his staff, as aresult of which a trusty officer named Captain McLane left Valley Forgethat evening under secret orders. He was suitably disguised and wellmounted.

  The night was far advanced when Captain McLane entered Philadelphia,unchallenged by a single sentry as he rode along.

  He found the town in a ferment of excitement and joy. At nine o'clockthe long-expected evacuation of the British army had begun. Down to theDelaware the troops marched quietly, regiment by regiment, and embarkedin small boats. But instead of boarding the big vessels at anchor, theycrossed the river and disembarked on the Jersey shore. The retreat wasto be by land, and not by water.

  Captain McLane found means of crossing with the enemy, and all nightlong, while the boats flitted from shore to shore, the brave man wenthere and there unsuspected. He followed the lead of the column fivemiles into the Jersies, to Haddonfield, ascertained General Clinton'sintended line of march, and then retraced his steps past the long trainof baggage, provisions, carriages, and saddle-horses that brought up therear of the retreating army.

  He safely reached the city early on the morning of the 18th--while theevacuation was still in progress--and before ten o'clock he was back atthe camp with the electrifying news. Two hours after the last of theBritish had departed, Washington's dragoons were riding through thestreets of Philadelphia, and a small detachment under General Arnoldoccupied the town.

  Before night the whole of the patriot army was in motion toward theDelaware, and the huts at Valley Forge, consecrated by the winter'sheroic sufferings and fortitude, were left to solitude and decay. Theline of march was in the direction of Trenton, it being the intention ofWashington to press closely on the rear of the enemy, and of thethousands of American soldiers who longed for a decisive battle, nonedesired it more ardently than Nathan Stanbury and his father.

  General Clinton led the British army northeast through the Jersies, hisobject being to reach the Raritan River and there embark his troops. Butthe sandy roads and oppressively hot weather made marching tedious andslow, and, as there was but a single road, his train of baggage-wagons,horses and men made a line nearly twelve miles in extent. In addition,he had to build bridges and causeways over the streams and marshes.

  Meanwhile the American army was moving swiftly, and had crossed theDelaware near Trenton in several divisions. On the 25th of June,learning that Washington was almost on his front, Clinton concluded tochange his course rather than risk a general action with his numerousencumbrances. So, turning to the right, he followed the road leading toMonmouth Court-house and Sandy Hook, intending now to embark his troopsat the latter place instead of on the Raritan.

  As yet Washington was himself disinclined to risk a battle, and wasmerely trying to harass the enemy on their march. The advance Americanforces--certain corps and brigades under Maxwell, Morgan, Scott,Dickinson, and Cadwallader--had been ordered to annoy the British on therear and flanks. On June 25th, when Clinton turned toward MonmouthCourt-house, the Americans reached a place called Kingston. Here anothercouncil was held, and though General Lee, as before, was stronglyopposed to any interference with the movements of the enemy, Lafayette,Green, and Wayne declared in favor of a general battle. Washington wasof the same mind, and so he promptly proceeded to make his arrangementsto that effect. He sent a thousand men forward under General Wayne tojoin the troops nearest the enemy, gave Lafayette the command of all theadvanced forces, and himself moved with the main body to Cranberry onthe 28th of June.

  Early on the morning of the 27th, Lafayette reached Englishtown, avillage about five miles to the west of Monmouth Court-house. TheBritish general, being advised of the movements of the Americans,prepared for battle at Monmouth, where he had now arrived. He placed hisbaggage train in front and his best troops--the grenadiers, lightinfantry, and chasseurs--in the rear. Then he encamped near theCourt-house, in a strong position that was secured by woods and marshyground. His line stretched a mile and a half on the right towardShrewsbury, and three miles on the left in the direction of Allentown.

  Washington heard of this, and found it necessary to increase the numbersof his advance corps. He sent Lee with two brigades to join Lafayette,and gave him the command of the whole division. The main army marchedthe same day to within three miles of Englishtown. Morgan was nowhovering on the British right, and a force of militia under Dickinsonwas menacing their left. Three miles beyond Monmouth were the heightsof Middletown, which offered a great advantage to the enemy. To preventthem from obtaining that advantage, Washington determined to attacktheir rear the moment they should attempt to move, and he gave GeneralLee orders to that effect. Sir Henry Clinton, finding a battle to beinevitable, was no less busy, and the night of the 27th was one ofanxiety to both armies.

  The 28th of June, 1778, was Sunday. The sun rose out of a cloudless sky,and not a breath of air was stirring. It was the hottest and sultriestday of the year. The Americans were all eager for the fight, and hopefulof striking a decisive blow at the enemies of their country. The forceto which Nathan and the Wyoming men belonged were with the main armyback near Englishtown, and this was a disappointment to the lad, sincehe feared that he would miss the battle. But his anxiety was needless,as after events proved.

  Before dawn the regiment of Colonel Grayson and the brigades of Scottand Varnum were in the saddle and moving toward Monmouth Court-house.General Knyphausen, with a British force that comprised Hessiansand Pennsylvania and Maryland Tories, advanced at daybreak, followedlater by Sir Henry Clinton with his main army. Dickinson, observingthe earlier movement, sent an express in haste to Lee and thecommander-in-chief. Washington at once put his army in motion,and sent orders to General Lee to attack the enemy unless thereshould be a strong reason to the contrary.

  So Lee pressed forward, supported by Dickinson, Grayson, and thebrigades of Wayne and Maxwell. He crossed the morass by a causeway nearthe parsonage, and on reaching a height was joined by Lafayette with themain body of the advanced corps. Here conflicting intelligence wasreceived, some messengers asserting that the enemy were in full retreat,while others reported that the whole Britis
h army was filing off to theright to attack the Americans.

  Satisfied that no important bodies of foes were on either of his flanks,Lee marched on with about five thousand troops through a broken andheavily-wooded country, and came to the verge of the plain of Monmouth.Seeing a column of the British about two thousand strong on the left,and taking them to be a covering party, he determined to try to cut themoff from the main army. So he sent Wayne with artillery and sevenhundred men to attack them in the rear, while he himself sought to gaintheir front by a short cut.

  It was now nine o'clock in the morning. Wayne was about to descend onthe enemy when a body of the Queen's Dragoons appeared on the edge of awood, parading as though about to make an attack. Lee, seeing this,planned and partly carried out a clever ruse. He ordered his light horseto entice the dragoons as near as possible, and then retreat to Wayne'sposition. The dragoons, following the light horse as was expected, weremet with a hot musketry fire from an ambush party under Colonel Butler,of Wayne's command. Then they wheeled about and galloped off toward themain column. Wayne ordered Colonel Oswald to open two pieces ofartillery upon them, and he himself made a bayonet charge forward withhis whole force.

  The battle now seemed about to begin in earnest, for Wayne and hiscommand were fighting with vigor, and with good prospect of success. Hewas therefore greatly chagrined and irritated when Lee ordered him tomake only a feigned attack, lest he (Lee) should fail in his plan to cutoff the covering party. But Wayne was a true soldier. He obeyed withoutquestioning and checked his troops, hoping that Lee would recover whathis untimely order had lost. But here again Wayne was disappointed, foronly a small portion of Lee's troops issued from the wood on the right,and these were actually within cannon-shot of the royal forces.

  About this time Sir Henry Clinton discovered that the Americans weremarching in force on both his flanks, and with the hope of drawing themoff by making an urgent necessity for them elsewhere, he faced his armyaround and prepared to attack Wayne. This move was made, and soon alarge body of cavalry were seen approaching. Lafayette discovered this,and it suggested so good a plan to him that he rode straightway and inhaste to Lee.

  "General," he cried, "have I your permission to gain the rear of thesecavalry who are marching against us? I am satisfied that I can do so,and thus cut them off."

  "Sir, you do not know British soldiers," replied Lee. "We cannot standagainst them. We shall be driven back at first, and we must becautious."

  "Perhaps you are right, General," declared Lafayette. "But Britishsoldiers have been beaten before this, and they are not invincible. Atall events, I wish to make this attempt."

  Lee partly consented, ordering Lafayette to wheel his column by theright, and gain and attack the cavalry's left. Next he unaccountablyweakened Wayne's detachment on the left by sending three regiments tothe right, and then rode toward Oswald's battery to reconnoiter.

  At this moment, to his great astonishment, as he afterward declared, Leesaw a large portion of the British army marching on the Middletown roadtoward the Court-house. Apparently confused, he immediately ordered hisright to fall back, and gave other commands that virtually amounted to aretreat. Lafayette was instructed to fall back to the Court-house, andGenerals Maxwell and Scott, who were about to form for action on theplain, were sent to the woods in their rear.

  A general and disastrous retreat had now begun, and one for which therewas no excuse, since Lee might have made an effective stand in hisadvantageous position. The Americans were pursued as far as theCourt-house, where the British temporarily halted and opened fire withseveral batteries. The routed army pressed on across the morass,suffering terribly from heat, thirst, and fatigue, and sinkingankle-deep in the loose and sandy soil. They reached the broken heightsof Freehold, and paused here for a brief rest. But soon the Britishforces came on, and Lee resumed his retreat toward the Freeholdmeeting-house. The demoralized troops fled in great confusion, manyperishing in the mud and water of the swamps, and others, dropping overwith the heat, being trampled to death by those behind. It was a blackcommencement to the battle of Monmouth.

  Meanwhile Washington had been pressing forward in haste, and with hisright wing commanded by General Greene, and the left wing in charge ofhimself, he had reached the vicinity of the Freehold meeting-house andMonmouth Court-house. Just at that time arrived a farmer on a fleethorse, announcing that Lee and his forces were in full retreat, with theenemy in close pursuit. Washington at once rode forward with his staff,passing and checking the flying columns of troops, until he met Lee nearthe rear.

  "Sir," he cried, in tones of bitter anger, "I desire to know whencearises this disorder and confusion, and what is the reason."

  Lee was a high-spirited man, and being stung more by the manner thanthe words of his commander, he retorted harshly. A few sharp wordspassed between the two, but there was no time for full explanations,since the advancing enemy were within fifteen minutes' march.