Battle+of+Monmouth

**Battle** **of Monmouth**

The Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey took place on June 28, 1778. This battle was indecisive. This battle showed that the Continental Army could be equal with Britain. Each side had similar numbers, over 10,000. The British troops were under Major General Henry Clinton, in baggage trains. The British left Philadelphia to travel to New York, for safety. General George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, wanted Gen. Charles Lee to scout the British position and attack their rearguard. Lee felt that he was superior to Washington. He did not want to attack, but Lee changed his mind and without scouting the British position as Washington said, attacked. Lee thought he was attacking a rearguard, but he attacked 3,600 elite British troops. Lee had not given his commanders clear orders. The person who made this battle famous, Mary Heis, A.K.A. Molly Pitcher, was following her husband during the war. She brought the American troops pitchers of water, hence her nickname. When her husband was wounded she bravely manned his cannon. She was later recognized by Washington for her bravery. Soon in the battle Lee began a very chaotic retreat, and some Americans did not know about it. General Washington went north to assist Lee, but was infuriated to find that his troops were making a disorderly retreat. He relieved Gen. Lee of command and rallied the retreating troops. By now British reinforcements had gotten to the battle also.

The fighting ended around 6:00 PM, because of the heat. Many soldiers had died of heat stroke that day. George Washington expected to continue attacking the British in the morning, but Henry Clinton sneakily evacuated his troops during the night. Clinton made it to New York by July first. Both sides were satisfied with the outcome. Clinton achieved his retreat from Philadelphia, and Washington had salvaged the battle.

After the battle Lee was blamed for a number of things. Lee still wanted a Court Marshall so that he may replace Washington as Commander. When a vote was called, the officers sided with Washington, and Lee was suspended for ignoring orders, a shameful retreat, and disrespect to a commanding officer. Charles Lee never served again.

Works Cited //Battle// //of Monmouth1778// N.p., 2007. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. N.p., 29 May 2003. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. The UsGen web prodject// Roots web, n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2009.

By Tim Bain and Parker Jenkins, Finished 12/11/09