The pursuing Britons checked. Courage and Skill of Washington. Lee's Conduct, Trial, and Sentence. eminence. By a well-directed fire from his battery, Oswald checked the pursuing enemy. The presence of the chief inspired the fugitives with courage, and within ten minutes after he appeared, the retreat was suspended, the troops rallied, and soon order appeared in the midst of the utmost confusion. Stewart and Ramsay formed under cover of a wood, and co-operated with Oswald in keeping the enemy at bay. While the British grenadiers were pouring their destructive volleys upon the broken ranks of the Americans, the voice of Washington seemed omnipotent with the inspiration of courage; it was a voice of faith to the despairing soldiers. Fearlessly he rode in the face of the iron storm, and gave his orders. The whole patriot army, which, half an hour before, seemed on the verge of destruction, panic-stricken and without order, was now drawn up in battle array, and prepared to meet the enemy with a bold and well-arranged front. This effected, Washington rode back to Lee, and, pointing to the rallied troops, said, "Will you, sir, command in that place?" "I will," eagerly exclaimed Lee. "Then," said Washington, "I expect you to check the enemy immediately." "Your command shall be obeyed," replied Lee; "and I will not be the first to leave the field." Back to the main army Washington now hurried, and with wondrous expedition formed their confused ranks into battle order on the eminences on the western side of the morass. Lord Stirling was placed in command of the left wing; while General Greene, on receiving intelligence of Lee's retreat, had marched back, and now took an advantageous position on the right of Stirling. General Lee displayed all his skill and courage in obedience to the chief's order to "check the enemy." A warm cannonade had commenced between the American and British artillery on the right of Stewart and Ramsay when Washington recrossed the morass to form the main army, while the royal light horse charged furiously upon the right of Lee's division. At that moment Hamilton rode up to the Chief and said, "I will stay with you, my dear general, and die with you. Let us all die rather than retreat." But the enemy pressed so closely upon them with an overwhelming force, that the Americans were obliged 1 It was evident that after the first vent of his indignation on seeing Lee making a shameful retreat be fore the enemy, Washington was willing to overlook the act, and forget and forgive Lee's harsh words spoken in anger. Had the latter been actuated by the same noble and generous spirit, all would have been well. But the rebuke of the commander-in-chief struck deep into his pride, and he could not rest satisfied with the retort he had given to his general. On the day after the battle he wrote a letter to Washington, in which he demanded an apology, or its equivalent, for his remarks on the battle-field. Washington replied that he conceived his letter to be expressed in terms highly improper, and asserted his conviction tha. the words which he used when he met him retreating were warranted by the circumstances. He charged Lee with a breach of orders, and misbehavior before the enemy, in not attacking them, and in making an unnecessary, disorderly, and shameful retreat." Lee wrote an insulting reply. "You can not afford me," he said, "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 a second letter, dated the 30th of June (two days after the battle), Lee demanded a court of inquiry immediately, accompanying that demand with offensive remarks. Washington immediately sent Colonel Scammel, the adjutant general, to put Lee under arrest, on the following charges: "First: Disobedience of orders in not attacking the enemy on the 28th of June, agreeably to repeated instructions. "Secondly: Misbehavior before the enemy on the same day, by making an unnecessary, disorderly, and shameful retreat. "Thirdly: Disrespect to the commander-in-chief, in two letters, dated the 1st of July and the 28th of June."* The court martial was convened on the 4th of July, at Brunswick, consisting of one major general (Lord Stirling, who was president), four brigadiers, and eight colonels. The court sat from time to time, until the 12th of August, when they declared their opinion that General Lee was guilty of all the charges, and sentenced him to be suspended from any command in the armies of the United States for the term of twelve months. The testimony on the trial exhibits a minute detail of the operations in the battle of Monmouth Congress approved the sentence of the court martial on the 5th of December, by a vote of thirteen in the affirmative and seven in the negative, and ordered the proceedings to be published.-See Sparks's Washington, v., 552; Journals of Congress, iv., 501. * These were both erroneously dated. Lee's letters were written on the 29th and 30th of June. The fiercest of the Battle. to give way. mingled. As they emerged from the woods, the belligerents seemed completely inter The enemy next attacked Livingston's regiment and Varnum's brigade, which lined a hedgerow [2] that stretched across the open field in front of the causeway over the morass. Here the conflict raged severely for some time. Some American artillery took post on an eminence in rear of the fence, and played with power; but the British cavalry, and a large This outline sketch is from a copy of the picture at Arlington House (the seat of Mr. Custis), which I made, by permission, in November, 1850. As it exhibits none of the horrid scenes of slaughter which generally characterize battle-pieces, I have not hesitated to introduce it, for the purpose of giving a specimen of pictorial composition upon an interesting historical subject from the pencil of the adopted son, and the only surviving executor of the will of the great Washington. The engraving was executed by Dr. Alexander Anderson, the pioneer wood-engraver in America, at the age of seventy-seven years. Both painter and engraver have passed several years beyond the age allotted to man. Since I made this copy, Mr. Custis has completed four other historical pictures-Germantown, Trenton, Princeton, and Yorktown, and thus has perpetuated on canvas the memory of the principal battles in which his illustrious foster-father was engaged. In the picture here given, the chief is seen most prominently on his white charger, with his general officers. Washington and Greene are in front; Knox on the right, upon the most prominent horse; and behind them are Hamilton, Cadwallader, &c. On the left is seen the group of artillery, with "Captain Molly" at the gun. In the distance is seen a portion of the British army, and Colonel Monckton falling from his horse. On the right, in the foreground, lying by a cannon, is Dickinson, of Virginia; and on the left, by a drum, Bonner, of Pennsylvania. In the center is a wounded rifleman. It was during this part of the action that Molly, the wife of a cannonier, is said to have displayed great courage and presence of mind. We have already noticed her bravery in firing the last gun at Fort Clinton. (See p. 732, vol. i.) She was a sturdy young camp-follower, only twenty-two years old, and, in devotion to her husband, she illustrated the character of her country women of the Emerald Isle. In the action in question, while her husband was managing one of the field-pieces, she constantly brought him water from a spring near by. A shot from the enemy killed him at his post; and the officer in command, having no one competent to fill his place, ordered the piece to be withdrawn. Molly saw her husband fall as she came from the spring, and also heard the order. She dropped her bucket, seized the rammer, and vowed that she would fill the place of her husband at the gun, and avenge his death. She performed the duty with a skill and courage which attracted the attention of all who saw her. On the following morning, covered with dirt and blood, General Greene presented her to Washington, who, admiring her bravery, conferred Gallant Conduct of Lee. Forming of the second Line. View of the Battle-ground. body of infantry, skillful in the use of the bayonet, charging simultaneously upon the Americans, broke their ranks. Lee immediately ordered Varnum and Livingston, together with the artillery, to retreat across the morass, while Colonel Ogden, with his men drawn up in a wood near the causeway, gallantly covered the whole as they crossed. Lee was the last to leave the field, and brought off Ogden's corps, the rear of the retreating troops, in admirable order. Instantly forming them in line upon the slope on the western side of the morass, he rode to Washington, and said, "Sir, here are my troops; how is it your pleasure that I should dispose of them?" The poor fellows had thus far borne the whole brunt of the battles and retreats of the day; Washington, therefore, ordered him to arrange them in the rear of Englishtown, while he prepared to engage the enemy himself with the fresh troops of the second and main division of the army. The action now became general. The second line of the main army was speedily formed in the wood which covered the eminence on the western side of the morass; the left commanded by Lord Stirling, the right by General Greene, and the center by Washington himself. Wayne, with an advanced corps, was stationed upon an eminence, in an orchard, a few rods south of the parsonage, while a park of artillery was placed in battery on Comb's Hill, beyond a marsh, on his right. This battery commanded the height on which the enemy was stationed, and did great service. The British, finding themselves warmly opposed in front, attempted to turn the American left flank, but were repulsed. They also moved toward the American right, but, being enfiladed by a severe cannonade from a battery under Knox, upon a commanding piece of ground occupied by General Greene, they fell back. Wayne, in the mean time, kept up a upon her the commission of sergeant. By his recommendation, her name was placed upon the list of halfpay officers for life. She left the army soon after the battle of Monmouth, and, as we have before observed, died near Fort Montgomery, among the Hudson Highlands. She usually went by the name of Captain Molly. The venerable widow of General Hamilton, who died in 1854, told me she had often seen Captair. Molly. She described her as a stout, red-haired, freckled-face young Irish woman, with a handsome, pierc ing eye. The French officers, charmed by the story of her bravery, made her many presents. She would sometimes pass along the French lines with her cocked hat, and get it almost filled with crowns. This view is from the orchard, upon the site of Wayne's position when Monckton fell. The old house on the left is the ancient parsonage, occupied, at the time of the battle, by a man named Freeman. Beyond the house, extending right and left, is the place of the morass, now fine meadow land, with a clear stream running through it; and in the extreme distance are seen the slopes and elevations whereon the second division of the American army, under Washington, was drawn up. Upon the rising ground on the extreme right, the British grenadiers were stationed; and the two figures in the open field, about fifty yards distant from our point of view, denote the spot where Monckton was killed. Advance of Grenadiers under Monckton. Death of Monckton. Close of the Day and the Battle. brisk fire upon the British center from his position in the orchard, and repeatedly repulsed the royal grenadiers, who several times crossed the hedgerow (2) and advanced upon him. Colonel Monckton, their commander, perceiving that success depended upon driving Wayne. from his position, harangued his men,' and, forming them in solid column, advanced to the charge with all the regularity of a corps on parade.' Wayne's troops were partially sheltered by a barn, situated very near the one now standing a few rods from the parsonage. He ordered them to reserve their fire until the enemy should approach very near, and then, with sure aim, pick out the officers. Silently the British advanced until within a few rods of the Americans, when Monckton, waving his sword, with a shout, ordered his grenadiers to the charge. At the same moment Wayne gave a signal; a terrible volley poured destruction upon the assailants, and almost every British officer fell. Among them was their brave leader, Colonel Monckton. Over his body the warriors fought desperately, hand to hand, until the Americans secured it, and carried it to their rear. Hotly the conflict raged, not only at the center of the enemy's line, but at various other points. Wayne finally repulsed the grenadiers; and the whole British army soon gave way, and fell back to the heights (t) above Carr's house (3), occupied by General Lee in the morning. It was a strong position, flanked by thick woods and morasses, with only a narrow way of approach on their front. It was now almost sunset, yet Washington resolved to follow up his advantage, and attack them in their new and strong position. For that purpose, he ordered General Poor, with his own and the Carolina brigade, to move round to their right; General Woodford' to gain their left, and the artillery to gall them in front. There were so many impediments, owing to the broken character of the ground, that twilight came on before a proper disposition for battle could be made, and the attack was postponed until morning. The army reposed that night upon their arms upon the battle-field, ready to spring upon their prey at the first gleam of light. Wrapped in his cloak, the chief, overpowered with fatigue, slumbered, with his suite, beneath a broad oak, around which many of the slain slept their last sleep. He felt certain of victory when his troops, refreshed, should rise to battle; but the The belligerents were separated by only a few rods in distance, and that an open field. The patriots near the parsonage, and those with Wayne, at the barn, and in the orchard, distinctly heard the voice of Monckton when haranguing his men. It is said that the grenadiers marched with so much precision, that a ball from Comb's Hill, enfilading a platoon, disarmed every man. 3 Colonel Monckton was a gallant officer. He was a lieutenant colonel in the battle of Long Island, when he was shot through the body, but recovered. He was interred, on the day after the battle of Monmouth, in the burial-ground of the Freehold meeting-house, about six feet from the west end of the building, upon a stone of which his name is rudely cut. The only monument that marks the grave of that gallant officer is a plain board, painted red, on which is drawn, in black letters, the inscription seen in the picture. This board was prepared and set up a few years ago by a worthy Scotch schoolmaster, named Wilson, who taught the young people in the school-house upon the green, near the old meeting-house. William Woodford was a native of Caroline county, in Virginia. He early distinguished himself in the French and Indian wars. When the Virginia troops assembled at Williamsburg in 1775, in consequence of the hostile attitude assumed by Lord Dunmore, Woodford was appointed colonel of the second regiment. Patrick Henry was colonel of /my/Foodford the first regiment In the battle at Great Bridge, un the Elizabeth River, in December, 1775, he was distinguished for his bravery. Congress promoted hin to brigadier, and placed him in command of the first Virginia brigade. He was in the battles of Brandywine (in which he was wounded) and Monmouth, and was made a prisoner at Charleston, in South Carolina, during the siege in 1780. He was taken to New York by the British, where he died on the 13th of November of that year, in the forty-sixth year of his age. Retreat of Sir Henry Clinton. Character of the Monmouth Battle. Clinton's Official Dispatch criticised. The Loss. morning light brought disappointment. At midnight, under cover of darkness,' Sir Henry Clinton put his weary host in motion. With silent steps, column after column left the camp and hurried toward Sandy Hook. So secret was the movement, and so deep the sleep of the patriots, that the troops of Poor, lying close by the enemy, were ignorant of their departure, until, at dawn, they saw the deserted camp of the enemy. They had been gone more than three hours. Washington, considering the distance they had gained, the fatigue of his men, the extreme heat of the weather, and the deep, sandy country, with but little water, deemed pursuit fruitless, and Sir Henry Clinton escaped. Washington marched with his army to Brunswick, and thence to the Hudson River, which he crossed at King's Ferry, and encamped near White Plains, in West Chester county. The Jersey brigade and Morgan's corps were left to hover on the enemy's rear, but they performed no essential service. The British army reached Sandy Hook on the 30th, where Lord Howe's fleet, having come round from the Delaware, was in readiness to convey them to June, 1778. The battle of Monmouth was one of the most severely contested during the war. Remarkable skill and bravery were displayed on both sides, after the shameful retreat of Lee; and the events of the day were highly creditable to the military genius of both commanders. Victory for the Americans was twice denied them during the day, first by the retreat of Lee in the morning, and, secondly, by the unaccountable detention of Morgan and his brave riflemen at a distance from the field. For hours the latter was at Richmond Mills, three miles below Monmouth court-house, awaiting orders, in an agony of desire to engage in the battle, for he was within sound of its fearful tumult. To and fro he strode, uncertain what course to pursue, and, like a hound in the leash, panting to be away to action. Why he was not allowed to participate in the conflict, we have no means of determining. It appears probable that, had he fallen upon the British rear, with his fresh troops, at the close of the day, Sir Henry Clinton and his army might have shared the fate of the British at Saratoga. The hottest of the conflict occurred near the spot where Monckton fell. Very few of the Americans were killed on the west side of the morass, but many were slain in the field with Monckton, and lay among the slaughtered grenadiers of the enemy. The Americans lost, in killed, six officers, and sixty-one non-commissioned officers and privates. The wounded were twenty-four officers, and one hundred and thirty-six non-commissioned officers and privates, in all two hundred and twenty-eight. The missing amounted to one hundred and thirty; but many of them, having dropped down through fatigue, soon joined the army. Among 1 Sir Henry Clinton, in his official dispatch to Lord George Germaine, wrote, "Having reposed the troops until ten at night to avoid the excessive heat of the day, I took advantage of the moonlight to rejoin General Knyphausen, who had advanced to Nut Swamp, near Middletown." This assertion was the cause of much merriment in America, for it was known that the event took place about the time of new moon. Poor Will's Almanac, printed at Philadelphia by Joseph Cruikshank, indicates the occurrence of the new moon on the 24th of June, and that on the night of the battle being only four days old, it set at fifty-five minutes past ten. Trumbull, in his MFingal, alluding to this, says, "He forms his camp with great parade, Then still, like some endanger'd spark, Steals off on tiptoe in the dark; Yet writes his king in boasting tone, How grand he march'd by light of moon! Go on, great general, nor regard The scoffs of every scribbling bard, "Who sings how gods, that fearful night, As once they used in Homer's day, 2 Ramsay; Gordon; Marshall; Sparks; D'Auberteuil; Stedman, &c. 3 The enemy suffered more from the heat than the Americans, on account of their woolen uniform, anu being encumbered with their knapsacks, while the Americans were half disrobed. The Americans buried the slain which were found on the battle-field in shallow graves. In their retreat, the British left many of their wounded, with surgeons and nurses, in the houses at Freehold, and every room in the court-house was filled with the maimed and dying on the morning after the battle. A pit was dug on the site of the pres |