Battle of Monmouth

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The Battle of Monmouth was a battle of the American Revolutionary War that took place on June 28, 1778. The American Continental Army under George Washington attacked the rearguard of the British Army under Sir Henry Clinton as they were leaving Monmouth Court House (now Freehold Borough , New Jersey ).

The American general Charles Lee led the attack on the rearguard marching column. Realizing the British were trying to get into his flank, he ordered an immediate retreat, which ended in a disorganized escape. Washington itself took command and reorganized the troops. He then positioned his artillery on Comb's Hill and made two counter attacks. On Washington's side, the Prussian officer Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben , who was appointed Inspector General of the Continental Army, also took part in the battle.

Not least because of the prevailing heat, the battle subsided more and more during the day and towards evening both sides withdrew. The battle was the last major encounter in the northern theater of war and the largest one-day battle of the war, measured by the number of soldiers involved. General Lee was later tried before a court-martial for his actions .

The legend of Molly Pitcher (Maria Ludwig, 1754-1852) is usually associated with this battle. She was a housewife who took part in the battle with her husband. When the husband fell, she took his place at a cannon. The story has a true background, but has been embellished more and more over the years.

Each year on the last weekend of June , a battle re-enactment is staged at Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Freehold Township and Manalapan Township, New Jersey .

  • The Battle of Monmouth, painted by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze

  • The former battlefield of Monmouth nowadays (view from Comb's Hill)

  • Steuben Memorial in Monmouth Battlefield State Park

  • The legend of Molly Pitcher in an engraving from 1859

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Herbert Hartkopf: Trappers, Scouts & Pioneers from the Electoral Palatinate. Regional culture publishing house, Ubstadt-Weiher 2009, ISBN 978-3-89735-601-6 .
  2. ↑ Linda Grant DePauw : In Search of Molly Pitcher . 2007 (American English).

literature

  • Mark Edward Lender & Garry Wheeler Stone: Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of Battle . University of Oklahoma, Norman 2016, ISBN 978-0-8061-5335-3 .
  • Franz Fabian: The battle of Monmouth. Military publishing house of the GDR, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-327-00583-4 .

Coordinates: 40 ° 15 ′ 32 "  N , 74 ° 16 ′ 31"  W.