Battle+of+Monmouth



 **T** he Battle of Monmouth was an [|American Revolutionary War, or War of Independence]. It took  place on the 28th of June, 1778 near Monmouth Court House, NJ. It was between 10,000 British troops and 11,000 American troops. The British army spent the winter in Philadelphia. [|Lieutenant General Howe] returned to England, relieved of his command in America by his own request, to be replaced by General Clinton. Clinton arrived with orders to evacuate [|Philadelphia] and concentrate the British forced at New York. On June 18th, 1778 the British army with artillery supplies left Philadelphia and began the march to the North-East. [|General George Washington]  moved his army east from [|Valley Forge] with the goal to intercept the British column, which he did at Monmouth Courthouse. Clinton originally intended to make the journey by land and it was reported that General Gates was moving from the Hudson River valley with his army to block the British retreat. Clinton decided to move to the coast and take ship. At Allentown the British and German force branched off the main route towards Monmouth to head north-east.

media type="file" key="Soldiers Marching-SoundBible.com-1108480953.mp3" width="240" height="20"  ==== **G** eneral Washington's plan was to send an advanced force of about 4,000 troops to attack the British army and cut it in half. Washington offered the command of this assault to [|Major General Charles Lee]. At first Lee refused, because he didn't have much confidence in the success of this plan. But when the force was increased to 5,000 men and given to [|Marquis de Lafayette], Lee insisted on it. Lee had the task of attacking the British column in the flank and delaying it so the main American army could come up and give battle. Clinton expected Washington to attack him in strength and ordered a march up the Middletown road to the North at four in the morning on June 28th, 1778. Warned by Dickinson and his New Jersey militia that the British army was on the move, Washington ordered Lee to attack and bring the British [|withdrawal] to a stop until he could bring up the main strength of the American army alone the Monmouth Road. Lee stayed to the west of the Middletown road and should have delivered a coordinated attack on the slow moving column. If it was well planned out this could have stopped the British withdrawal to the north-east and enabled to main American army under Washington to attack from behind. ====

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====**C**onfused fighting broke out with the regards of Clinton. Lee ordered his troops to retreat on the main American army. As he withdrew down the road, Clinton launched his troops in pursuit. General Washington brought the main American army along the Monmouth road and encountered Lee's [|regiments] retreating in disorder with the British advancing behind them. Washington ordered Lee to the rear and went forward to rally up Lee's disordered troops. Washington ordered [|General Wayne] with the last of Lee's regiments to form the North of the road and gold the British advance. Their stand gave Washington time to form the rest of the American army, with artillery on Comb's Hill to the South of the road. Fierce fighting took place as the British tried to drive back the American line. This was the first test of Steuben's re-trained American Continental Foot regiments and they withstood the trial well. As night can the British troops fell back and returned to their journey north, leaving the Americans on the field. Washington failed to destroy the British column, but damaged their troops badly. The battle ended as a draw with about 400-500 Americans were wounded or captured and about 65-304 British killed, 170-770 wounded, and 60 captured. ====

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**__Molly Pitcher__** ** M **olly's actual name was Mary Ludwig Hays. She was the wife of William Hays, who managed the cannons during battle.While the battle went on she led other women to a nearby spring to get cool water and deliver it to the men on the battlefield who were fighting, and also helped drag wounded soldiers off the field to get medical attention. At one <span style="color: #db3ddb; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">point during the battle she was near her husband's [|artillery] <span style="color: #db3ddb; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">unit when she saw that a was shot. The remaining men could <span style="color: #db3ddb; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">not operate the cannon any longer so she took up the mans <span style="color: #db3ddb; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">position with the [|rammer staff] and continued to operate the <span style="color: #db3ddb; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">cannon. She continued doing this until the fighting ended; <span style="color: #db3ddb; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">[|General Washington] noticed her heroic act and issued a  <span style="color: #db3ddb; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">[|warrant] proclaiming her a __[|non commissioned officer]__. From <span style="color: #db3ddb; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">then on people would refer to her as Sergeant Molly. ** __Sir Henry Clinton__ ** **B** orn April 16, 1730, Henry Clinton was the son of George Clinton who served as governor of Newfoundland. He moved to New York in 1741, when his father was appointed governor, Clinton was educated in the colony and began his military career by joining the local militia in 1748. Three years later, he traveled back to England to enter the British Army. Clinton proved to be a gifted officer. Swiftly moving through the ranks by purchasing higher commissions, Clinton also benefited from family connections to the [|Dukes of Newcastle]. Eventually he reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in the 1st Foot Guards and was serving as an aide-de-camp to Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick during the [|Seven Years' War]. Clinton was promoted to colonel in 1762, and given command of the 12th Regiment after the war ended the following year. In 1772, Clinton was promoted to major general and two months later used family influence to gain a seat in Parliament. With the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, Clinton was dispatched to Boston on the HMS Cerberus with Major Generals William Howe and [|John Burgoyne] to provide assistance to [|Lieutenant General Thomas Gage]. Clinton was involved in many battles such as the Battle of Bunker Hill, Battle of Long Island, and Saratoga. In the battle of Monmouth against Washington's army, which ended in a draw, Clinton conducted a very skillful march to New York without losing a wagon. Safely reaching New York, Clinton began drawing up plans for shifting the focus of the war to the South where he believed [|loyalist] support would be greater. Clinton was made the [|scapegoat] for the British defeat in America. He returned to England and died on December 23, 1795.