The Continental Army Camps at Englishtown and Manalapan

As discussed in prior articles, in June 1778, the British Army withdrew from Philadelphia and marched east into Monmouth County. It camped in Allentown on the night of June 25, west of Freehold on June 26, and into Freehold on June 27. George Washington sent Colonel Daniel Morgan’s regiment ahead with Monmouth County militia to harass the British and slow their march. Meanwhile, Washington’s Army pursued from behind, hoping to engage the British in New Jersey. The two armies fought at the Battle of Monmouth on June 28.

Continental Soldiers Pass through Englishtown

Besides Morgan’s regiment, the first Continental soldiers to arrive in Monmouth County arrived from the west via Cranbury. On the evening of June 27, these advance units camped near Englishtown, just four miles from British soldiers camped at Freehold. Sergeant Ebenezer Wild recorded arriving at “Penelopan Bridge” on the evening of June 27. The men had marched since 7 a.m., in weather Wild termed “excessive hot.” He noted the scant accommodations that night, “We lay in the open field.  Hard thunder, &c. &c."  Major John Jameson wrote that his men lacked uniforms: "Our men are so naked that it is a shame to bring them into the field." Three men deserted.

The Battle of Monmouth began the next morning when Continental units under General Charles Lee, informed by local guides, pushed forward against the British rear guard. General Joseph Cilley recalled, “We were at a small town called Englishtown, about four miles from [the British camp at] Monmouth Court House… marched forward before dawn.” For at least one Continental unit, the order to march was unexpected. John Ross recalled being roused so suddenly that "they had to leave their kettles on the fire with the beef cut up."

The initial Continental advance was disjointed and, when the British counterattacked, the Americans were pushed backward. In the early afternoon, Washington’s army arrived and stabilized the battle lines. As Washington’s men surged forward, they discarded their possessions in order to lighten their burdens in the oppressive heat. Continental officer, Persefor Frazer, wrote of his march through Englishtown on June 28:

We came to this place [Englishtown] about five miles - here we rested our men a small space of time, we were directed to leave out all the packs of the soldiers in order to expedite our march, as the day was excessively hot.

Captain William Beatty of Maryland wrote similarly:

About a mile before we reached Englishtown, we were ordered to leave our knapsacks and blankets, then resumed our march by passing Englishtown to a church [Tennant] about two miles nearer Monmouth [Freehold].

Lt. Colonel John Brooks, General Charles Lee's Adjutant, discussed the men left behind to protect the discarded possessions of the soldiers:

When they marched from Englishtown [Lee] ordered all the packs to be left under the care of proper guards. After the troops had paraded to march to Englishtown, I rode through the different encampments and found the baggage very strongly guarded. Upon riding up to several and enquiring the reason of so many men being there, I was answered that they were men who were lame, sick, and those who were worn out with the march the day before, together with the guards who were left with the baggage. The idea that I then formed of those left on the ground was they were between four and five hundred in the whole.

John Bruce of Middletown recalled his militia company guarding the possessions of the Continentals: "They went to that place [Englishtown] to guard the baggage wagons.” Similarly, Andrew Bray of the Hunterdon County militia recalled protecting the army’s baggage at the Battle of Monmouth, "I had been on duty all night… it was said that General Washington ordered the militia to stay back toward Englishtown & guard the baggage of the American Army. They stood still all day."

Ralph Schenck of Middlesex County recalled the hospitality of the locals that day:

We all suffered severely from the want of water. The tongues of some of our men were so swollen with thirst, that they could [only] with difficulty speak so as to be understood, but when we arrived at Englishtown, we had good attention paid to us by the inhabitants of that place.

Despite the lightened loads, men still fainted from heat stroke during the day. Capt. Stephen Olney recalled that during the Battle of Monmouth:

The heat of the day was so intense that it required the greatest efforts of the officers to keep their men in the ranks; and several of my company were so overcome and faint'd in coming; they said they could go no farther, but by distributing half a pint of brandy which I happened to have in my canteen, I made out to get them along.

After the battle, with the sun setting, most Continental troops stayed on the battlefield without tents. Dr. Samuel Adams of New Jersey Line, wrote: "Lodged at night with the Army on the field of Action with no other covering than the canopy of heaven, not so much as the convenience of a blanket." Beatty recalled that that night "the whole army lay on their arms all night" expecting to resume the battle in the morning.

Continental Army at Englishtown after the Battle of Monmouth

Beatty’s men did not get back to their possessions until June 29. Ebenezer Wild corroborated Beatty: "we marched to the ground where we left our baggage yesterday, and lay there all night without any tents." On June 29, the Continental Army rested at Englishtown and Freehold. The battle of the prior day was discussed as a glorious victory. The order book of a Virginia regiment read:

The Commander in Chief congratulates the Army on the victory obtained over the arms of his Britannic Majesty yesterday and thanks most sincerely the gallant officers & men who distinguished themselves on this occasion, and such others as by their good order and coolness gave the happiest progress of what might have been expected had they came to action. - The Commander in Chief also thanks Genl. Dickinson and the militia of this State for the noble spirit which they have shown in opposing the Enemy on their march from Philadelphia and for the deed which they have given by harassing & impeding their motions so as to allow the Continental troops to come up with them.

Companies had scattered the prior day and men wandered the fields looking for their possessions and units. Henry Dearborn recalled that "we lay still to recruit our men, there being no probability of coming up with the enemy.” The battle and thunderstorms had left the fields and roads nearly impassable. Dr. Wiliam Read recalled a "bog was so deep and required the utmost effort of his, and his servant's horses also to get through it.” Read slept in the county court house on the night of the 29th tending the wounded, "Continued to dwell in the Court House, sleeping, when he was able, in the Judge's bench."

The Continental Army awakened on June 30 in the fields between Freehold and Englishtown. George Washington's general orders called for a celebration:

The men are to clean and wash themselves this afternoon and appear as decent and clean as possible. Seven o'clock this evening is appointed that we may publicly unite in Thanksgiving to the Supreme Disposer of human events, for the victory obtained on Sunday over the flower of the British troops.

But June 30 included some more somber messaging to the soldiers about stealing from the locals. Jedidiah Huntington, a Connecticut officer, read this order to his men: "The General further gives notice that the detestable crime of marauding will henceforward be invariably punished with instant death." William Malcolm of New York (who led an expedition to disable the Sandy Hook Lighthouse two years earlier) gave this order:

Complaints having been made to the Commander in Chief that certain persons belonging to the Army have received the property of the inhabitants which had been concealed in order to escape the ravages of the Enemy. He calls on the Commanding Officers to order a strict search of the soldier's packs at parade time; the offenders that may be discovered are to be brought to condign punishment; such articles as may be found are to be left the Adjutant General's.

For some Continentals, June 30 was an unpleasant day. Jeremiah Greenman wrote of resting on June 30 in hot weather without water. "Water is very scarce indeed / such a number of soldiers that water is almost as scarce as liquor & what is got is very bad indeed." But Joseph Bloomfield of the New Jersey Line recalled the day very differently: "We want for nothing to make our time pass most agreeably."

On July 1, the men awoke to additional stern orders about plundering:

The Officers are to exert themselves in restraining their men from straggling, injuring fences, fruit trees, & c. They are to have the orders of the 30th relative to marauding read to the men and use every means to guard against this infamous practice.

Based on the repeated warnings about plundering, there can be no doubt that some Continental soldiers stole goods from the residents of Freehold and Englishtown. But it can also be safely assumed that these instances, whatever they were, lacked the frequency and severity of British plundering at Freehold immediately before the battle.

The Continental Army was soon in motion. With the exception of a few regiments sent east to shadow the British, it left Monmouth County on July 1, arriving and camping in Spotswood that evening. General Nathanael Greene described an unpleasant march from Englishtown, "We marched through a country, from Monmouth to Brunswick, not unlike the deserts of Arabia for soil and climate."

As for the people of Monmouth County, particularly those living near the battlefield, the next month would be spent caring for wounded and recovering from the physical damage of the battle. Both of these are topics of other articles.

Caption: The Village Inn served as George Washington’s headquarters for the two days that the Continental Army stayed at Englishtown after the Battle of Monmouth. Soldiers slept in nearby fields.

Related Historic Site: The Village Inn

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