Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee's Dragoons in Monmouth County

As noted in a prior article, in January 1779, George Washington, after resisting calls to do so, sent a regiment of troops into Monmouth County to increase the county’s security. That assignment fell to Colonel Caleb North of Pennsylvania, though North’s regiment would be replaced by deployments led by Mordecai Gist (Maryland) and Benjamin Ford (Maryland). These men camped close to the British base at Sandy Hook. They sought to block illegal trade and shield the county from Loyalist raiding parties.

Parallel to these troop deployments, the cavalry regiment of Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee was intermittently stationed at Freehold for the purpose of establishing contact with and relaying communications with the French fleet—if it appeared off the New Jersey shore. Lee was apparently ordered to Monmouth County in late January 1779. On the 31st, Washington wrote Governor William Livingston about his decision to send troops into Monmouth County, including this note on Lee’s corps:

No Corps of Cavalry remains in Jersey except Major Lee's, which is quartered in the lower part of the Country where the Quarter Master informed me there would be a sufficient supply of forage with least inconvenience to the Inhabitants.

However, Lee had not yet arrived in Monmouth County by February 12. That day, David Rhea, the Army’s quartermaster officer for Monmouth County, wrote of Lee’s dragoons, "the light horse have not made their appearance, pray do not send them to these parts as yet.” Rhea went on to describe his difficulties in raising forage for the Army, including the controversy from the seizure of Benjamin Van Cleaf’s grain. Rhea did not want the added burden of finding forage for Lee’s men.

Determining Lee’s arrival in Monmouth County is muddied further by a brief report in the New Jersey Gazette on February 15, "We hear that the Continental troops that were for some time stationed at Freehold, in New Jersey, are ordered away by Congress, and to be replaced by some Light Horse." This is a reference to the pending arrival of Lee’s men at Freehold, but it is unclear who they were replacing.

While the date of Lee’s arrival at Freehold is unknown, there is no doubt that he arrived and operated out of Freehold by spring. According to a veteran’s pension application filed after the war, James Chambers of Freehold Township, only 15 years old at the time, enlisted in Lee’s dragoons in spring 1779. (Another Monmouth Countian, William Van Mater, enlisted on September 23.) It is probable that Lee was in Monmouth County intermittently through the summer.

Lee’s Cavalry Camps at Freehold

In September 1779, Lee re-established quarters at Freehold. On September 12, General Nathanael Greene noted ordering Lee to Monmouth County "in hopes that Lee might deliver the letter if D'Estaing should appear off the coast." George Washington sent further orders to Lee: “I desire that you will, with the remainder of your corps, [go] to the County of Monmouth and take a position as near the coast as you can, without making yourself liable to a surprise."

Lee was directed to monitor the coast for the arrival of the French Fleet and report on British movements at Sandy Hook. He was also asked to “suppress” illegal trade between Monmouth County and the British to the degree he could do so without risking his men. In another note that day, Washington alluded to sending Lee to nearby Englishtown.

At about this time, a sergeant’s guard of Lee’s men patrolling near the Shrewsbury shore killed Lewis Fenton, a notorious Pine Robber. A New Jersey Gazette report on September 23 noted that the men were alerted to Fenton’s presence:

The Sergeant immediately impressed a wagon and horse and ordered three of them to secret themselves under some hay... on the approach of the wagon, Fenton (his companion being gone) rushed out to plunder it, while advancing toward the wagon, one of the soldiers shot him through the head, which killed him instantly on the spot.

The killing of Fenton is the subject of another article.

In October, with the French fleet again expected on the Jersey shore, Washington wrote Livingston about sending pilots to the shore. He wrote on October 4 that “good pilots should be ready to go on Board the French fleet.” Livingston was asked to send the pilot, Wiliam Van Driil, “to go down to Monmouth and join Major Lee at English Town." Two days later, Washington asked Lee to be more vigilant in receiving and conveying intelligence reports from the shore. He wrote:

I presume that you constantly keep an intelligent officer to observe the arrival or casting of the enemy's vessels. I wish to have his diary transmitted from time to time, say once a week, and more especially when anything more extraordinary occurs.

Later that month, the Continental Congress’ Marine Committee wrote Lee about the pilot, Patrick Dennis, being sent to the Shrewsbury shore to come aboard the French fleet. Congress instructed Lee that: "Captain Patrick Dennis, being employed to wait on the arrival of Count D'Estaing's fleet off the Hook, and being a Gentleman for whom we have the greatest confidence, we request you will afford him every assistance."

This likely led to Lee’s men patrolling the shore more vigorously, which created new demands for forage for the horses. Quartermaster officer, David Rhea, was aggrieved. On October 12, he wrote that "Major Lee's dragoons have done as they please since they have been in this county.” Rhea refused Lee’s request for wagons and horse teams to supply his men and worried that Lee would negotiate purchases on his own with local farmers. He further wrote:

I have put him off in such a manner that I believe he will not ask again -- I think I shall have no more of it -- those horse consume a large quantity of forage, and at a very high price, I know not what to do --I hope they will not stay long.

Rhea’s complete grievances with Lee are the subject of another article.

Whatever his problems with forage, Lee went to the Navesink Highlands to observe the British fleet. He sent a report to Alexander Hamilton, Washington’s aide-de-camp, on October 22:

The enemy’s strength at the hook consists in two 64, the Europa & Russell—the Raisonable, Renown, Roebuck & Romulus. Besides these they have a few frigates & some armed Schooners. They have sunk ten hulks in the outer channel & have more ready to be sunk, some of those sunk have got afloat & reached shore. They have also two fire ships.

A few days later, Lee wrote Washington from Freehold: "My spies have not given us their report for the last week, none of them having returned." But Lee believed the French fleet was not coming to Sandy Hook based on British actions, "The heavy cannon placed in the batteries at the Hook, to secure the channel, was taken off."

Lee’s Cavalry Winters in Monmouth County

Despite this report, Washington, not knowing the location of the French fleet, kept Lee in Monmouth County through the winter. That month, he issued general orders for the Army’s winter quarters. Washington ordered a regiment of New Jersey Continentals into Monmouth County to disrupt the illegal trade between disaffected farmers and Sandy Hook. Lee would stay in Monmouth County as well. Washington wrote that a New Jersey regiment would be "aided by a party of Lee's Light Dragoons, endeavor to stop the communication from New York, from that quarter."

As weather grew colder, travel to the Navesink Highlands became unpleasant. Lee wrote Washington on November 30: "It is utterly impossible to execute your Excellency's orders as the source of intelligence without enduring great personal trouble from the civil government of this State." Lee wrote Washington again two weeks later regarding his men lacking winter coats: "The season is getting cold & my men are perfectly bare of clothing, having not received the annual allowance for '79."

In addition to his “trouble” with “civil government,” Lee was feuding with Judge John Imlay. Imlay complained to Governor Livingston about Lee issuing passports to locals in the interest of having spies in New York. Livingston wrote back on December 18 that Lee had exceeded his authority in granting the passports, “but I have lately so fully explained to him the dangerous tendency of such a practice & his want of authority for that purpose, that I flatter myself he will for the future cause no further complaint on the subject." Livingston wrote Lee on the subject that same day.

In a letter to Washington, Lee also noted a slow-down in intelligence from his “spies” in New York, "my last account from New York mentions no appearance of emissaries or embarkation of troops." Washington, who had received a letter from Livingston complaining of Lee issuing passports, cautioned Lee:

The practice of [illegal] trading under the cover of procuring intelligence has grown to such a height that there is an absolute necessity of putting a stop to it. To avoid giving any umbrage to the Government of the State, I would have you confine your observations to the sailing of the fleets from New York, and whenever any capital movement takes place communicate it immediately to the president of Congress as well as to me.

Washington offered to send more men to winter in Monmouth County if forage was available for them: “If the Country where you are will afford Forage for more than your own Corps, I can reinforce you with some detached troops of Horse." Washington then ordered Col. Armand to Monmouth County on December 23.

You will proceed with your corps to Monmouth County and take such a station as will best accommodate your men and horses and enable you to communicate with Major Lee for the purposes of mutual security, covering the country and preventing all intercourse between the inhabitants and the enemy.

Washington told Armand that he should rest his men, but also asked him to support Lee’s patrols of the shore: “I am persuaded you will wish to be as useful as you can. You will immediately open a correspondence with Major Lee."

On December 29, Lee reported that the cavalry of Colonel Charles Armand “has reached this place." But Armand did not stay more than a few days, prompting Washington to express disappointment:

I should have been glad had it been possible for your corps and Col Armand's to have found a position in Monmouth County capable of supporting both cavalry with hay & forage, as it would in my opinion, have answered the object which I have principally had in view, that of covering the county and preventing intercourse with the enemy.

Because of the apparent lack of forage for the two cavalry units, particularly near the shore, Washington gave Lee permission to pull his scout parties inland. He advised Lee to have his men make “their quarters at a distance from the shore, far enough to prevent surprises, but still able to send patrols toward those places at which the enemy most commonly land, and to which the country people usually carry their produce."

The opportunity to pull back did not stop Lee from opportunistically attacking British assets. On January 5, Lee reported a raid on Sandy Hook. "I have heard from one of my officers on the shore, who has taken a British officer with five others, & 80,000 counterfeit dollars, I hope this capture will lead to some useful discoveries." Lee sent the money and prisoners to Philadelphia. 

Washington acknowledged and praised the attack in a brief response. This action is the subject of another article.

Washington abruptly ordered Lee out of Monmouth County on January 8. Caleb North would return to Monmouth County as a replacement. The abrupt order was likely sparked by Lee’s proposal to impound cattle from the Monmouth shore. On January 7, Washington skeptically wrote Lee: "I take it for granted that measures you mean to pursue for cutting off intercourse between the country and the Enemy will be justified by circumstances and not incompatible with the laws of the State." He asked Lee to further consider New Jersey’s law.

As Lee moved toward impound cattle from locals living along Monmouth's shores, it is likely that Lee’s enemies in Monmouth County (Rhea and Imlay) protested. They finally had what they needed to rid themselves of Lee in January 1780 and hastened his departure. When Lee returned to Monmouth County in July 1780— to establish contact with the expected French fleet—he and Rhea promptly feuded again.

Perspective

By any measure, Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee was among the Continental Army’s most energetic officers. But he was frequently at odds with authority and twice court-martialed for disobeying orders or ignoring rules (never convicted). While in Monmouth County, Lee’s men killed a hated Pine Robber leader and successfully raided Sandy Hook. But Lee’s vigorous prosecution of the war put him at odds with local officials charged upholding rules of which Lee was either unknowing or indifferent. This tension created local enemies and likely led to Lee’s abrupt removal from Monmouth County.

Related Historic Site: Moland House (Bucks County, Pennsylvania)

Sources: George Washington to William Livingston, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw140058)); Marine Committee to Henry Lee, National Archives, Collection 332, reel 6, #230; David Rhea to Clement Biddle, National Archives, Papers of the Continental Congress, M247, I173, Letters from Nathanael Greene, v3, p37; William Horner, This Old Monmouth of Ours (Freehold: Moreau Brothers, 1932) p 136; William Nelson, Austin Scott, et al., ed., New Jersey Archives (Newark, Trenton, Somerville, 1901-1917) vol. 3, p 77; Contained in: National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, John Wyley of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/#  NJ 28231283; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - James Chambers; Library of Virginia, Archives, Revolutionary War (Land) Bounty Warrants, William Van Mater, reels 1-29; National Archives, revolutionary War Veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - William Van Mater; Nathanael Greene, The Papers of General Nathanael Greene (Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina Press, 1976) vol. 4, p 366 note; George Washington to Henry Lee, John Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1932) vol. 16, pp. 279, 367; David Rhea to Moore Furman, New Jersey State Archives, Dept. of Defense, Revolutionary War, Numbered Manuscripts, #5599; George Washington to William Livingston, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw160418)); New Jersey Gazette report on death of Lewis Fenton in Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p198; George Washington to Henry Lee, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 61, September 25, 1779; Henry Lee quoted in Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 1899, v 7, p 177; Henry Lee to Alexander Hamilton, The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 2, 1779–1781, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1961, pp. 208–209; George Washington to Henry Lee, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 62, October 25, 1779; Marine Committee of Congress to Henry Lee, Charles Paulin, Out-Letters of the Marine Committee and Board of Admiralty (New York: Navy History Society, 1914) vol. 2, pp. 124-5; Winter Orders, John Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1932) vol. 17, p 211; Henry Lee to George Washington, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 62, November 3, 1779; Henry Lee to George Washington, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mgw/mgw4/062/1000/1046.jpg; Henry Lee to George Washington, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 63, December 16, 1779; George Washington to Henry Lee, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw170339)); Nathanael Green, Report, Nathanael Greene, The Papers of General Nathanael Greene (Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina Press, 1976) vol. 5, p 85 note; Henry Lee, note, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 4, General Correspondence; Henry Lee to George Washington, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 63, January 5, 1780; Henry Lee to John Simcoe in John Simcoe, A JOURNAL OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE QUEEN'S RANGERS, APPENDIX, p267, p270; George Washington to Henry Lee, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 63, December 28, 1779; William Livingston to John Imlay, Carl Prince, Papers of William Livingston (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987) vol. 3, p 271; George Washington to Henry Lee, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, series 4, reel 63, December 23, 1779; George Washington to Charles Armand, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw170362)); General Orders in John Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1932) vol. 17, p 362; George Washington to Henry Lee, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 4, General Correspondence.