Monmouth Militia Join Continental Army to Shadow British Retreat

Following defeats at Trenton (December 25, 1776) and Princeton (January 3, 1777), the British Army retreated across New Jersey into a small perimeter of encampments around Perth Amboy and New Brunswick. General William Howe, the British commander-in-chief in America, had always considered the stretch of British winter camps across New Jersey to be “too extensive.” He later claimed that he had moved across the state in order to provide cover to Loyalist insurrectionists in Monmouth County.  When he retreated, the insurrections quickly collapsed.

But even the small perimeter in New Jersey was too much to defend when the British decided to use their naval advantage to attack Philadelphia by sailing around New Jersey and take it from the south. By June 1777, Continental Army leaders knew the British were preparing to move, but did not know their destination. General John Sullivan, commanding troops closest to the British camps, worried about an overland march across New Jersey, writing George Washington: “Surmise probably they may turn off for Philadelphia.”

Alarms went out across New Jersey for the county militias to muster and support the Continental Army in this moment of uncertainty and potential danger. The first time the British invaded New Jersey in November 1776, New Jersey’s county militias, pre-occupied by local unrest, were generally unresponsive to Continental calls for assistance. But in June 1777, the counties across northern New Jersey answered the call. This prompted Washington to write Sullivan on June 15: “I am happy to hear that the Militia join you in such numbers, and are in so good spirits.” Washington continued:

In this situation, you will have it in your power to harass the rear and left flank of the Enemy, while we oppose them upon their Front and Right. If, notwithstanding this, they are determined to push forward, always cross them and keep upon their right Flank, by which means you will join this Army at pleasure.

Washington knew his army—lacking arms and filled by untrained recruits—was too weak to attack the British. He concluded on June 17 that “an attack upon them [the British] wou’d not be warranted by a sufficient prospect of success; and might be attended with the most ruinous consequences.” Instead, Washington planned to keep the main body of the army a safe distance from the British and use the New Jersey militia to annoy the British: “I intend by light Bodies of militia, seconded and encouraged by a few Continental Troops, to harass and diminish their number by continual Skirmishes.”

Washington gave orders to Sullivan to attach one thousand Continentals to the one thousand New Jersey militia assembled. Noting the fickleness of militia, Washington further instructed Sullivan: “As an encouragement to the Militia, let them know that whatever Baggage or Spoils of any kind they can take from the Enemy shall be appropriated to their Benefit.” Those same orders noted the recent arrival of “the Monmouth Militia” which would “go with the detachment.” On June 21, Sullivan’s command assembled in the Sourland Hills of Somerset County and marched east toward the enemy.

Militiamen Report on the March to Shadow the British Retreat

There is a disappointing lack of documentation on the Monmouth militia who joined Sullivan. No officer letters or muster rolls exist from this campaign. Newspaper and later accounts discuss “the militia” but make no particular mention of the Monmouth County participants. Fortunately, a dozen Monmouth militiamen reported on the campaign in their post-war veteran’s pension applications.

These pension narratives reveal that the Monmouth militia was late arriving because it had to circle around the British. After mustering at Freehold, they had to march 25 miles west before turning and marching 22 miles north to the rendezvous point at Pluckemin. The circuitous march is mentioned in a few of the pension narratives but most explicitly laid out by John Hulsart of Freehold: “he marched from Freehold to Princeton through Amwell Township to Sourland Mountain to Pluckemin.”

It does not appear that the Monmouth militia saw any considerable combat during the campaign. Only one pensioner mentions “skirmishing” during the operation and only one pensioner suggests close contact with the enemy (“pursuit” of a British party). One pensioner notes the Monmouth militia was split up during the march. “They divided and part under the command of Major Garrett Longstreet marched on the south side of the Raritan River to New Brunswick, which was just deserted by the British Army” while the rest of the militia stayed with the main body of men under Sullivan.

There are no mentions of picking up British deserters, difficult encounters with locals, sickness or privations during the march—all of which are mentioned in pensioner narratives of other campaigns. From this, it can be inferred that Sullivan did not press the militia too hard and that the militia were welcomed as liberators as they went into formerly-British occupied territory.

There is no count of how many Monmouth Countians marched from Freehold. However, militia participants were drawn from all of Monmouth County’s townships—Dover, Freehold, Middletown, Shrewsbury, Upper Freehold—except for secluded and sparsely-populated Stafford Township. Two militiamen recall volunteering for the campaign; one said he was “drafted.” It is likely that Monmouth’s three militia regiments were asked to turn out a quota of men—calling for volunteers but drafting men to reach their quota when necessary. Documentation does not indicate that David Forman’s Additional Regiment marched with the Monmouth militia, but it is possible that some did.

Pensioners recalled being commanded by Brigadier General David Forman, Colonel Samuel Forman (of Upper Freehold), and Nathaniel Scudder of Freehold during the march. Scudder’s mention is curious. Scudder had last commanded Monmouth militia at the disastrous Battle of the Navesink. By June 1777, he was serving on the New Jersey Council of Safety and representing Monmouth County in the Legislative Council (the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature). By law, Scudder was not permitted to hold a militia commission and civil government position that took him out of the county. Scudder likely accompanied the militia without any formal authority. He may have continued to carry himself as a militia colonel and because he was friends with David Forman, there was no rebuke.

The length of time the men claim to have been out for the campaign ranges from two weeks to two months. It is possible that the two months refers to the entirety of activity from first call-up in Monmouth County to the safe return home, while two weeks refers to the time spent directly under Sullivan. It is also possible that the two months is an embellished figure written by an older man with an incentive to aggrandize his service for posterity and to increase his chances of being awarded a pension. Weak documentation makes it hard to be more precise.

There is more precise documentation on the route taken by the Monmouth militia while under Sullivan. Joseph Van Note recalled marching from Pluckemin and then shadowing the British through “Steele's Gap, New Brunswick, & Woodbridge” (28 miles). Several militiamen recalled being dismissed at Woodbridge, but two pensioners recalled being discharged at New Brunswick—this likely reflects the Monmouth men being split after leaving Sourland Mountain. By the time the Monmouth militia reached Woodbridge, the militiamen had come nearly full circle. The march from Woodbridge back to the muster point at Freehold was only 23 miles; this was a short walk home in comparison to the 75 miles already covered by the men. On top of this, some of the men faced long marches to and from the muster point at Freehold. William Williams of Dover Township, for example, marched an additional 36 miles from Toms River to Freehold at the start of the call-up and that many miles again at the end.

While David Forman’s shortcomings were many, he successfully mustered and marched the Monmouth militia without incident at a time when the county still lacked a functioning civil government and large parts of the militia were dysfunctional. This was likely his most impressive moment as a military leader. Forman would again turn out the Monmouth militia in September 1777 and march them all the way to Germantown, Pennsylvania, but personal scandal and the problems caused by the uniforms of his men during that campaign would complicate his record.

Related Historic Sites: Historical Society of Princeton

Sources: George Washington to Major General John Sullivan, The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 10, ed. Frank E. Grizzard, Jr. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2000, pp. 45–46; George Washington to Major General Benedict Arnold, The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 10, ed. Frank E. Grizzard, Jr. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2000, pp. 58–61; George Washington to Major General John Sullivan, The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 10, ed. Frank E. Grizzard, Jr. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2000, pp. 64–65; George Washington from Major General John Sullivan, The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 10, ed. Frank E. Grizzard, Jr. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2000, pp. 78–79; Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw080245)); John Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1932) vol. 8, p 279; National Archives, revolutionary War veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - Joseph Vanderveer. Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application of William McBride of NJ, National Archives, p3-4, 20-2; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, James Hendrickson of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/#23341082; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans Pension Applications, New Jersey - William Williams.

National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Joseph Van Note of Ohio, S.2895; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Joseph Van Note of Ohio, S.1129

National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Kenneth Gordon of NY, www.fold3.com/image/#21884413; Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application of Benjamin Berry of VA, National Archives, p4-6; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application,Thomas Henderson of  of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/#23389962; Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application of William West of NJ, National Archives, p3; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, John McBride of Middlesex Co, www.fold3.com/image/#26202857; National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, Daniel Dey of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/#15489356; Contained in: National Archives, Revolutionary War Veterans' Pension Application, John Reid of NJ, www.fold3.com/image/# 14359840.