Campaign, Battle, and Operational Studies (original) (raw)
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A Hill on the Periphery: New Insights on the Battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778
Draft Submitted to the Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of New Jersey
Americans fought their longest single-day battle during the War for Independence on June 28, 1778 at the Battle of Monmouth in central New Jersey. Extensively studied archaeologically and historically, this important battle showcased Washington’s ability to stand against the British Army and hold the field of battle. Equally important to this success was the role of the New Jersey militia in harassing the British Army in the days before the battle and commanding key, elevated terrain. Such terrain enabled the Americans to advance from the flat plains of Englishtown toward the undulating topography of Monmouth Courthouse. Recent metal detection and military terrain analysis resulted in the archaeological identification and interpretation of an undocumented skirmish that took place between American and British forces at the western, formerly understudied outskirts of the battlefield. Recovered musket balls forced a re-examination and identification of key terrain that may have influenced the course of the battle.
In the late 1980s I took it upon myself to embark on a history of the Second New Jersey Regiment, 1777 to 1783. This, of course, was a Quixotic undertaking, but it took me much farther than originally intended. This pre-internet project led me to visit several research libraries, plus a voluminous correspondence with, among others, librarians at the Clements Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. I was still interested in the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment, which I also continued to delve into. Those first research aims, though not entirely forgotten, fell into the background, but they impelled me to dig deeper, and write on a number of other related subjects. I dedicate this to original inspirations, and where they may lead you.
Regimental, Battalion, and other Unit Studies (1775-1783)
Regimental, Battalion, and other Unit Studies (1775-1783) 5th Pennsylvania Battalion (1776), 6th Pennsylvania Regiment (1777), 2d New Jersey Regiment (1777-1779), Huntington’s and Parson’s Connecticut Brigades of Connecticut and Rhode Island regiments (1777-1779), Lafayette’s light battalions (1781), Wayne’s Pennsylvania battalions (1781-1783), American riflemen (1775-1781). Other authors: Selin’s Company, Schott’s Corps, Major Ottendorff’s Corps and Colonel Armand’s Legion, 1777-1783 (Filipski and Collward) plus associated works on recreating Schott’s 1777 company, 1776 Flying Camp (Manders), Penna. Flying Camp, 1776 (Devine), Philadelphia Associators/ Militia, 1775-1783 (Rosswurm), Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment, 1776–1781 (Hentz), Mercer’s Virginia Grenadiers (militia) 1781 (Gruber).
I have to voice my gratitude to Bob McDonald who shared the manuscript of this diary as well as his transcription-in-progress, way back in the dark ages. From that initial contact, we worked on deciphering seemingly indecipherable words and phrases, clarifying various mentioned names, places, and other references, and attempting to identify the diary author. Bob’s initial kindness resulted in a number of collaborations since then, and a cherished, long, but too often long-distance, friendship. Bob, you are an amateur historian in the best sense, for the love of the subject, a wonderful mentor, and a valued comrade. Contents 1. Identity of the Diary Author 2. Composition of Maj. Gen. William Alexander, Lord Stirling's Division, 1777. 3. New Jersey Field Officers. 4. New Jersey Brigade Strength returns, November and December 1777, and June 1778 5. Diary Transcription Appendices A. “About an hour before day we dashed through the river again …” The October 1777 Schuylkill Expedition B. First-Person Accounts of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth C. Additional Articles on the New Jersey Brigade and the Campaigns in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 1777-1778 _______________ Continental Army officer's diaries abound, but quality and content vary. The diary this article is centered on is not remarkable for its content (many others offer considerably more details of battles and everyday life) but for the period it covers. From June 1777 to July 1778 the four New Jersey regiments took part in their most arduous and eventful campaigns of the entire war, fighting in three major battles (Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth), two minor battles (Short Hills and White Marsh), and numerous smaller actions (including Staten Island, August 1777, and Coopers Ferry/Haddonfield, April 1778), besides participating in the White Marsh camp and Valley Forge winter cantonment.
The only previous work that attempted to ascertain New Jersey troop casualties incurred at Monmouth was William Stryker's book, Battle of Monmouth. Unfortunately the lack of sources or footnotes in that work tarnishes the information given. Additionally, there has never been any information on how many men were killed, wounded or captured during the march to Monmouth, during which Brigadier General William Maxwell's Jersey Brigade, in conjunction with the New Jersey militia and Morgan's riflemen, harassed Sir Henry Clinton’s British army and its large baggage train. Muster rolls have proven the most reliable source for losses in the four New Jersey regiments. Diaries, letters, and 19th century soldiers’ pension accounts have also been gleaned for additional information. Luckily, though a few muster rolls are almost illegible and one or two are missing, the great majority of them for 1778 still exist. Of the pension files only those for the 2nd New Jersey Regiment, both nine months levies and long-term soldiers, and those for the nine months men (only) of the other three regiments have been sought. Of a total of 670 nine months men and 258 long-term soldiers of the 2nd Regiment 227 pension depositions were found (included is a handful of 4th New Jersey long-term men who had been transferred to the 2nd Regiment in 1779). To these must be added a handful of depositions found in the course of an earlier study of musicians, and a few others collected through pure serendipity.
In mid-December 1777, at the end of a hard campaign, Maj. Gen. William Alexander, Lord Stirling’s Division, along with the rest of Gen. George Washington's army, entered the winter cantonment at Valley Forge. Throughout the year the division had served with the main army, marching back and forth across the Jersey, New York, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, and participating in the battles of the Short Hills, Brandywine, and Germantown.1 Composition of Stirling’s Division was as follows: Lord Stirling's Division, 21 May 1777 (total strength, 1,421, present fit for duty) 9 Brig. Gen. Thomas Conway's Brigade (strength, 677) 3rd Pennsylvania, Colonel Wood (150) 6th Pennsylvania, Col. Henry Bicker (---) (By year’s end Lt. Col. Josiah Harmar was in command) 9th Pennsylvania, Colonel Morris (205) 12th Pennsylvania, Col. William Cooke (196) Spencer's Additional Regiment, Col. Oliver Spencer (226) Malcom’s Additional Regiment, Col. William Malcom (Attached to brigade 11 October 1777) Brig. Gen. William Maxwell's Brigade (strength, 744) 1st New Jersey, Col. Matthias Ogden (163) 2nd New Jersey, Col. Israel Shreve (142) 3rd New Jersey, Col. Elias Dayton (173) 4th New Jersey, Col. Ephraim Martin (266) With General Conway’s promotion to major-general and appointment as army Inspector General, William Malcom, as senior colonel, took command of the brigade. An officer of the 4th New Jersey Regiment noted the division’s activities following the Germantown battle: we Retiring to P.ki Omy [Perkiomen], from thence to N[orth].W[ales] from thence to the 30 M[ile].S[tone]. on Skipback R[oad]: / the 27.th [actually 22nd] Octob.r Ab.t 1500 men [including at least part of the Jersey brigade] were Detach.d over S[chuyl]:K[ill]. under Com.dd [of] M[ajor].G[eneral]. Mc.Dug.l [McDougall] to Attack a Party of Hessians, but they Retiring on our Approch we Returned to Camp. w[h]ere Continued till the 29.th then March.d to white M[arsh]. where we lay till the 5.th Dec.r Joind by Part of the N[or]th.n Army. P[aterson's]. L[earned's]. G[lover's]. & V[arnum's]. Brgds, the E[nem].y then Advancd to Ch[est].N[u]t. H[ill]. which kept us Under Arms 3 or 4 days, the E[nem].y Retiring to Q[ua]rtrs. we Movd to Cross [the] S[chuyl].Kl. but were met by the E[nem].y und[er]. C[omman].d [of] Corn W[allis]. and did not Cross till the following night and Encamp.t at the Gulf M[il]ls. / ab.t the 11.th [actually the 19th] M[arche].d Ab.t [5?] Miles and Encampt at V[alley]:F[orge]: 2 Even before their arrival at Valley Forge the troops of Washington's army were showing the effects of arduous service, poor food, and insufficient clothing. On 13 December a surgeon wrote, "The army which has been surprisingly healthy hitherto, now begins to grow sickly from the continued fatigues they have suffered." Their encampment at the Gulph, where they had arrived on the 13th, after spending the night "in the woods," was not an easy one. The commissary system had broken down and starvation "rioted in its glory." But in spite of renewed hardships the troops seemed to "show a spirit of alacrity & contentment not to be expected." This contentment, however, was exceedingly difficult to maintain especially in the face of "Poor food - hard lodging - cold weather," compounded by the fact that the army's baggage, including tents, was not at the Gulph; and a fifth of the army was nearly naked, "to the amount of at least 2,000, without shoes, stockings, or breeches."
Dedicated to my good friend Bob McDonald War consists of long periods of seeming inactivity with, for some troops, intermittent phases of frenzied activity, perhaps even combat. Most of a soldier's time is taken up with the mundane day to day duties and routines so necessary to keep an army functioning and, of course, the men busy and out of mischief. The journal around which this article is centered is written from the point of view of a field officer commanding a regiment. As such it does not shed much light into the common soldiers' lives but does give the perspective of the field commanders who oversaw the breaking up of their battalions at the end of 1776, and then faced the responsibility of reenlisting and reorganizing their units company by company. Much of the narrative describes the whereabouts and activities of an average Continental regiment in spring and summer of 1777, including many days denoting the occurrence of "nothing Extronary." The focal point of the journal as well as of Colonel Shreve's military experience up to 1777 is his account of the Battle of Short Hills. The impact of this action on Shreve can be seen by the description contained herein and by his devotion of six more pages to the battle in letters to friends. Finally, the journal contributes to a greater understanding of a little known but critical period of the War for American Independence.1 New Jersey's Continental battalions first served during 1776 but saw little fighting. Some of the state's troops reached Canada in time to participate in the closing stages of the siege of Quebec and the ignominious retreat into New York. The 1st and 2d Battalions took part in the affair at Trois Rivieres which at best was a confused and ignominious action. Following that the northern army took post at Fort Ticonderoga where Col. William Maxwell's 2d New Jersey Battalion spent the rest of their one year enlistment. In autumn 1776 Maxwell was promoted to brigadier general and Israel Shreve to colonel of the 2d Regiment in the army's new establishment. After the men's period of service expired he was faced with the task of organizing the unit anew. It is at this point that the colonel's journal begins.2
The appended letters, sent by two New Jersey officers in the midst of separate campaigns, are a fusion of the public and personal. The campaign news and soldier-life details imparted will be of interest to military historians, while the personal sentiments bring their lives closer to the realm of the average reader. Additionally, comparison of writing style and content (most notably religious references or the lack thereof) are interesting given differences in the correspondents’ education and profession. Before the war Israel Shreve had been a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers) and a farmer residing in Mansfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey. While hardly a brilliant officer Colonel Shreve (40 years old in 1779) had served conscientiously with the 2nd New Jersey Regiment since late 1775, taking part in most of the Jersey Brigade's major actions, Germantown being the only exception. Shreve conducted himself creditably at Short Hills in June 1777 and Brandywine that September, where he was wounded. During the June 1778 Monmouth campaign his home was burned by Crown forces as they marched towards New York, and at the 28 June battle the colonel remained on horseback throughout the afternoon's severe cannonading. Always a heavy man, by summer 1780 Shreve considered himself unfit for field command, and resigned his commission shortly after the new year. (In May 1776, after the march to and retreat from Canada, the colonel described himself as "almost a slim man, having Lost at Least 4 or 5 Inches in thickness, and am Obliged to have my Jackets taken in ..." By 1780 or 1781, according to his son John, he weighed about 320 pounds.)1
Introduction. In the late 1980s I took it upon myself to embark on a history of the Second New Jersey Regiment, 1777 to 1783. This, of course, was a Quixotic undertaking, but it took me much farther than originally intended. This pre-internet project led me to visit several research libraries, plus a voluminous correspondence with, among others, librarians at the Clements Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. I was still interested in the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment, which I also continued to delve into. Those first research aims, though not entirely forgotten, fell into the background, but they impelled me to dig deeper, and write on a number of other related subjects. I dedicate this to original inspirations, and where they may lead you.