When the morning of Sunday, June 28, 1778 dawned, the British Army of 20,000 men was camped along Dutch Lane and the Monmouth Courthouse- Allentown Road, while the main Continental Army of 8,500 men was camped at Manalapan Bridge, four miles west of Englishtown. In Englishtown, General Charles Lee and an advance force of 5,000 men had orders to make a hit-and-run attack on the British line-of-march. At Monmouth Courthouse about 10:15, Lee launched a two-pronged attack against the British rear guard of 1,500 men. Lee's approach had been observed, and his advance force was immediately driven back by 10,000 men under Generals Clinton and Cornwallis.

As Commander-in-Chief Washington rode up, he discovered a retreating, demoralized advance force. Washington ordered Generals Wayne and Lee to fight a delaying action, while Washington rode back to arrange the main body of the Continental Army on a hill protected by two brooks. In bloody, sometimes hand-to-hand combat, the British pursued the last advance force battalions across a bridge and up the hill. "ey were too late. Washington's men were in position, and ten Continental cannon shredded the front of the British column.

The British commander, Sir Henry Clinton, still hoped to bring on a general engagement, destroy the Continental Army and win the war. To enable his infantry to attack, Clinton brought up 10 cannon and howitzers to silence the Continental guns. However, the distance between the two hills was too great. The British fired over 1,000 shot and shell into the hill without silencing the Continental artillery. "e British lost the artillery duel, when four more Continental field pieces appeared on Combs' Hill and enfiladed the British position. When the British began withdrawing, Washington sent small detachments to harass their rear units, creating the impression that the Continentals were driving the enemy from the field. British casualties were two to three times greater than those of the American troops. Today the park's 1,818 acres preserve a rural landscape of rolling farmland, orchards, woods and brooks. Trails criss-cross the battlefield, rail fences mark battle lines, and wayside exhibits explain the day-long battle. The Craig Farm, home of John and Ann Craig, preserves a 1746 kitchen and a 1770s residence constructed on the ironstone cellar of the original farmhouse.

The Visitors Center complex includes picnic areas and playgrounds. In season, visitors can "pick your own" strawberries, cherries, peaches, apples and pumpkins at Battleview Orchards.

Back to the Monmouth Battlefield