On the morning of June 24, 1778, a total eclipse of the sun plunged Monmouth County into daylight darkness for a few hours. It was the first recorded solar eclipse in colonial American history; David Rittenhouse, an American astronomer and mathematician, witnessed the eclipse from Philadelphia.
Marching through early morning darkness to avoid the heat, and then through the darkness of the eclipse, British Lt. General Sir Henry Clinton’s 1st Division, some 11,000 soldiers, arrived at and encamped in and around Allen’s Town (today Allentown). In addition to the soldiers were women, children, Loyalist civilian men seeking the protection of the British, invalids, prisoners, escaped slaves hoping to win freedom by serving the British Army, livestock, and even dogs. All told, Clinton’s march comprised 20,800 people, 46 artillery pieces, 5,000 horses, and 1,500 horse-drawn wagons packed with provisions for six weeks.
Some twenty miles away to the northwest, in Hopewell, George Washington was leading a planning session in the dark of the eclipse with his inner circle, looking at options to go at Clinton’s army, which they knew was in Allen’s Town.
If the eclipse was seen as an omen to those soldiers less familiar with celestial science on both sides, they weren’t wrong. In four days, they would meet at Monmouth Court House, today Freehold, in the longest one-day battle of the American Revolution, and one which marked a turning point for George Washington, at what became known as the Battle of Monmouth.
But today, the 24th, for both armies, is a day for rest, preparation, and planning.
The British Are Coming!
At the start of 1778, the British occupied New York City and Philadelphia. Many of those in power believed that Loyalist sympathies ran high in the southern colonies and they could potentially be brought under British control. The French had been persuaded to join in on the side of the Patriots, and a French naval blockade of Philadelphia loomed as a threat.
The decision was made to consolidate British military assets in New York, and in the southern colonies. This meant that the British would completely evacuate Philadelphia, moving everyone and everything they wanted, to New York City. The limits of the Royal Navy for conveying those people of consequence and their belongings in an evacuation left Clinton with no option but to take his army, and those evacuees who warranted inclusion and protection, to head for New York City via land, through New Jersey.
Clinton had a choice, the high road to the Raritan River and Amboy, or the low road to Middletown and Sandy Hook; he had the counsel of Monmouth County Loyalists who helped with maps and pointed out where Patriot strongholds were along the way. Clinton chose the low road, but his army proceeded using whatever roads were available. From Cooper’s Ferry to Mount Holly, Clinton’s army proceeded in two columns, with escaped slaves called pioneers in front who helped clear trees felled by Patriot militia and sympathizers to slow the miles-long columns. These roads were often in poor condition. Also in the vanguard were units of the Queens Rangers, Loyalist Americans who were more familiar with the terrain. At Allen’s Town, Clinton would have to choose which roads to take to complete his march.
Meanwhile…
George Washington’s Continental Army was at Hopewell, preparing to confront a vastly superior foe after suffering numerous setbacks the year before. This would be Washington’s first real engagement since the winter at Valley Forge, and a test for his troops following the rigorous training led by Von Steuben and Lafayette. They had crossed the Delaware, yet again, and had made their way carefully southeast. Washington badly wanted an engagement with Clinton, but not one that involved the full armies, as that was a battle the Continentals were highly unlikely to win. But he wanted to test the mettle of his men, and so he and his generals laid out plans and contingencies.
On June 24, 1778, General Washington wrote that he had “on the ground 10,648 rank and file, besides the advanced brigade under General Maxwell of about 1200, and 1200 Militia in New Jersey.” In addition, Washington’s total force included the commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers and musicians (fifers, drummers) of the army.
Washington’s army spent the 24th “disposing of their heavy baggage, cleaning their firelocks, placing themselves in the best light marching order and preparing two days’ extra cooked rations.” Later in the day, following the council of war, General Washington detached Brigadier-General Charles Scott with 1440 “picked” men, meaning, the best and strongest from each unit were picked to form a new unit, to harass the British.
The British march was rearranged so that the Light Horse and Jaegers could defend the rear of the column. This maneuver was observed by General Von Steuben and four horsemen who had reconnoitered the British positions. At least three minor skirmishes took place in and around Allen’s Town on June 24th and 25th. These skirmishes are cumulatively labeled a minor battle – The Battle of Allentown. But the real battle was just days away.
Sources:
Bilby, Joseph G., & Jenkins, Katherine Bilby. (2019). Monmouth Court House: The Battle That Made the American Army. Westholme Publishing, Yardley, Penn.
Fabiano, John, et.al. (2006) A Short History of Allentown. The Allentown Village Initiative, Allentown, N.J Available: https://www.allentownvinj.org/a-short-history.html.
Griffith, William R. (2020). A Handsome Flogging: The Battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778. Savas Beatie, El Dorado Hills, Calif.
Lender, Mark E., & Stone, Garry W. (2016). Fatal Sunday. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Okla., pp. 441-450.
Morrissey, Brendan. (2004). Monmouth Courthouse 1778: The Last Great Battle in the North. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, New York, N.Y.
Stryker, William S. (William Scudder). (1970). The Battle of Monmouth. Kennikat Press, Port Washington, N.Y.
Featured image: The Old Mill in Allentown. Image credit: The Historic Village of Allentown. Available: https://www.allentownnj.com/our-history/
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