k point, and hit it hard. The second faction was spear-headed by General Lee. Lee had little faith in the American regulars, and this showed in his suggestions to resort solely to guerilla combat, and avoid any confrontation with the British Regulars, whom he felt to be far superior to any American force . Eventually, Washington decided to compromise. He sent a little under half of his army to engage the British as they left Monmouth Courthouse on June 28, 1778. The force was to be led by General Lafeyette and now numbered just under 5,000 men. These included Morgan’s riflemen, 1,000 hand-selected troops under Gen. Wayne, 1,500 troops under Gen. Scott, and Gen. Maxwell’s original delaying force. They dispatched themselves in the “…debatable ground between the two armies, ” except for Morgan’s Riflemen, who were sent to Shreve’s mill, where they could be most effective. Along the side of Monmouth road, Colonel Asher Holmes and his Monmouth militia waited with General Dickinson and the rest of the New Jersey militia . They were situated in a few points all along Dutch Lane, where, during the course of the battle, they hurled themselves “…so valiantly, so bloody, yet still in vain… ” against the mass of British regulars. The main force of American regulars, under Washington, was disposed along the road from Cranbury to Englishtown, a few miles from the advanced guard.This was not to be a battle of surprise, however. After the skirmish at Crosswicks, the British rebuilt the bridge and crossed. It was obvious that there was a strong American presence, and Sir Clinton did take precautions, in order to be prepared should they prepare an attack. He divided his army to ensure that they would be ready for such an attack. The heavy artillery and ammunition wagons, which originally had brought up the rear, were now in the van of the procession. This was done for two reasons. First of...
