Lt Col Henry Monckton - Manalapan, NJ - Out of Place Graves on Waymarking.com

On June 18, 1778, General Sir Henry Clinton led the main British Army from Philadelphia to march on New York. The next day, General George Washington moved in to harass the British. On the morning of Sunday, June 28, 1778 as the 20,000 militia in the British Army was breaking camp to begin the march, General Charles Lee led his regiment of 5,000 in the Continental Army to attack the British from the rear.

When Lee realized that half of the British soldiers had readied and were coming his way, he led a retreat across Monmouth Battlefield. General Washington instructed Lee to delay action until the main Continental Army, with another 8,500 troops could approach. The battle resumed at 12:30 pm with a bloody clash at the hedgerows. The British advanced, only to find the Continental Army occupying a strong position atop Perrine Hill, behind a line of ten guns. Exhausted from the earlier clash and march, the British attack collapsed.

The British sent light infantry to outflank the Continental Army, but found Lafayette and the Continental Reserves waiting for them. The British positioned ten cannons and howitzers in front of the hedgerow to silence the Continental Artillery. That afternoon, the largest field artillery battle of the American Revolution waged.

General Nathaniel Greene brought a brigade of Virginians and four guns to the top of Comb's Hill, overlooking the British's line at the hedgerow. The British were forced to beak rank and retreat. General Washington took the opportunity to counterattack. Two battalions of light infantry advanced to skirmish with the retreating British, while three regiments, under General Anthony Wayne crossed the bridge to attack the British Grenadiers. Wayne's men, succumbing to the grenadiers, were forced to retreat to the Parsonage on the site of the battlefield. Again outdone by the Continental Army, the British pulled back and made camp.

Washington moved fresh troops in to resume the attack the next morning but by 11pm, the British had broke camp an retreated to continue their march. This marked the end of the last major battle in the north.

The Battle of Monmouth was a triumph for General Washington and the Continental Army, forcing the British to retreat. The British army suffered two to three times the casualties as the Continental Army.

Along Perrine Hill, where General William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling, held his defensive, artillery line the shot that killed Lieutenant Colonel Henry Monkton was probably fired from. Lt Monkton, commander of the 2nd Grenadiers, was killed at 1:15 pm by a round of grapeshot through the heart, being the highest ranking officer of either side to be killed at the Battle of Monmouth. His body laid between enemy lines for hours, until an American troop recovered the body and brought him to the Old Tennent Church.

The Old Tennent Church, built in 1751, was used as a field hospital during the war, though it was far from a safe refuge. Musket holes pierced the walls, and many cannonballs have been recovered from the site. The pews inside are still stained from soldiers' blood and scarred by surgeons' saws.

As you walk through the cemetery, the graves of many men that die int his battle and the Revolutionary War stand in tribute. Right in front of the church, next to famous, local heroes, the grave of the British officer is an interesting contrast.

First Name: Henry Last Name: Monkton Died: 06/28/1778 Born: Not listed

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   03/14/2012 79scouts visited it