Even so, the Battle of Monmouth, the only major engagement of the American Revolution in 1778, was important. It was a riveting moment in history that still spawns books, visual works, and arguments today.
George Washington rose at Monmouth. He solidified his position as commander of the Continental Army. He did so by chasing the British from a lush meadow in central New Jersey on June 28, 1778. He successfully deployed a force he had rebuilt at Valley Forge.
Women also contributed by playing roles rarely seen on a battlefield. They brought water to soldiers, treated them, and sometimes took their places. Led by Mary Ludwig Hays, who allegedly fired a cannon after her husband fell, they gave rise to the legend of Molly Pitcher.
These developments and more are covered in Mark Lender's Fatal Sunday, the definitive work on the battle, and in miniseries like The Revolution and Outlander. The latter series, now streaming on Starz, featured the confrontation in "Written in My Own Heart's Blood," an episode based on Diana Gabaldon's novel of the same name.
The battle did not change the balance of power in 1778. British soldiers, recent occupiers of Philadelphia, completed a successful retreat to New York City, where they licked their wounds and lived to fight another day. The war, which began in 1775, did not end, as a practical matter, until Washington finally cornered the redcoats at Yorktown in 1781.
Nonetheless, Monmouth was still important, which is why I included it in my current work. It is the pivotal centerpiece of The Winding Road, the sequel to The Patriots and the second book in the Stone Shed trilogy.
I am about halfway through the first draft. I hope to finish the draft by early March and publish the book itself by the end of May.
Image Credit: The featured illustration, "Washington Rallying the Troops at Monmouth," is an 1854 oil painting by Emanuel Leutze. The public-domain image is offered through Wikimedia Commons.
