Story of ‘Revolution in Monmouth’ told at museum
Historical association
exhibit features many
relics of 1778 battle
By linda denicola
Staff Writer

Molly Pitcher by Edward Percy Moran

Inside the charming red brick building on Court Street in Freehold that houses the Monmouth County Historical Association (MCHA), there are three galleries full of Revolutionary War remnants, relics and writings, particularly pertaining to the Battle of Monmouth, which was fought in an area of what later became Freehold Township and Manalapan.

The battle between the British army and the American patriots who were fighting for their independence was fought on June 28, 1778.

"There is something for everyone — there’s fine art, artifacts and specific items related to the war," Bernadette Rogoff said of the Revolution in Monmouth exhibit, of which she is the curator.

The first gallery, on the main floor, features the painting "Washington Rallying the Troops at Monmouth." Painted by Emanuel Leutze in 1857, the work shows the Continental soldiers surrounding Gen. George Washington and Gen. Charles Lee. The oil painting also includes likenesses of Lafayette, Alexander Hamilton and Baron Von Steuben, a German soldier who trained the American troops at Valley Forge, Pa., Rogoff said.

VERONICA YANKOWSKI Daphne Illwerther, West Long Branch, gets a history lesson at the Revolution in Monmouth exhibit.

In the same room is a log behind a glass case. The log is part of a tree that was on the battlefield. Lodged in the bark are a cannonball and some shrapnel.

"Someone found the tree and cut it down. They sectioned it off and donated the log to the museum in 1940," Rogoff said.

The exhibit focuses on what it was like to live in Monmouth County during the battle, so there are pieces that chronicle what was happening right after the battle. According to Rogoff, there was plenty of looting going on, and it was not only the British doing the looting. The British not only looted but burned whatever they could get their hands on. She pointed out a portrait of an early settler, John Wikoff, that was saved by his brother, Jacob, just before the house was burned down. The portrait was painted by a well-known artist by the name of John Wollaston, she said.

Also on display are some of the items that were carried by soldiers in the irregular army. Rogoff explained that, unlike the regular Army, irregulars were men who joined militia groups for a short time to fight a particular battle.

VERONICA YANKOWSKI Guests admire artwork at the Revolution in Monmouth exhibit at the Monmouth County Historical Association’s museum, Freehold, on Friday.

The exhibit also includes a reproduction of a hunting frock made of heavy linen with a ruffle. Rogoff said the ruffle served a purpose because it shed rain. In the same display case are a pair of long white socks and a backpack that were found on the battlefield.

"We’re very fortunate to have this on loan for the exhibition. The backpack is one of the few that survived," Rogoff said.

In another display case is a large Union Jack flag that, Rogoff said, is probably 225 years old. The original will be in the case for a couple of months, but it can’t be kept there for the duration of the show (one year) because the lights may destroy it, Rogoff said, adding that a copy will be in the case for a while.

"The flag is somewhat of a mystery. It’s called the Monckton Flag because it may have been the flag of his regiment," the curator explained.

Col. Henry Monckton, the commander of the second battalion of British Grenadiers, was killed during the battle. He was given a full military burial, with honors, by the Americans at Tennent Church.

Rogoff explained that the flag is not the regimental standard and is made of scraps of fabric. The body is light yellow, but it was originally bright gold.

The canton in the upper left is made of red brocade and light blue and white silk.

Rogoff added that the people who made the flag had so little fabric that the pieces are whip-stitched together.

"They didn’t have enough fabric to make a seam," she said. "We don’t really know who made it. It was found on the field at Monmouth. We do know that every regiment would have had a flag so that they could be located on the battlefield."

There is also quite an array of documents that inventory everything that was used on the battlefield, and there are lists of items that were damaged, looted or destroyed.

Written on the wall going up the stairs are the names of many of the men who lost their lives in the battle, both American and British solders. The names are written in blue for the Continental soldiers and red for the British. Rogoff said there are 150 to 200 names out of the 356 Continental and even more British soldiers who lost their lives during the battle.

On the second-floor landing is what the museum calls the armory. It is a case filled with muskets, bayonets, swords and cannon balls. One of the swords belonged to Monckton.

Gallery two is devoted to Molly Pitcher and the role of women in the Battle of Monmouth and in both armies in general.

There was a real mythology that came out in the 1900s, Rogoff said. One of the myths is depicted in a painting of the battlefield that includes women. Rogoff explained that contrary to popular perception, most of the women were family members, not prostitutes.

"Washington would not allow prostitutes in the camps," she said. "Many of these women came with their men and did things like cooking, foraging for firewood and bringing water to swab out the cannons to keep them from cracking in the heat. The day of the battle was brutally hot."

A painting by Edward Percy Moran is one of Rogoff’s favorites because it depicts an obviously hot young woman wiping her brow with a pitcher of water in one hand. Her wrist is bandaged, and the water is spilling as she walks along.

"I particularly like this painting because the battle fades into the background," she said.

Gallery three is called "Romance and Relics" and chronicles the resurgence of interest in the Battle of Monmouth in the 19th century. There are walking sticks made out of parts of the Tennent Church parsonage, a place that saw a lot of action.

Washington’s aides told the general what they saw and what was going on when they met at the church where the cupola was used as a lookout tower during the battle. The church was also used as one of the field hospitals, and a mass grave of American soldiers was discovered just outside the front entrance.

The Revolution in Monmouth exhibit was made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission. Many of the objects are more than 200 years old. Some of them have been loaned to the association just for the exhibit, but most come from the collections of MCHA’s museum, library and archives.

In addition to the exhibit at the museum in Freehold, there are four other sites that tell the story of the Revolution: the Allen House in Shrewsbury, which was a tavern during the Revolution; the Covenhoven House, Freehold, where Sir Henry Clinton, general of the British forces, had his headquarters; the Holmes-Hendrickson House, Holmdel, which was raided by British soldiers; and Marlpit Hall, Middletown, once the home of loyalist Edward Taylor.