My family and I made it to the Annual Reenactment of the Battle of Monmouth on Saturday, June 15th.  The event takes place every year in June on a Saturday and Sunday to commemorate the June 28th, 1778 battle.  It was a great Father’s Day Weekend experience.  We were quite impressed with the event as this was our second time visiting the battlefield, but the first time attending this event.  Of the American Revolution events that I have been to, this event drew the largest crowd and attracted the most reenactors.

While the Battle of Monmouth did not have much strategic benefit for the Continentals, it was a large battle in terms of manpower, and showed that the Patriot army could go toe to toe with the British.  The battle was the largest artillery duel of the war and the Continental Army, led by George Washington, had an opportunity to show their fighting tenacity after a long winter at Valley Forge.  At winter camp, the constant drilling from Friedrich Von Steuben, the Prussian drill master, made real soldiers of the Continentals.  The benefits of the rigorous drilling were shown on the Monmouth battlefield.  The battle is known for temperatures reaching 100 degrees.  The night following the battle, the British continued their retreat from Philadelphia to New York (as they had planned), and Washington used this retreat to claim victory for the Patriots.  The Battle of Monmouth is also known for the heroics of Molly Pitcher who is commemorated at the park.

When we arrived at the Monmouth Battlefield, we first noticed the many tents and vendors there from all around the area selling shirts, flags, crafts, antiques, and revolution memorabilia.  It is also worth noting that there are food trucks there, which we were unaware of (we grabbed lunch on the way there).  We made our way to the many camps and presentations from the reenactors.  Men, women, and children were all in camp preparing for battle, cooking meals, doing chores, and passing the time.  The reenactors were engaging and knowledgeable of 18th century life.  Other demonstrators included camp doctors and surveyors.  Fife and drums could be heard throughout the encampments.  I was impressed with how extensive the camps were as we stumbled upon Patriot, Loyalist, British, and Hessian camps.

At 2:30pm, the reenactment of the Battle of Monmouth took place.  It was quite entertaining and I have never seen anything like that before.  It was fascinating to imagine what warfare was like in the late 18th century, and you felt like you were a spectator stepping back in time as the troops stood in a line and fired their muskets and cannons.  The battle raged for about 30 minutes.  After it was over, my family checked out encampments and made our way to the shops where we bought a couple t-shirts.

I really enjoyed my time at the encampment and plan to visit on a more regular basis, especially if it falls on Father’s Day again.  The Monmouth battlefield also has an immersive museum that visitors need to see.  You can check out the link here about the reenactment.  I would highly recommend making it out to the event next year! The event was fun for all ages!

Check out my instagram page for videos of the event–> https://www.instagram.com/beneventos_history_blog/

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