As everything of an authentic character relating to the memorable Battle of Monmouth is of abiding interest, the following additional accounts are given of that great event:

HEADQUARTERS, ENGLISHTOWN,
30th June, 1778.

MY DEAR FATHER:

I was exceedingly chagrined that public business prevented my writing to you from the field of battle, when the General sent his despatches to Congress. The delay, however, will be attended with this advantage, that I will be better able to give you an account of the enemy's loss; tho' I must now content myself with a very succinct relation of this affair. The situation of the two armies on Sunday was as follows: General Washington, with the main body of our army, was at four miles distant from Englishtown. General Lee, with a chosen advanced corps, was at that town. The enemy were retreating down the road which leads to Middletown; their flying army composed (as it was said), of two battalions of British grenadiers, one Hessian grenadiers, one battalion of light infantry, one regiment of guards, two brigades of foot, one regiment of dragoons and a number of mounted and dismounted Jagers. The enemy's rear was preparing to leave Monmouth village, which is six miles from this place, when our advanced corps was marching towards them. The militia of the country kept up a random running fire with the Hessian Jagers; no mischief was done on either side. I was with a small party on horse, reconnoitering the enemy in an open space before Monmouth, when I perceived two parties of the enemy advancing by files in the woods on our right and left, with a view, as I imagined, of enveloping our small party or preparing a way for a skirmish of their horse. I immediately wrote an account of what I had seen to the General, and expressed my anxiety on account of the languid appearance of the continental troops under General Lee. Some person in the meantime reported to General Lee that the enemy were advancing upon us in two columns, and I was informed that he had, in consequence, ordered Varnum's brigade, which was in front, to repass a bridge which it had passed. I went myself and assured him of the real state of the case; his reply to me was, that his accounts had been so contradictory, that he was utterly at a loss what part to take. I repeated my account to him in positive, distinct terms, and returned to make further discoveries. I found that the two parties had been withdrawn from the wood, and that the enemy were preparing to leave Monmouth. I wrote a second time to General Washington. General Lee at length gave orders to advance. The enemy were forming themselves on the Middletown road, with their Light Infantry in front, and Cavalry on the left flank, while a scattering distant fire was commenced between our flanking parties and theirs. I was impatient and uneasy at seeing that no disposition was made, and endeavored to find General Lee to inform him of what was doing, and to know what was his disposition. He told me that he was going to order some troops to march below the enemy and cut off their retreat. Two pieces of artillery were posted on our right without a single foot soldier to support them. Our men were formed piecemeal in front of the enemy, and there appeared to be no general plan or disposition calculated on that of the enemy, the nature of the ground, or any of the other principles which generally govern in these cases.

The enemy began a cannonade from two parts of their line; their whole body of horse made a furious charge upon a small party of our cavalry and dispirited and drove them, until the appearance of our infantry and a judicious discharge or two of artillery made them retire precipitately. Three regiments of ours that had advanced in a plain open country towards the enemy's left flank, were ordered by General Lee to retire and occupy the village of Monmouth. They were no sooner formed there than they were ordered to quit that post and gain the woods. One order succeeded another with a rapidity and indecision calculated to ruin us. The enemy had changed their front and were advancing in full march toward us; our men were fatigued with the excessive heat. The artillery horses were not in condition to make a brisk retreat. A new position was ordered, but not generally communicated, for part of the troops were forming on the right of the ground, while others were marching away, and all the artillery driving off. The enemy, after a short halt, resumed their pursuit; no cannon was left to check their progress. A regiment was ordered to form behind a fence, and as speedily commanded to retire. All this disgraceful retreating passed without the firing of a musket, over ground which might have been disputed inch by inch. We passed a defile and arrived at an eminence beyond, which was defended on one hand by an impracticable fen, on the other by a thick wood where our men would have fought to advantage. Here, fortunately for the honor of the army, and the welfare of America, General Washington met the troops retreating in disorder, and without any plan to make an opposition. He ordered some pieces of artillery to be brought up to defend the pass, and some troops to form and defend the pieces. The artillery was too distant to be brought up readily, so that there was but little opposition given here. A few shots, though, and a little skirmishing in the wood checked the enemy's career. The General expressed his astonishment at this unaccountable retreat. Mr. Lee indecently replied that the attack was contrary to his advice and opinion in council. We were obliged to retire to a position, which, though hastily reconnoitered proved an excellent one. Two regiments were formed behind a fence, in front of the position. The enemy's horse advanced in full charge with admirable bravery to the distance of forty paces, when a general discharge from these two regiments did execution among them, and made them fly with the greatest precipitation. The grenadiers succeeded to the attack. At this time my horse was killed under me. In this spot the action was hottest, and there was considerable slaughter of British grenadiers. The General ordered Woodford's brigade with some artillery to take possession of an eminence on the enemy's left, and cannonade from thence. This produced an excellent effect. The enemy were prevented from advancing on us and confined themselves to cannonade, with a show of turning our left flank. Our artillery answered theirs with the greatest vigor. The General seeing that our left flank was secure, as the ground was open and commanded by us, so that the enemy could not attempt to turn it without exposing their own flank to a heavy fire from our artillery, and causing to pass in review before us the force employed in turning us. In the meantime, General Lee continued retreating. Baron Steuben was ordered to form the broken troops in the rear. The cannonade was incessant and the General ordered parties to advance from time to time, to engage the British grenadiers and guards. The horse showed themselves no more. The grenadiers showed their backs and retreated everywhere with precipitation. They returned, however, again to the charge, and were again repulsed. They finally retreated and got over the strong pass, where, as I mentioned before, General Washington first rallied the troops. We advanced in force, and continued masters of the ground: the standards of liberty were planted in triumph on the field of battle. We remained looking at each other with the defile between us, till dark, and they stole off in silence at midnight. We have buried of the enemy's slain, 233, principally of grenadiers; forty odd of their wounded whom they left at Monmouth, fell into our bands. Several officers are our prisoners. Among their killed are Col. Moncton, a captain of the guards, and several captains of the grenadiers. We have taken a very inconsiderable number of prisoners, for want of a good body of horse. Deserters are coming in as usual. Our officers and men behaved with that bravery which becomes freemen, and have convinced the world that they can beat British grenadiers. To name any one in particular would be a kind of injustice to the rest. There are some, however, who came more immediately under my view, whom I can mention that you may know them. B. General Wayne, Col. Barber, Col. Stewart, Col. Livingston, Col. Oswald, of the artillery, Capt. Doughty, deserve well of their country, and distinguished themselves nobly.

The enemy buried many of their dead that are not accounted for above, and carried off a great number of wounded. I have written diffusely, and yet I have not told you all. General Lee, I think, must be tried for misconduct. However, this is a matter not generally known, though it seems almost universally wished for. I would beg you, my dear father, to say nothing of it. You will oblige me much by excusing me to Mr. Drayton for not writing to him. I congratulate you, my dear father, upon this seasonable victory, and am ever,

Your most dutiful and affectionate,
JOHN LAURENS.

We have no returns of our loss as yet. The proportion on the field of battle appeared but small. We have many good officers wounded.

ENGLISHTOWN, 30th June, 1778.

SIR: We esteem it a duty which we owe to our country, ourselves and the officers and soldiers under our command, to state the following facts to your Excellency:

On the 28th instant, at five o'clock in the morning we received orders to march with the following detachments, namely, Scott's and Varnum's brigades, Colonels Butler and Jackson in front, amounting to seventeen hundred men; Colonels Wesson, Livingston and Stewart, with one thousand men, commanded by General Wayne; a select detachment of fourteen hundred men, rank and file, under General Scott, with ten pieces of artillery properly distributed among the whole.

About eight o'clock, the van under Col. Butler arrived on the left of Monmouth Court House, on the rear of the left flank of the enemy, who were in full march, moving in great haste and confusion. At this time our main body under General Lee, were formed at the edge of a wood about half a mile distant from the Court House. General Wayne, who was in front reconnoitering the enemy, perceiving that they had made a halt and were preparing to push Colonel Butler with their horse and a few foot, gave direction for him to form and receive them, and at the same time sent Major Ryles to General Lee, requesting that those troops might be advanced to support those in front, and for the whole to form on the edge of a deep morass, which extends from the east of the Court House on the right a very considerable distance to the left. The troops did arrive in about an hour after the requisition, and were generally formed in this position.

About the same time General Scott's detachment had passed the morass on the left, and the enemy's horse and foot that had charged Colonel Butler, were repulsed. The number of the enemy now in view might be near two thousand, though at first not more than five hundred exclusive of their horse. The ground we now occupied was the best formed by nature for defence, of any perhaps in the country. The enemy advanced with caution, keeping at a considerable distance in front. General Scott, having viewed the position of the enemy, as well as the ground where about twenty-five hundred of our troops were formed, repassed the morass and took post on the left, in a fine open wood, covered by said morass in front.

Whilst this was doing, General Wayne, perceiving that the troops on the right from the wood to the Court House were retreating, sent General Fishbourn to General Lee, requesting that the troops might return to support him. In the interim General Wayne repassed the morass, leaving Colonel Butler's regiment to keep post on the right flank of the enemy. Generals Scott and Wayne then went together along the morass to the Court House, when Major Fishbourn returned and said that General Lee gave no other answer than that he would see General Wayne himself, which he never did. The enemy having now an opening on the right of General Scott began to move on, when General Wayne and General Scott sent to General Lee to request him at least to form, to favor General Scott's retreat, but this requisition met with the same fate as the last. The troops kept still retreating, when General Scott, perceiving that he would not be supported, filed off to the left. General Wayne ordered Colonel Butler to fall back also. Thus were these several select detachments unaccountably drawn off without being suffered to come to action, although we had the most pleasant prospect from our number and position, of obtaining the most glorious and decisive victory. After this, we fortunately fell in with your Excellency. You ordered us to form part of those troops, whose conduct and bravery kept the enemy in play until you had restored order.

We have taken the liberty of stating these facts in order to convince the world that our retreat from the Court House was not occasioned by the want of numbers, position, or wishes of both officers and men to maintain that post. We also beg leave to mention that no plan of attack was ever communicated to us, or notice of a retreat, until it had taken place in our rear, as we supposed by General Lee's order. We are, &c.,

ANTHONY WAYNE.
CHARLES SCOTT.