The king's men were not at all happy about the withdrawal. “The troops growled at the ignominy of something that looked very like a retreat; whilst other people were either stung with disappointment, or lost in silent wonder at what could be intended by so mysterious a conduct,” wrote a New York Loyalist.133 A Philadelphia Tory expressed similar thoughts about “which conduct appears to be a great mystery to us, or what intentions they can possibly have in thus leaving the Jersies & their friends in it wholly exposed to the ravages & insults of an incensed army, who will greatly exult & rejoice in this retreat of the English.” Horrified at the prospect, Sarah Logan Fisher wrote, “How much to be pitied are those men who had fled to the English for protection.”134
The British appeared to be hastily evacuating New Jersey. Rumors flew, and American light forces, composed of Morgan's Ranger Corps and part of Wayne's 1st Pennsylvania Brigade, pursued the Crown Forces, peppering the British rear guard at every opportunity. “The whole army quitted Brunswick in the morning & cross'd over by Moncrieffs bridge,” a bridge over the Raritan designed by Capt. James Moncrieff of the British Engineers. “The Grenadiers & Light Infantry in the Rear, halted for a little on the heights of Eastside ye River,” Capt.-Lt. John Peebles of the Royal Highlanders wrote, “when a body of about 1000 of the Rebels appeared on the upper ground near the Landing with 3 pieces of Cannon which they play'd for some time.”135 Maj. Charles Stuart watched as Morgan's Corps arrived; “on our rear parties passing the Bridge about 500 of the rebels appear'd on the other side, and fired several cannon shot without doing any damage.” He then saw the rest of Wayne's troops boldly march up, followed by Sullivan, “near 3000 with guns, Colours, and heaping every kind of insolence.” Ever critical of Howe, Stuart told his father, “The General did not think proper to attack them, the consequence of which was that they threw 500 or 600 men into the wood upon our left, who warmly harassed our rear for 6 miles, and killed or wounded 30 men.”136
The Crown Forces evacuated New Brunswick on June 22 and moved east to Perth Amboy. Washington's forces pursued, and heavy skirmishing erupted near the Quibbletown Road and at Moncrieff's Bridge, where Wayne and Morgan “peppered severely” the British rearguard. Howe's maneuver succeeded in luring Washington's forces out of the hills behind Bound Brook and set them up for an attack.
Stuart was not entirely correct, for Howe himself was directing the British rear guard. “At the end of the bridge was a small height, where General Howe stopped with us and observed the passing troops, who looked quite sullen because of the march back,” Captain von Münchhausen wrote. “Suddenly our side-patrols, marching at the left of our column in the woods, were so fiercely attacked by about 800 riflemen that they started to retreat toward our main column. General Howe hurriedly took the next two following regiments out of the column and personally led them toward the advancing riflemen.”
Howe's fearlessness under fire was always an inspiration, especially to his favorite troops, the light infantry. “They skirmished with us for about half an hour and would probably have continued if General Howe had not brought up two cannon and fired several grape shot at the riflemen, whereupon they retreated. We lost about 30 men killed and wounded, the rebels, without doubt, lost many more.” According to von Münchhausen, “General Howe…remained in this position for two more hours, showing the rebel gentlemen that he was waiting for them with this small corps. But since they showed no inclination to come and do battle, he proceeded with great caution and reached Amboy unmolested.”137 Sgt. Thomas Sullivan of the 49th wrote, “Before the Army reached Amboy, the Enemy made three different attacks upon the Rear, and were as often repulsed.”138
One of Wayne's officers, Colonel Frazer, offered a considerably different version of the fight at Brunswick Bridge:
Genl Wayne with part of his Brigade amounting to about 500 was sent off to intercept their march on the East side of the Rariton. About Sunrise our vigilant countryman began to fire on a very large Body across the Bridge at the Landing, they fled with the greatest Precipitation though at least 5 to one superior…. Wayne however with his little party about 500 Rifle kept on the attack from Hill to Hill where they had fortified themselves till he had put the whole to flight, he follow'd them while Sullivan and some others took possession of Brunswick. They had set fire to two small vessels with Stores and attempted to Burn a New Bridge they had built, but in vain.
Regarding casualties, Frazer reported, “The Best accounts We have, make their loss from the time they went to Somerset to the end of this Engagement 500 at least—they made the Best of their way to Amboy where they were strongly fortified. I saw from a Hill near our Camp the whole of the Engagement, Our Division being order'd to stand their ground till further Orders.”139
From the east side of the Raritan, Nicholas Cresswell also witnessed the battle and the line of march close up, noting the behavior of the men in this “minor skirmish” and the deadly fire at close range:
Some of the Rebels’ Scouting parties fired upon our Sentinels, which brought on a sharp skirmish. I happened to see them in the bushes before they fired, but mistook them for some of our rangers. They were about 300 yards from me. When the engagement began I got upon a little hillock to see the better, but an honest Highlander advised me to retire behind a small breastwork just by…. I had a very good view of their proceedings. When they were about 100 yards from each other both parties fired, but I did not observe any fall. They still advanced to the distance of about 40 yards or less, and fired again, I then saw a good number fall on both sides. Our people then rushed upon them with their bayonets and the others took to their heels, I heard one of them call out “murder!” lustily…. A brisk fire then began from six field pieces the Rebels had secreted in the Woods, which did some mischief to our men, the engagement lasted about thirty-five minutes. Our people took the Field pieces about 40 prisoners and killed about 150 of the Scoundrels with the loss of 39 killed and 27 wounded.140
Washington told Congress that day, “Gen. Green desires me to make mention of the conduct and bravery of General Wayne and Col. Morgan, and of their officers and men upon this occasion, as they constantly advanced upon an enemy far superior to them in numbers.”141 The closeness of the action was further described by the commander in chief: “By some late Accounts I fancy the British Grenadiers got a pretty severe peppering yesterday by Morgan's Rifle Corps. They fought, it seems, a considerable time within the distance of, from twenty, to forty yards.”142
Capt. David Harris of the 1st Pennsylvania noted an episode with one of his fellow officers:
Coll. Butler, Captain Parr, with two subalterns, and about 50 privates, are detached in Morgan's Partizan Corps. Captain Parr has killed three or four men himself this Summer. His expressions at the Death of one I shall ever Remember. Major Miller had the Command of a Detachment, and had a skirmish at very close shot with a party of Highlanders. One of them being quite open, he motioned to Capt. Parr to kill him, which he did in a trice, and, as he was falling, Parr said: “I say, by God, Sawny, I am in you.” I assure you Parr's bravery on every occasion does him great Honour.143
As soon as the shooting was over, “I went to the place where I saw the two parties fire upon each other first before the wounded were removed,” Nicholas Cresswell wrote, “but I never before saw such a shocking scene, some dead others dying, death in different shapes.” Horrified, he heard “some of the wounded making the most pitiful lamentations, others that were of different parties cursing each other as the author of their misfortunes. One old Veteran I observed (that was shot through both legs and not able to walk) very coolly and deliberately loading his piece and cleaning it from blood. I was surprised at the sight and asked him his reasons for it. He, with a look of contempt, said, ‘To be ready in case any of the Yankees come that way again.’”
Cresswell also observed: “All the Country houses were in flames as far as we could see. The Soldiers are so much enraged they will set them on fire, in spite of all the Officers c
an do to prevent it. They seem to leave the Jerseys with reluctance, the train of Artillery and Waggons extends about nine miles and is upwards of 1000 in number.”144 A Hessian officer confirmed, “The entire army marched back to Amboy. All the houses along the road were set on fire.”145
“The enemy evacuated Brunswick this morning, and retired to Amboy, burning many houses as they went along,” Washington informed Congress. “Some of them, from the appearance of the flames, were considerable buildings.”146 A British soldier, Pvt. John Warrel of the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers, reported that “on the retreat from Brunswick his Regiment was one of the last that marched, that they were ordered to set fire to a large white house in the skirts of the town which had been used as a Storehouse (this probably was burned on account of some stores [the army] could not take away…).” Warrel further stated that “the general conversation amongst the men on the retreat was that they were intended to go up the North river.”147
After more than six months of occupation, New Brunswick was left a shambles and the condition of the surrounding countryside was deplorable. Cresswell, who stayed in the British camp across the Raritan from the town the night before the evacuation, wrote in his diary, “Almost bit to death with Mosquitoes and poisoned with the stink of some Rebels, who have been buried about three weeks in such a slight manner that wagons have cut up parts of the half corrupted carcasses and made them stink most horribly.”148 The town itself was a disgusting wreck, not only from the usual wear and tear of soldiers, but also from deliberate vandalism and fouling of the houses with filth. “I was at Brunswick just after the enemy had left it,” Lt. Col. William Palfrey of Massachusetts, the paymaster general of the Continental Army, wrote. “Never let the British troops upbraid the Americans with want of cleanliness, for such dog kennels as their huts were my eyes never beheld.” He noted with disgust, “Mr. Burton's house, where Lord Cornwallis resided, stunk so I could not bear to enter it. The houses were torn to pieces, and the inhabitants as well as the soldiers have suffered greatly for want of provisions.”149
Col. Percy Frazer of the 5th Pennsylvania confirmed both Cresswell's and Palfrey's observations. “They have been fam'd for cleanliness and but every account and every thing I have seen of them contradict that Character,” he wrote. “Their Tents, etc., and Quarters exceed every thing for Nastiness,” and numerous bodies were “found buried in the cellars of Brunswick…with a design to keep their Mortality a Secret. In places numbers have been dug up after the late engagements with them, that they have hall'd from the field.”150
Artist Charles Willson Peale of Philadelphia went with Washington's army to observe, paint and sketch, and offer his services as a militia officer. “How solitary it looked to see so many Farms without a single animal—many Houses Burnt & others Rendered unfit for use,” he wrote. “The Fences all distroyed and many fields the wheat Reaped while quite Green.” New Brunswick itself “has some hundreds of Houses, but, judged at this time that it had only 30 familys Living [in] it. The Enemy having Terrifyed many of them by telling them we would hang them all. Here was much distruction of the Houses. The Presbeterian Meeting Torn to pieces. The English Church was in Tolerable order.”151
Percy Frazer described the scene to Polly:
On Monday I went down to take a view of Brunswic, but believe me the Worst Accounts you have heard of their rapine fall infinitely short of the reality, it passes all description, the greatest part of the Houses within their limits for 4 or 5 miles around Bunswic, Burnt, or Pull'd down or otherwise tore to pieces, not a sign of a Fence to be seen and a universal scene of savage Barbarity and Cruelty presented themselves to View and this to those who had taken protection from the mighty infamous Howe. I have had information from undoubted authority that while they Were about Somerset they Violated many Women forcibly, two they hung by the Heels. One of whom an elderly Woman and of good family died immediately on her being taken down, they cut down many Orchards, destroy'd all the furniture that came in their Way, wounded many and kill'd some of the inhabitants and on their retreat from Somerset and Brunswick Burnt the greatest part of the Houses along the road.
Thinking of home and the Loyalists among his Chester County neighbors, Percy added, “I sincerely wish those stubborn advocates for British Tyranny in our neighborhood cou'd only make it their Business to take a small ride and see the Devastation and ruin the deluded inhabitants of the Jersey have been treated with.”152
What at first appeared to be a humiliating and hurried British withdrawal from New Brunswick was actually part of a carefully crafted strategic maneuver to lure Washington out of the mountains and into the plains of East Jersey. Continental forces now occupied New Brunswick, and Maj. Gen. William Alexander, “Lord Stirling” of New Jersey, was positioned on Washington's left flank at Short Hills, several miles north of New Brunswick and east of Bound Brook. The Americans began to send more forces down toward Perth Amboy—just as Howe hoped.
Sir William shrewdly calculated that the appearance of evacuation to Staten Island and to the fleet would be enough temptation for Washington to risk an attack on the British rear guard. He was partially right—the Americans kept a close eye on the activities at Perth Amboy and Staten Island and steadily came closer. On Tuesday, June 24, “We were order'd to march to Quibble Town about 5 miles toward the Enemy,” Colonel Frazer wrote. “Our Generals went to reconnoiter the Enemy but found they were so very strongly posted that it would be Madness to attack and run the risk of a Defeat.” The British and Hessians “were posted on a Hill near Amboy, the Rariton cover'd their left Wing, their Right extended to the sound, a Battery of 32 pieces of Heavy Cannon cover'd their Front.” With a brashness similar to that of his good friend and commander Anthony Wayne, Frazer commented, “Thus they were station'd, and the Mighty Conquerers of America amounting to near 15,000, were satisfied to have their partys, their Guards and Centry's insulted hourly by our Rifle men and scouts.”153
Or so it seemed. “Everything concurred, along with the vanity natural to mankind, in inducing the Americans to believe, that this retreat was not only real, but that it proceeded from a knowledge of their superiority, and a dread of their power,” The Annual Register reported. “Even Washington himself, with all his caution and penetration, was so far imposed upon by this feint, that he quitted his secure posts upon the Hills, and advanced.”154
Then Howe made his move. In the middle of the night on June 25, Cornwallis quietly led a column rapidly toward Scotch Plains and Short Hills by way of Woodbridge, intending to cut Stirling's force off from the mountain passes. Another British column under Gen. John Vaughan, with Sir William Howe in attendance, moved toward New Brunswick and then turned north toward Scotch Plains.
The strategy was a replay of the Battle of Long Island, where Howe had masterfully outflanked and nearly annihilated Washington the previous year, capturing Lord Stirling and Gen. John Sullivan in the process. This time, as he once again went after Stirling, Howe hoped to coax Washington out of his strong position in the mountains and catch him in a pincer movement.
Near Ash Swamp, about sunrise, “Cornwallis's column came upon a picket of Lord Stirling's force at six o'clock,” Captain von Münchhausen wrote.
Stirling's picket ran off after a few shots. Both columns continued on their march till about eight o'clock in the morning, during which time there was a steady fire on us from out of the bushes, and from behind trees. Their fire was answered by the Hessian Jägers, the English light infantry and our side patrols. Then we met a corps of about 600 men with three cannon on a hill before a woods. They held their position until we approached them with some deployed battalions and cannon, whereupon they hurriedly withdrew into the woods behind them.
Not long after this first encounter with the advance guard, von Münchhausen said:
On a bare hill before some woods, we came upon approximately 2500 men with six cannon. They started cannon fire early, at a distance of 1000 paces, and then began with small arms fire. We took tw
o 12-pounders and several 6-pounders to our left flank, where we had some rising ground. From our right flank the Hessian grenadier battalion von Minnegerode ascending the slope in deployed formation, attacked their left flank. Our battalion had to move considerably to the right in order to outflank their left flank. The rebels continued a strong but not very effective fire upon us. They finally fired grape-shot at von Minnegerode's battalion, but after that, they ran away into the woods.155
The flank companies of the Guards launched a bayonet charge up a steep hill, and the Grenadier Company captured one of the guns. “The Light Infantry, a Battalion of Hessian Grenadiers, and the Grenadiers of the Guards, commanded by my friend Sir George Osborn, distinguished themselves very much upon this occasion,” Lt. Col. William Harcourt of the 16th Queen's Light Dragoons wrote, “and took three pieces of Cannon, with some prisoners.”156 Captain André noted, “They were French guns.”157
Sgt. Thomas Sullivan of the 49th Regiment caught the spirit and enthusiasm of the attack in his account:
The Troops vying with each other upon this occasion attacked the Enemy so close, that, tho’ they were inclined to resist, could not long maintain their ground against so much Impetuosity, but were soon dispersed on all sides, leaving behind three Pieces of Brass Cannon, 3 Captains and 60 men killed, and upwards of 200 Officers and men wounded and taken. Our Loss was 5 men killed, and 30 wounded. The ardour and merit of the engaged Troops on this occasion was highly commendable. One Piece of Cannon was taken by the Guards, the other two by Colonel Mingerode's Battallion of Hessian Grenadiers.158
A captain of the Guards Light Company, the Honorable John Finch, was mortally wounded while leading his men up the hill. Finch attempted to capture not only the guns, but also Lord Stirling himself. “The Light Company of the Guards…fell in with a considerable body of the enemy, and lost half the Company killed and wounded,” according to Lt. Martin Hunter of the 52nd Light Company. “Captain Finch, a very fine young man, was killed.”159 An American officer wrote:
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