The young La Fayette was with Lee.
He knew what Washington had ordered, but Lee said to him: "You
don't know the British soldiers; we cannot stand against them."
Lee's conduct looks like deliberate treachery. Instead of
attacking the British he allowed them to attack him. La Fayette
managed to send a message to Washington in the rear; Washington
dashed to the front and, as he came up, met soldiers flying from
before the British. He rode straight to Lee, called him in
flaming anger a "damned poltroon," and himself at once took
command. There was a sharp fight near Monmouth Court House. The
British were driven back and only the coming of night ended the
struggle. Washington was preparing to renew it in the morning,
but Clinton had marched away in the darkness. He reached the
coast on the 30th of June, having lost on the way fifty-nine men
from sunstroke, over three hundred in battle, and a great many
more by desertion. The deserters were chiefly Germans, enticed by
skillful offers of land. Washington called for a reckoning from
Lee. He was placed under arrest, tried by court-martial, found
guilty, and suspended from rank for twelve months. Ultimately he
was dismissed from the American army, less it appears for his
conduct at Monmouth than for his impudent demeanor toward
Congress afterwards.
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