Monmouth Battlefield State Park

File:Monmouth_Battlefield_museum.tif

Monmouth Battlefield State Park preserves a rural eighteenth-century landscape of orchards, fields, woods and wetlands, encompassing miles of trails for hiking and horseback riding, space for picnic areas, and a restored Revolutionary War farmhouse called the Craig House.

The park's visitor center rests atop Combs Hill, a hill commanded by the Continental Army artillery. Within the park's visitor center an array of excavated artifacts from battle are on display. On December 5, 2011, the Monmouth Battlefield Visitor Center was closed for renovations through Spring 2013.{{cite web|title=Monmouth Battlefield State Park|url=http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/monbat.html|publisher=NJ Department of Environmental Protection|access-date=2011-12-05}} The renovated Visitors Center was officially reopened on June 13, 2013.[http://www.revolutionarynj.org/re-opening-of-monmouth-battlefield/ Re-Opening of Monmouth Battlefield! Battlefield and Visitor Center Rededication and 235th Anniversary Reenactment of the Battle of Monmouth a Great Success] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320181334/http://www.revolutionarynj.org/re-opening-of-monmouth-battlefield/ |date=2015-03-20 }}, revolutionarynj.org, accessed 6/2/6/13.

Every second weekend of June (usually Father’s Day weekend), an annual reenactment of the 1778 American Revolutionary War battle is performed and has been so for decades.

The battlefield is traversed by the rights-of-way (ROW) used by the Farmingdale and Squan Village Railroad/Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad and is under consideration for use as part of the Monmouth Ocean Middlesex Line.{{cite news | last = Berry | first = Coleen Dee | title = Battlefield Latest Holdup for Rail Line | work = The New York Times | date = September 5, 2008 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/07railnj.html | access-date = 24 September 2017}}

{{main|Battle of Monmouth}}

File:MonmouthBattleField.jpg

On June 28, 1778, as Sir Henry Clinton and his troops departed from the Monmouth Court House, George Washington and his Continental Army troops plotted an ambush on the rear column of Clinton's British Army soldiers. It became one of the largest battles of the American Revolution. It took place in the fields and forests that now make up Monmouth Battlefield State Park, though the battle soon ended in a standoff.{{Cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/virtual_tours/monmouth_battlefield.html|title = Virtual Tours - Monmouth Battlefield}}

The Battle of Monmouth is notable for creating the American legend of Molly Pitcher, a housewife who boldly took her husband's place at the cannon only moments after his death. In honor of Pitcher, a white cenotaph was erected near the property of the battlefield.

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The site of the battlefield originally contained many colonial-era farmhouses though many did not survive the rapid development of the area in the 20th century. Three of the original seven farmhouses that were present during the battle are still standing in the park. These include the Sutfin Farmhouse (1731); the Rhea-Applegate House (1745); and the Craig House (1746).

Three other homes were built on the battlefield. The Conover-Perrine House (1832) is to the north of the park, erected on the site of the original 18th-century Perrine House, an important example of late Federal Architecture. The Italianate Cobb House was later constructed in 1872 near the Conover-Perrine House. The Combs' Farmhouse (mid-18th Century) was demolished sometime in the 1960s and was located near the park's playground and ice pond.

Image:Monmouth Battlefield (26).JPG|Old Tennent Church

Image:Cobbhouse_monmouth.jpg|1872 Cobb House, Monmouth Battlefield

Image:Mollypitcher_spring.jpg|Molly Pitcher Spring Marker

Image:Mollypitcher_spring2.jpg|Molly Pitcher Spring

Image:Old_barn_on_the_Craig_House_property.png|Abandoned barn near the Craig House

Image:Cornfield_Monmouth.JPG|Field facing the Sutfin Farmhouse

Image:Sutfin_house.jpg|Sutfin House

Image:Von_steuben.jpg|General Von Steuben Memorial

Image:Rhea_Applegate_House.jpg|Rhea Applegate House

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• [http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/monbat.html Official Site]
• [http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/virtual_tours/monmouth_photo_gallery.html Photo gallery]

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{{New Jersey Parks}}

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Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey

Category:1778 in the United States

Category:American Revolutionary War sites

Category:National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey

Category:Museums in Monmouth County, New Jersey

Category:American Revolutionary War museums in New Jersey

Category:Historic house museums in New Jersey

Category:Parks in Monmouth County, New Jersey

Category:Houses in Monmouth County, New Jersey

Category:Freehold Township, New Jersey

Category:Manalapan Township, New Jersey

Category:State parks of New Jersey

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Monmouth County, New Jersey

Category:New Jersey Register of Historic Places

Category:American Revolution on the National Register of Historic Places

Category:Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey