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The Continental Army Of General Washington

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The Continental Army, under the command of General Washington, had followed the British forces to an area located in Freehold, NJ. General Washington’s use of IPB played out on multiple fronts during the pre-battle phase. In one aspect, General Washington directed forces under the command of Major General Charles Lee to harass the British rear guard. This started June 18, 1778, as the British forces exited Philadelphia with 12,000 personnel and 12 mile baggage train (Stryker, 1927). The baggage train consisted of personnel goods, minimal resupplies, and basic food items. General Washington also had troops add to the challenges of the movement by mudding wells, destroying bridges and constructing blockades on roads. Unbeknownst to General Clinton, General Washington had sent an advance unit to direct the New Jersey Militia. Generals William Maxwell and Philemon Dickerson, ordered the NJ Militia to destroy nearly every bridge along known routes (Mitnick, 2005). This caused General Clinton to either repair the bridges or wade across shallow rivers crosses leading to the further exhaustion his men and beasts of burden. This also directed the British troops to move towards the Monmouth courthouse. The Continentals’ prediction of routes through IPB allowed for continuous harassment of the British troops while at a safe distance. General Clinton used the date of June 27th, to rest his men and reconnoiter the areas by scouts. He used his scouts to determine possible

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