e retreat and saved
the day. His presence and the courage he displayed ended the disorder
and put new life into the men. An officer, who saw him at the time, said
his anger was splendid and he "swore like an angel from heaven."

Washington spent the night upon the field, his head pillowed on the
roots of a tree. At daybreak he arose to renew the attack, but the enemy
had learned one of his own tricks and, as Washington himself put it,
"had stolen off in the night as silent as the grave." It was at this
battle of Monmouth that Molly Pitcher became a heroine. She had been
carrying water to the men in action. At one gun, six men had been
killed, the last one her husband. As he fell, she seized the ramrod from
his hand and took his place. Washington was proud of her courage and
gave her the rank and pay of her husband.

The love and respect in which the army held Washington were increased by
his magnificent daring and splendid generalship in this battle. Congress
thanked him "for his great good conduct." General Charles Lee, who had
always been disrespectful to Washington and who had tried his best to
harm him, was court-martialed for insubordination (disobedience) and
deprived of his command. (Charles Lee was not connected with the Lees of
Virginia.) General Lee was really a brilliant soldier, but he was ruined
by his own jealous disposition. Washington treated him and all other
enemies with the kindness of a great mind and a true heart.

After the Battle of Monmouth, Clinton took up his quarters in New York
and Washington remained in New Jersey. Soon he received word that the
French King had sent a fleet of eighteen ships and four thousand
soldiers to help the colonists. The Americans were very glad of this,
thinking that the British fleet would now be destroyed; but the attack
of the French (August, 1778) was unsuccessful and they sailed away
without having done much good.

We have spoken several times of the Tories who sided with the British.
When the war broke out, the patriot settlers in the Wyoming Valley,
Pennsylvania, decided they would join in the defense of the country and
they drove all the Tories out of the Valley. Just after the Battle of
Monmouth (June 28, 1778), while all the fighting men were away, these
Tories got together seven hundred Indians and attacked the women and
children. Before Washington could send aid, the whole Valley was laid
waste. All the homes were burned. Hundreds were killed by the In