Chapter 14: Monmouth Court House


General Marie Lafayette led a group of near six thousand troops on the trail of Henry Clinton. With him in the sweltering heat was one General John Depp. Both were ecstatic at the fact that Lafayette had been given so much trust with this mission and this many men, though Lafayette tried to subdue it. Depp was actually whistling as he rode beside Lafayette, when he finally called for the men to rest a while in the shade. Lafayette looked at Depp, and said, "There's hardly any need for the men or the horses to suffer in this heat any more than they must. I'm sure a few minute's rest will hardly impede our progress."

General Wayne came to them in a short time, saying, "Generals, we are prepared to advance."

"Thank you, Mr. Wayne. We are awaiting the final instructions from General Washington. I have sent him the reports of the enemy's position."

"We should not wait too long. I'm certain Clinton won't." Depp smiled at "Mad Anthony" Wayne's impatience.

Then all three men turned to the sound of approaching hooves. Then they heard hounds. John's grip on his pistol tightened as Charles Lee rode up to them.


"I must admit, General Lafayette, that I did not expect this mission would actually come to pass. Once I was aware that General Washington had increased the number of troops in this command to near six thousand, I felt it was unwise for a junior officer such as yourself to maintain such important authority. This is a position best suited for the second in command of the army. I trust you agree?"

As John Depp struggled against his overwhelming urge to forget his rule of no witnesses and just shoot him right now, Lafayette handed the letter over to Wayne. Lafayette said, "Yes, General Lee. You are correct. It is entirely appropriate for this command to be under your authority." As those words left Lafayette's mouth, Depp was certain smoke had to be shooting from his own ears with the size of his anger.

"Ah, yes. Good, then. I shall make my headquarters in this house. You shall report to me here with any information you receive as to the enemy's disposition and activity."

"Yes, sir. Do you have any specific instructions for me, sir? Do you wish to place me in command of any troops?"

"Do whatever you've been doing, General," Lee said after a moment of surprised thought. "You're supposed to know your duty. General Wayne, if he's not certain, you may instruct him. Now, good day."

As they moved outside the house, Depp mimed drawing his pistol and shooting madly in Lee's general direction. Wayne spun around to Lafayette, said, "Instruct you? You are my senior officer. How could you stand before that man and maintain such...calm? He is only here because he suddenly realized he might miss out on a chance for some glory!"

"The orders, Anthony, are unfortunately clear," Depp said sadly. "He's in command, though what sudden madness struck Washington to allow it is beyond me."

"It does not require intellect to see that Lee could not just sit back there while...well, he could hardly allow himself to sit idly by while a Frenchman leads this attack." Wayne glanced at Lafayette. "I mean no offense, sir."

Interestingly, Lafayette was not displaying anger or irritation like the other two officers present—only disappointment.

"Well, gentlemen, the enemy is less than two hour's march. We'd do better planning tonight."

"So, dawn, then, General Lafayette?"

"A sound strategy, General. We can't assault now; it's far too late in the day."

"All right. Dawn. I hope you're right. If we wait any longer, Clinton will be gone. I wish I had the two of yours' faith in General Lee."

Depp shook his head. "Faith has absolutely nothing to do with it. He's in command, that's all."


That night proved Depp's suspicions. Orders came from Washington to attack whenever opportunity presented itself. The expectation was a meeting of senior command, consulting maps and battle plans. When they arrived at Lee's command, however, there was only a flustered aide saying Lee had simply rode off into the night, and had left no instructions at all for the aide. There were no plans sketched, no maps drawn, nothing at all to suggest intelligent command in the slightest.

Since all command decisions—deployment of brigades, even basic movement—were left up to Lee, the commanders stormed back to their camps. Meanwhile, Depp and Lafayette rode out to find Lee—though Depp's motive was far different than Lafayette's.


Depp rode through the dark night, moving through the trees with silent grace as only horses could. Then he dismounted, for he saw up no a hill in an open field, General Charles Lee.

He pulled the rifle from his saddle, and lay down in the dirt. He attached to it two things that he and Will had developed; one was a can-shaped object on the end which masked the sound of a shot, and field glasses attached to the top, making an early sniper's scope. He lay down in the earth, and firmly affixed General Lee in his sights. Then he saw Lee look up towards him, though he probably did not see him. He was about to give into impulse, when another figure appeared in the scopes: Marie du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette. Depp's finger left the trigger, and dismantling the items, he rode down to them.


As he approached unseen, he heard Lee declaring that the army could not stand up to the British on this field, or any other. Lafayette was struggling with his response, obviously fighting his own interests in Lee's untimely departure from the field.

"Sir, we have...you have General Washington's orders. We are to attack the British in the morning. Do you intend to carry out those orders?"

Lee's voice burst out. "How dare you question me? Certainly! I will follow the instructions I have been given!" Lee leaned towards Lafayette, and said, "Let me advise you, General Lafayette. I will bear no responsibility for the outcome. I have warned Washington, and I am warning you."

As Lafayette left, Depp said, "Warning of what? That you're going to run a like the coward you are?" Lee jumped, as he had not seen Depp.

"You..." Realization dawned. "That was you in the trees."

"It was," Depp said simply.

"I note that you didn't kill me."

Depp drew his pistol and lodged it firmly under Lee's chin. "Are you advising me that was a mistake?" Depp grinned evilly as fear entered Lee's eyes. "When you've only got one shot, it's best to wait for the opportune moment. That wasn't it. Nor is this." He uncocked the pistol, holstered it, and left.


At three in the morning, they began marching about, with no positions having been given to them. Depp charged to Lafayette, having no difficulty expressing his irritation at being awakened so early to not find Charles Lee in presence. "Well, Marie, where's that idiot Lee?"

"He still has not shown himself. John, take a look." He handed Depp field glasses, with which he observed the field.

"Oh, excellent. Who put those men that far out? Whoever it is, he needs a pay raise."

"This is a marvelous opportunity!"

"Indeed. This could be the perfect rout. Let us move forward."

"General Depp, what of General Lee?"

"What about him? If he doesn't plan on engaging the enemy, are we not obliged to do so in his absence? After all, we have Washington's orders, and last I looked, his orders take precedence over Lee's. We simply use that as authorization for troop deployment and the like."

"Rather subversive, isn't it, General?"

Depp smiled as he shrugged. "Hey; it gets the job done."

Then Lee appeared, saying, "Who ordered those men that far out? Go out there and order them to counter-march!"

Both left to do so, Depp muttering something about idiots and the name Lee, and after speaking with General Wayne, Depp left the field, saying he would attempt to send reinforcements up to whomever it was. Depp rode to General Scott, and said, "General Wayne is currently engaging the enemy. We need you to march forward and reinforce him!"

"General Depp, we have no orders from General Lee to do so!" Scott was obviously furious with Lee. "All we've done is march to and fro. I tell you, that man on the hill has no brain at all! You tell him that if I get no plan, I shall assist Wayne on my own initiative."

"Take initiative, General. We need it." Depp rode up to Lee, who was with Lafayette.

He then heard the words that doomed Lee. He said, "We cannot stand against them. We have no choice. We must retreat."


Depp loped away from the group, determined to find Washington and get him on the field. As he rode up to Washington's group, he saw Washington with a boy. He heard, "See to his care. Send him toward one of the creeks."

"Sir, the army is retreating," The boy said desperately to Washington.

Washington looked at the guards, said, "Hold him under guard; his madness could affect the others."

As Depp loped forward, he said loudly, hoping to puncture the bubbles of the men who supported Lee, "It is no madness, General Washington! We need your presence on the field immediately. The boy is right; General Lee ordered a retreat. We had routed the enemy, and he ordered us to retreat!"

"No...it cannot be..." Washington did not believe him.

"Come with me, sir. I'll take you to him; ask the fool yourself." Not waiting for response or reprimand, Depp rode back to Lee. Behind him, he saw Washington leave the group. He rode up to Lee, and said, "You best have a good excuse for General Washington. He's on his way right now." Lee seemed off in space, and said nothing. Depp knew that it was time for him to go. He departed for a small alcove of trees, and got ready.

He watched as Washington unleashed pure fury on Lee, as the man stupidly tried to cover his ass. He heard, too, and enjoyed the rage being directed finally at the idiot. He heard then the words that he longed to hear: "Mr. Lee, I am relieving you of your responsibility on this field. You will place yourself at the rear of this column."

As Washington rode away, Lee slowly sauntered off. Opportune moment...there were no witnesses, no men nearby. Depp quickly assembled his rifle, and found the center of the man's back. He decided it needed to be slow. He aimed low, and fired.

Charles Lee crumpled as his leg fell from under him. He tried to depart, but Depp came up, and looked at the man's eyes one final time. There was utmost hatred and stupidity in them as he realized what had happened. Depp drew his pistol, and affixed the silencer. "I once told you, Mr. Lee...never be alone...and this is an opportune moment. Goodbye, Mr. Lee." He fired once.

He then got his horse, and returned to the battlefield; the day was not over yet. Rather, it had just begun.


When the day ended, it was not because of anyone's total defeat. It was the horrid heat that took out both armies. They both simply could not continue, and did not. The British fled as soon as they could, Washington's army having been baked by the late sun. No one could find Charles Lee, and most assumed he had left discreetly, probably back to Virginia to sulk.

The army would prevail, and the second-in-command of the army would be filled by another. It was time to start anew.


When the British ferried themselves back to the city, they found themselves in the position that Washington needed, whether he knew it or not. The British, for all their might and movement, now occupied only two cities; Newport, Rhode Island, and New York City.

It was time for the war to be fought on Washington's terms.


A/N: Yes, okay, I gave in to my selfish desires and killed Charles Lee. The truth is that he returns to Virginia in disgrace. He requests a court-martial to clear his name from the 'cruel injustice' Washington placed on him. He is convicted of all charges, instead of clearing his name. He is then formally dismissed from the Army in 1780, and in 1782, he dies in Philadelphia at age 52. Far too late a death for my tastes, so I...altered things a little. He had no impact on teh war from Monmouth, so it was a safe thing to do. And I will be a little late in my regular updates-figure one every other day or so-I need to do some research on Caribbean action at this time. REVIEW!