Ridin' with the Geek

I don't get out of the office much anymore, so I jumped at the chance to participate in a Staff Ride conducted by Brigadier General (promotable) Nick Justice which took place at Monmouth Battlefield State Park on 25 September. The park is doing just fine since the state nearly shut it down back in April.

In preparation for the event, each participant was given reading material related to the battle and a personality to portray. My assignment was Brigadier General Edward Mathew who commanded the British Foot Guards at Monmouth. Mathew instituted some changes to the Guard's uniforms for service in America and since I'm a visual type anyway, I produced this gouache study to illustrate them. So this is what "my command" would have looked like on June 28, 1778. Pretty cool, huh?

Now, I've spent countless hours out on that battlefield - heck, I've slept there numerous times - but I've never had a detailed tour of it. This was a rare chance to, a. get a tour and b. participate in a staff ride. As you'll see, the weather was iffy. A nor'easter was blowing in and the cool, gray and windy weather was in marked contrast to the 96 degree heat the soldiers suffered with during the battle. Indeed, as many succumbed to the sun as did to shot and shell.

Our little class trip started with a pre-brief the day before the "ride". Pictured below is the scene I encountered as I entered the conference room. A sand table of sorts marks all the key terrain features and is populated by toy soldiers representing the troop movements. Even our tour guide, Dr., COL (retired) Jim Johnson has donned the uniform of an ensign in a New York Continental Line regiment.

COL Johnson did a fantastic job explaining the battle to us in terms we could all understand. He has taught at the US Military Academy at West Point and it showed. Jim has a way of making history sound more like a story and less like a lecture. BG Justice reminded us that the point of a staff ride is to take lessons learned from the past and apply them to what we do now. That gave us something to think out before the "ride" the next day.

We started our grown up class trip at 8:15am when the bus left from Fort Monmouth to Monmouth Battlefield. The first stop was the visitors center where resident historian, Gary Stone gave us an overview. After that, it became predominantly a walking tour of the ground. At each stop, key figures were called on to explain their roles in that particular stage of the battle. As we followed the footsteps of the soldiers you could see, in your minds eye, that battleline on the ridge ahead suddenly erupt in fire and smoke. You could hear the balls as they buzzed by or made that sickening thump that told of another casualty. I think all of us experienced an emotional response to what we learned out there.

This wouldn't be the venue for a full history of the Battle of Monmouth, but here's some photos to give you an idea of what we saw last week.

Gary Stone points to key terrain features

The scene were General Charles Lee met Washington and near where "my" guards were ambushed by the Americans.

A view from the Parsonage Farm where some heavy fighting took place.

The view from Perrine Ridge where most of Washington's Army was arrayed.

Ok, so what of lessons learned? We had an after action review and here's what I got out of it. Both Washington and Clinton (the British commander) achieved their objectives. Neither really wanted a big battle. Clinton marched his army to New York and arrived intact. Pretty simple. Washington was eager to show off his newly trained army. Baron Von Steuben famously introduced a standard drill manual and taught it to the army during the long winter at Valley Forge. At Monmouth, Washington put on a show. His army, for the first time, went toe-to-toe with the British and didn't run. That was all he wanted.

As a graphic designer, I see this as "re-branding". He wanted to change the brand message of his Continental Army from brave, but bumbling amateurs, to brave, efficient, professional soldiers. That is a timely thought for me. The product I support is changing from just an army thing to a Joint (meaning Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines) product. In the coming year I will have to "re-brand" our project accordingly.

Except, I don't have a Von Steuben.