The Lost Schuyler

Chapter 6

June 26th, 1778

        A year has gone past and the suffering has finally come to a close. Now there are bigger problems. Angela was sitting in Washington's tent next to Charles Lee and Lafayette discussing the next battle with the British troops. It was British General Clinton and General Cornwallis this time. We were fighting in Monmouth,

    "Your excellency, this isn't really a good idea." Lee tried to say but Lafayette cut him off. "This is the perfect opportunity for us! You always talked about waiting for the right time to strike and this is it, sir!" Angela saw Lee roll his eyes so she took Lafayette's side. "Lafayette is right, sir. This is an opportunity. If we plan this out right, we'll be able to get a better chance at winning the war." Washington's smile is all Angela needed to see to know that they won this argument.

    Angela could see the irritation and fear on Lee's face but Lafayette's excited smile helped her calm down a bit. That was a mistake.

    Angela went back to training the recruits. She knew that the Patriots outnumbered the British two-to-one, but it was still worrisome. What if Charles Lee betrays them? What if he decides to join the British mid-battle and just randomly turn around to shoot them. 'That last one is just crazy but still!' Angela thought.

    Two days have passed and they started marching to Monmouth. It was hot and humid and Angela wasn't worried about winning because her troops trained harder than usual. Soon, Angela had to get off Magnet and march with her battalion with Lee's battalion. Washington and Lafayette's battalion were still behind.

    Angela could hear all of Lee's stuttering and decided to butt-in. "LEE!" Lee swiftly turned towards Angela, fear in his eyes. "Calm down. Focus. What is your soldiers' mission?" Lee slowly nodded, he didn't stutter as much when he repeated himself. The soldiers nodded, saluted and started to move out. Angela made her way over to Lee. "Hey, if you get scared, just make your way over and fight next to me." Angela smiled and Lee nodded with a smile of his own.

    Angela started to move out behind her troops while Lee followed his. Angela's troops reached the British army and she began to divide her soldiers. She sent a row of troops left, a row of troops right, and one row with her. When she looked over to where Lee's troops were supposed to be, no one was there. She panicked and made sure that the troops going to the right made sure to check where they went.

    "General Allen, Lee's forces are retreating!" Angela was confused and angry at the same time. She left one of her most trusted soldiers in charge as she went to rally up Lee's battalion. When she finally caught up with Lee's troops, she had to run in front of them to stop them. "Are y'all just losing your heads or something!?" The troops looked down in shame but pointed towards Charles Lee who was watching the battle from the sidelines. Angela marches up to him.

    Before Angela was able to give Lee a piece of her mind, they both heard an angrier yell. "WHAT THE HELL ARE Y'ALL DOING!?" They turned and saw an angry Washington riding with his battalion. Angela rushed back to her battalion that was fighting and helped as much as she could.

     In the midst of the battle, Angela felt a sharp pain in her right shoulder. Her piercing scream got everyone's attention and two of her troops got her out of the battlefield before she met her demise. Angela didn't see Lee but saw General Greene and General Alexander helping her troops on the left and right. She also saw Lafayette commanding part of Lee's battalion while General Wayne manned Lafayette's front.

    Angela was soon taken away to get her shoulder treated. Washington came to see her an hour later. "General Cornwallis was forced to fall back, we'll wait until tomorrow to attack again. Hopefully, your shoulder will recover by then. We need you on the battlefield, Allen." Washington stated with a laugh and Angela couldn't help but laugh with him.

The camp was soon set up around the same area Angela was being treated in. While Angela tried to sleep, she heard a faint voice. She looked over and saw General Wayne and Washington walking and talking. "Sir! If we attack now, they won't have enough time to retreat!" Wayne's voice echoed through the camp. "Wayne," Washington stopped and put his hand on Wayne's shoulder. He looked like Wayne's father. "Do NOT raise your voice at me. I understand where you're coming from, but our troops are tired and overheated. We will wait to attack tomorrow." Wayne and Angela could tell that Washington was done with the argument so Wayne shut up.

Wayne reminded Angela a little of both Lee and Lafayette. Irritation from not fighting and irritation from not being listened to. Angela couldn't bear to keep her eyes open. She had a peaceful sleep that night.

Angela woke up to yelling. "THEY'RE GONE!" she looked up to see General Wayne enraged. Washington looked confused when Wayne came up to him. "The British are GONE! We should've attacked! We could've won this fight!" Wayne rambled on, furious with his General. Washington, now a little annoyed at Wayne's behavior, cut him off before he could continue his rant. "Wayne, I'm telling you now, if we attacked yesterday, we wouldn't have won. We have to patiently wait." Wayne looked at Washington as if he'd grown two heads.

Washington left Wayne standing there and walked over to Angela. "How's your shoulder, Allen? We'll be heading back to Valley Forge soon. The British retreated back to New York, I assume." Angela just nodded with a smile in response. "Wayne seemed really upset. What happened with Lee? I didn't see him that much on the battlefield." Angela had an idea of what happened to him but she wanted to know anyway. "Oh, Lee lost command to Lafayette and General Wayne." Angela just nodded again. Washington soon walked away to help his troops pack. Angela laid back down and sat there for a while. She knew Lee commanding a battalion would be a mistake.