History is for Everyone

NJ, USA

Old Tennent Church

Church

Old Tennent Church is a colonial-era Presbyterian church built in 1751, located adjacent to Monmouth Battlefield State Park. The church served as a field hospital during the Battle of Monmouth, and its cemetery contains the graves of soldiers who died in the engagement.

What Happened Here

Old Tennent Church was built by the congregation of the Tennent Presbyterian Church, named for the Reverend William Tennent, a leading figure in the Great Awakening. The white clapboard building, with its distinctive steeple and box pews, has been in continuous use since its construction. During the Battle of Monmouth, the church was converted into a hospital for wounded soldiers, and bullet holes from the battle are still visible in the walls. The adjacent cemetery contains graves of Continental Army soldiers killed in the battle, including Lieutenant Colonel Henry Monckton of the British 2nd Grenadier Battalion, one of the highest-ranking British officers killed at Monmouth. The church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and continues to hold regular services.

Visiting Today

Address

448 Tennent Road, Manalapan, NJ 07726

Hours

Sunday services; tours by appointment

Admission

Free

Connected Events

Feb 1778
Feb 1778
Valley Forge Training Tested at Monmouth

Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Marquis de Lafayette, Anthony Wayne

Jun 1778
British March from Philadelphia to New York

Sir Henry Clinton, Charles Cornwallis

Jun 1778
Continental Army Departs Valley Forge

Sir Henry Clinton, Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben

Jun 1778
War Council at Hopewell

George Washington, Charles Lee, Anthony Wayne, Marquis de Lafayette, Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, Sir Henry Clinton

Jun 1778
Lee Demands Advance Command

Charles Lee, Marquis de Lafayette, George Washington

Jun 1778
Battle of Monmouth

George Washington, Charles Lee, Sir Henry Clinton, Charles Cornwallis, Anthony Wayne, Marquis de Lafayette, Alexander Hamilton

Jun 1778
Molly Pitcher at the Cannon

Mary Ludwig Hays (Molly Pitcher)