Heat Casualties at Monmouth

The Battle of Monmouth was fought in extreme heat, with temperatures reportedly exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Soldiers on both sides collapsed and died from heatstroke — the British, in their heavy wool uniforms and carrying full equipment, may have suffered more severely.

The heat shaped the battle tactically, forcing pauses in fighting and limiting the ability of both sides to pursue advantages. Private Joseph Plumb Martin of the Continental Army recorded seeing soldiers fall from heat as readily as from gunfire. The water carriers — including the woman who became Molly Pitcher — were not performing a symbolic service but a survival function without which gun crews could not have continued firing.