MANALAPAN - In mid-June, the author of "Fatal Sunday," Mark Lender, checked an email address that he had left unmonitored and saw an email from a historian with the Monmouth County Historical Society.
Lender was surprised to learn that an attorney had appeared before the Manalapan planning board in March and claimed that he had spoken with a “Rutgers professor” who wrote "Fatal Sunday," a history of the 1778 Revolutionary War military campaign that led to the Battle of Monmouth.
The attorney, John Giunco, told the planning board that the author did not find evidence that troops came from the south onto the battlefield. Lender, who lives in Virginia and has not worked at Rutgers since 1982, had never heard of or spoken to Giunco. Neither has his coauthor Garry Stone, who lives in Pennsylvania.
The March exchange was in regard to a proposal to build four industrial buildings across from the Route 33 entrance to the Monmouth Battlefield State Park, just to the south of the park.
Not the only building:Manalapan strikes deal after lawsuit, OKs 'flex-space' building near Monmouth Battlefield
Giunco, a land use attorney, owns the property across from the state park with John Ploskonka, an engineer. The Giunco family also owns Wemrock Orchards at the corner of Wemrock Road and Route 33.
At the March meeting, Giunco said, “There’s a recognized history of the battle. It’s called the 'Fatal Sunday,' and it was written by a Rutgers professor, who studied it. I had the opportunity to actually tour the battlefield with him. He does not, did not ever, nor could I actually find anything that showed … the American colonials or the British came onto the battlefield from the south. All of the confrontations came east — west and east.”
Lender and Stone, who have both retired and have not been to the state park in years, disagreed with that assessment.
The Battle of Monmouth that took place on June 28, 1778, was a turning point in George Washington’s military career and a pivotal moment in the Revolutionary War. As the British Army evacuated from Philadelphia, it moved across New Jersey toward Sandy Hook. Along the way, the British were met with skirmishes and then a full-on battle at what is now the state park.
Upper Freehold fight:Radar, shovels needed to study Revolutionary War camp at proposed Monmouth warehouse
Historians view the battle as a draw — the Americans held the field, while the British continued their retreat toward Sandy Hook and their base in New York City anyway — but the battle was notable because the Americans held their own in a full-on fight, rallied by Washington when they began to falter.
“One thing I need to emphasize is that it’s very, very difficult to say specifically 'this' was the battlefield,” Lender said. “Troops were coming and going, particularly militia were all over the place during this campaign, which was, as far as New Jersey was concerned, this was one of the most intensive areas of active military operations over the entire war.”
He said Giunco’s description was oversimplified and troop movement was not exclusively east and west.
Stone, a retired archaeologist who worked for Monmouth Battlefield State Park, said the archaeology team was able to pinpoint areas of battle by using metal detectors. Due to the farm on site, the property in question could have attracted soldiers for plunder, food or rest, he said. Lender said farmlands could be used as roads by military operations.
'My heart lifts':Battle of Monmouth painting saved from sale, new exhibits coming
“You had farm lanes all over the place,” Lender said.
In an email, Stone wrote that the property “should be plowed, disked roughly, surface collected and metal detected.”
After residents and the Friends of Monmouth Battlefield spoke in opposition to the development in March, the planning board voted 5-3 to grant the site preliminary approval. As a condition for final approval, it required a Phase 1A archaeological survey, which is a literary review of relevant documents. Giunco said he is in the process of hiring the firm PS&S to perform that work.
When asked about his statement to the board, Giunco said, “I have never spoken directly with the authors.”
He said he heard one of the authors speak at the state park on one occasion and had toured the battlefield with a “young fellow who was very knowledgeable” on another occasion.
Giunco said the property he owns is not part of the state park and it is not listed in historical registries.
Monmouth campaign:Freehold barn, with beams burned by British and now sitting next to Walmart, may be saved
“The applications met all of the standards of the township,” he said. “There was no record of historical activity on the site. That application was without variance. I don’t understand what the issue is.”
Lender balks at his reputation being used in a land-use application. He said he supports efforts to preserve the land.
Olivia Liu is a reporter covering transportation, Red Bank and western Monmouth County. She can be reached at oliu@gannett.com.
Local New Jersey State
Most Popular
Comments / 0