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62-647: Similar to the unsuccessful Braddock Expedition early in the war, the strategic objective was the capture of Fort Duquesne, a French fort that had been constructed at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River in 1754. The site is now located in Pittsburgh 's Golden Triangle in the downtown area (Or The Point) Forbes commanded about 6,000 men, including a contingent of Virginians led by George Washington . Forbes, very ill, did not keep up with

124-516: A flying column ahead, with a slower force following with the artillery and wagons. The flying column of 1,300 crossed the Monongahela River on 9 July, within 10 miles (16 km) of their target, Fort Duquesne. Despite being very tired after weeks of crossing extremely hard terrain, many of the British regulars and provincial troops anticipated a relatively easy victory — or even for the French to abandon

186-511: A column some 2,100 strong. His command consisted of two regular line regiments, the 44th and 48th , in all 1,400 regular soldiers and 700 provincial troops from several of the Thirteen Colonies , and artillery and other support troops. With these men, Braddock expected to seize Fort Duquesne easily, and then push on to capture a series of French forts, eventually reaching Fort Niagara . George Washington , promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel of

248-458: A journey of about 110 miles (180 km). Braddock had received important assistance from Benjamin Franklin , who helped procure wagons and supplies for the expedition. Among the wagoners were two young men who would later become legends of American history: Daniel Boone and Daniel Morgan . Other members of the expedition included Ensign William Crawford and Charles Scott . Among the officers of

310-626: A large British force, but the French field commander Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu , who dressed himself in full war regalia complete with war paint, convinced them to follow his lead. By July 8, 1755, the Braddock force was on the land owned by the Chief Scout, Lieutenant John Fraser . That evening, the Native Americans sent delegates to the British to request a conference. Braddock chose Washington and Fraser as his emissaries. The Native Americans asked

372-516: A large proportion of the number we had. By sunset, the surviving British forces were retreating back down the road they had built. Braddock died of his wounds during the long retreat, on July 13, and is buried within the Fort Necessity parklands. Of the approximately 1,300 men Braddock had led into battle, 456 were killed and 422 wounded. Commissioned officers were prime targets and suffered greatly: out of 86 officers, 26 were killed and 37 wounded. Of

434-482: A myth by several military historians. European regular armies already employed irregular forces of their own and had extensive theories of how to use and counter-guerilla warfare. Stephen Brumwell argues just the opposite by stating that contemporaries of Braddock, like John Forbes and Henry Bouquet , recognized that "war in the forests of America was a very different business from war in Europe." Peter Russell argues it

496-530: A packer who worked for George Croghan in the trans-Appalachian fur trade. Finley first interested Boone in the abundance of game and other natural wonders of the Ohio Valley. He would take Boone on his first hunting trip to Kentucky 12 years later. Of the approximately 1,300 men Braddock led into battle, 456 were killed outright and 422 were wounded. Commissioned officers were prime targets and suffered greatly: out of 86 officers, 26 were killed and 37 wounded. Of

558-540: A straggler picked up by the French and scouting Indians. When we came there, we were attacked by a party of French and Indians, whose number, I am persuaded, did not exceed three hundred men; while ours consisted of about one thousand three hundred well-armed troops, chiefly regular soldiers, who were struck with such a panic that they behaved with more cowardice than it is possible to conceive. The officers behaved gallantly, in order to encourage their men, for which they suffered greatly, there being near sixty killed and wounded;

620-458: A strategy that did little but make the soldiers easy targets. The artillery teams tried to provide covering fire, but there was no space to load the pieces properly and the artillerymen had no protection from enemy sharpshooters. The provincial troops accompanying the British eventually broke ranks and ran into the woods to engage the French; confused by what they thought were enemy reinforcements, panicking British regulars started mistakenly firing on

682-593: The Battle of the Monongahela , or the Battle of the Wilderness , or just Braddock's Defeat , was officially begun. Braddock's force was approximately 1,400 men. The British faced a French and Native American force estimated to number between 300 and 900. The battle, frequently described as an ambush , was actually a meeting engagement , where two forces clash at an unexpected time and place. The quick and effective response of

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744-532: The Virginia Regiment on June 4, 1754 by Governor Robert Dinwiddie , was then just 23, knew the territory and served as a volunteer aide-de-camp to General Braddock. Braddock's Chief of Scouts was Lieutenant John Fraser of the Virginia Regiment. Fraser owned land at Turtle Creek , had been at Fort Necessity , and had served as Second-in-Command at Fort Prince George (replaced by Fort Duquesne by

806-449: The 50 or so women that accompanied the British column as maids and cooks , only 4 returned with the British; about half were taken as captives. The French and Canadians reported only 23 killed, including the French commander, and 20 wounded. Braddock died of his wounds on July 13, four days after the battle, and was buried on the road near Fort Necessity . Colonel Thomas Dunbar, with the reserves and rear supply units, took command when

868-434: The 50 or so women that accompanied the British column as maids and cooks, only 4 survived. The French and Canadians reported 8 killed and 4 wounded; their Native American allies lost 15 killed and 12 wounded. Colonel Dunbar, with the reserves and rear supply units, took command when the survivors reached his position. He ordered that excess supplies and cannons should be destroyed before withdrawing, burning about 150 wagons on

930-627: The Allegheny through the Allegheny Front , into the disputed territory of the Ohio Country , which was then a largely-depopulated Amerindian tributary territory of the Iroquois Confederation . The well-organized expedition was in contrast to a similar expedition led by Edward Braddock in 1755, which ended in the disastrous Battle of the Monongahela . Working for most of the summer on

992-471: The British began to withdraw. They did so largely with order, until they reached the Monongahela River, when they were attacked by Indians in close-quarter combat. Believing that they were trapped, the soldiers lost their discipline and ran in panic. Washington, although he had no official position in the chain of command, was able to impose and maintain some order, and formed a rear guard, which allowed

1054-522: The British column retreated south-eastwards. Fort Duquesne and the surrounding region remained in French hands until its capture in 1758. General Edward Braddock was dispatched to the Thirteen Colonies in the new position of Commander-in-Chief, North America , bringing with him two British Army regiments (the 44th and 48th) from Ireland . He added to this by recruiting provincial troops in British America , swelling his forces to roughly 2,200 by

1116-624: The British had made surprisingly speedy progress. They ran into the British advance guard, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Gage . Seeing the French and Indians in the trees, Gage ordered his men to open fire. Despite the limited range of their smooth-bore muskets, their opening volleys succeeded in killing Captain Beaujeu. The Indians took up positions to attack. They were fighting on traditional hunting grounds, with numerous trees and shrubbery separated by wide open spaces that enabled them to easily move about in concealment. The rolling platoon fire of

1178-572: The British in the early stages of the war; John Mack Faragher claimed it was one of the most disastrous defeats suffered by British forces in the 18th century. Braddock's expedition was part of a massive British offensive against the French in North America that summer. As commander-in-chief of the British Army in America, General Edward Braddock led the main thrust against the Ohio Country with

1240-637: The British initially caused roughly 100 French troops to flee back to the fort. Captain Dumas rallied the rest of the French troops. The Indians, which included warriors from the Ottawa , Ojibwa and Potawatomi tribes, used psychological warfare against the British by nailing the scalps of their dead comrades to trees. During the battle, Indians made a terrifying "whoop" sound that caused fear and panic to spread among British troops. As they came under heavy fire, Gage's advance guard began taking casualties and withdrew. In

1302-517: The British to halt their advance, claiming that the French could be persuaded to peacefully leave Fort Duquesne. Both Washington and Fraser recommended that Braddock approve the plan, but he demurred. On July 9, 1755, Braddock's men crossed the Monongahela without opposition, about 10 miles (16 km) south of Fort Duquesne. The advance guard of 300 grenadiers and colonials, accompanied by two cannon, and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gage began to move ahead. Washington tried to warn Braddock of

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1364-457: The British to use skirmishers , and the vulnerability this caused for the main force, had a profound effect on British military thinking. Although Braddock had posted a company of flankers on each side, these troops were untrained to do anything but stand in line and fire platoon volleys, which were unsuited to such conditions. Learning from their mistakes the British made much better use of skirmishers, often equipped with rifles , who could protect

1426-439: The French and Indians continued to interfere. The cannons were sent forth, but there was no space to effectively use them. Braddock had several horses shot out from under him, yet retained his composure, providing the only sign of order to his frightened troops. Many of the provincial troops, lacking the training of British regulars to stand their ground, fled and sheltered behind trees, where they were mistaken for enemy fighters by

1488-409: The French and Indians enveloped them and continued to snipe at the British flanks from the woods on the sides of the road. At this time, French regulars began advancing along the road and began to push the British back. Braddock rode forward to try to rally his men, who had lost all sense of unit cohesion. Efforts were made to counterattack, but the inability of Braddock's troops to adapt the tactics of

1550-463: The French and Native Americans — despite the early loss of their commander — led many of Braddock's men to believe they had been ambushed. However, French battle reports state that while an ambush had been planned, the sudden arrival of the British forced a direct confrontation. After an exchange of fire, Gage's advance group fell back. In the narrow confines of the road, they collided with the main body of Braddock's force, which had advanced rapidly when

1612-484: The French to hold Fort Duquesne and the Ohio Valley. When the expedition neared to within a few miles of Fort Duquesne in mid-November, the French abandoned and blew up the fort. Three units of scouts led by Captain Hugh Waddell entered the smoking remnants of the fort under the orders of Colonel George Washington on November 24. General Forbes, who was ill with dysentery for much of the expedition, only briefly visited

1674-536: The French), at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers . Braddock mostly failed in his attempts to recruit Native American allies from those tribes not yet allied with the French; he had but eight Mingo Indians with him led by George Croghan, serving as scouts. A number of Native Americans in the area, notably Delaware leader Shingas , remained neutral. Caught between two powerful European empires at war,

1736-519: The French, including Ottawas , Ojibwas , and Potawatomis . Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur , the Canadian commander, received reports from Native American scouting parties that the British were on their way to besiege the fort. He realised he could not withstand Braddock's cannon, and decided to launch a preemptive strike, an ambush of Braddock's army as he crossed the Monongahela River . The Native American allies were initially reluctant to attack such

1798-625: The Monongahela (also known as the Battle of Braddock's Field and the Battle of the Wilderness ) took place on July 9, 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War at Braddock's Field in present-day Braddock, Pennsylvania , 10 miles (16 km) east of Pittsburgh . A British force under General Edward Braddock , moving to take Fort Duquesne , was defeated by a force of French and Canadian troops under Captain Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu with its American Indian allies. The defeat marked

1860-482: The advance of his army, but entrusted it to his second in command, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Bouquet , a Swiss mercenary officer commanding a battalion of the Royal American Regiment. The expedition methodically constructed Forbes Road across what is now the southern part of Pennsylvania 's Appalachian Plateau region, staging from Carlisle and exploiting the climb up via one of the few southern gaps of

1922-405: The battle and continues to this day. Some blamed Braddock, some blamed his officers, and some blamed the regular and provincial troops under their command. Washington, for his part, supported Braddock and found fault with the regulars. Braddock's tactics are still debated. One school of thought holds that Braddock's reliance on time-honoured European methods, with men standing shoulder-to-shoulder in

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1984-634: The battle. Some of the soldiers were spared, as were most of the women, but around a dozen soldiers were tortured and burned to death by the Indians that night, witnessed by American prisoner James Smith . Daniel Boone , a famous American pioneer, explorer, woodsman, and frontiersman — and one of the first folk heroes of the United States — was among the soldiers involved in the battle. Boone served under Captain Hugh Waddell of North Carolina, whose militia unit

2046-465: The construction of the road and on periodic fortified supply depots, the expedition did not come within striking distance of Fort Duquesne until September 1758. In mid-September, a reconnaissance force was soundly defeated in the Battle of Fort Duquesne when its leader, Major James Grant , attempted to capture the fort instead of gathering information alone. The French had their supply line from Montreal cut by other British actions and so attacked one of

2108-450: The discipline displayed by British troops. Despite lacking officers to command them, the often-makeshift platoons continued to hold their crude ranks. Finally, after three hours of intense combat, Braddock was shot in the lung, possibly by one of his own men, and effective resistance collapsed. He fell from his horse, badly wounded, and was carried back to safety by his men. As a result of Braddock's injuries, and without an order being given,

2170-410: The encampment at Will's Creek . Detachement under Capt. Robert Hind 40°26′N 80°00′W  /  40.433°N 80.000°W  / 40.433; -80.000 Battle of the Monongahela [REDACTED] Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu   † [REDACTED] Jean-Daniel Dumas Pontiac (Leader of Ottawa forces) Shingas (Leader of Lenape forces) The Battle of

2232-509: The end of the Braddock Expedition , by which the British had hoped to capture Fort Duquesne and gain control of the strategic Ohio Country . Both Braddock and Beaujeu were killed in action during the battle. Braddock was mortally wounded in the fight and died during the retreat near present-day Uniontown, Pennsylvania . He specifically asked for George Washington , who accompanied him on the march, to oversee his burial. The remainder of

2294-498: The expedition were Thomas Gage ; Charles Lee , future American president George Washington , and Horatio Gates . The expedition progressed slowly because Braddock considered making a road to Fort Duquesne a priority in order to effectively supply the position he expected to capture and hold at the Forks of the Ohio, and because of a shortage of healthy draft animals. In some cases, the column

2356-550: The expedition's forward outposts, Fort Ligonier , in an attempt to drive off the British or to acquire further supplies, but they were repulsed during the Battle of Fort Ligonier . The Treaty of Easton concluded on October 26, 1758, caused the remnants of the Lenape (Delaware), Mingo, and Shawnee tribes in the Ohio Valley to abandon the French and set up the conditions that ultimately forced them to move westward once again. The collapse of Native American support made it impossible for

2418-426: The flaws in his plan — such as pointing out that the French and the Native Americans fought differently than the open-field style used by the British -- but his efforts were ignored: Braddock insisted that his troops fight as "gentlemen". Then, unexpectedly, Gage's advance guard came upon Beaujeu's party of French and Native Americans, who were hurrying to the river, behind schedule and too late to prepare an ambush. In

2480-596: The forks of the Ohio River . Once it was in his possession, he was to proceed on to Fort Niagara , establishing British control over Ohio Country . Braddock soon encountered a number of difficulties. He was scornful of the need to recruit local Indians as scouts and left with only eight Mingo guides. He found that the road he was trying to use was slow and needed constant widening to move artillery and supply wagons along it, which only served to waste time and exhaust his supplies. Frustrated, he split his force in two, leading

2542-572: The fort upon their approach. Fort Duquesne had been very lightly defended but had recently received significant reinforcements. Claude-Pierre Pecaudy de Contrecœur , the commander of the fort, had around 1,600 French troupes de la Marine , Canadian Militia , and Indian allies. Concerned by the approach of the British, he dispatched Captain Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu with around 800 troops (108 Troupes de la Marine, 146 militia, and 600 Indians), to check their advance. The French and Indians arrived too late to set an ambush, as they had been delayed, and

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2604-505: The local Native Americans could not afford to be on the side of the loser. They would decide based on Braddock's success or failure. Setting out from Fort Cumberland in Maryland on May 29, 1755, the expedition faced an enormous logistical challenge: moving a large body of men with equipment, provisions, and (most importantly, for attacking the forts) heavy cannons, across the densely wooded Allegheny Mountains and into western Pennsylvania ,

2666-555: The main body of troops from such devastating fire, both later in the French and Indian War and in the American Revolutionary War . Because of the speed with which the French and Indians launched their attack and enveloped the British column, the battle is often erroneously reported as an ambush by many who took part. In fact, the French had been unprepared for their contact with the British, whom they had blundered into. The speed of their response allowed them to quickly gain

2728-527: The narrow confines of the road, they collided with the main body of Braddock's force, which had advanced rapidly when the shots were heard. Despite comfortably outnumbering their attackers, the British were immediately on the defensive. Most of the regulars were not accustomed to fighting in forest terrain; instead of scattering, they maintained tight formations that the Indians and French could easily target. Confusion reigned, and several British platoons fired at each other. The entire column dissolved in disorder as

2790-453: The open and firing mass volleys in unison, were not appropriate for frontier fighting and cost Braddock the battle. Skirmish tactics ("Indian style"), which American colonials had learned from frontier fighting, with men taking cover and firing individually, were superior in the American environment. However, in some studies, the interpretation of "Indian-style" superiority has been argued to be

2852-542: The provincials. After several hours of intense combat, Braddock was fatally shot off his horse, and effective resistance collapsed. Washington, although he had no official position in the chain of command, was able to impose and maintain some order. He formed a rear guard, which allowed the remnants of the force to disengage. This earned him the sobriquet Hero of the Monongahela , by which he was toasted, and established his fame for some time to come. We marched to that place, without any considerable loss, having only now and then

2914-403: The regulars and fired at. The rearguard, made up of soldiers of the Virginia Regiment , managed to fight effectively from the trees — something they had learned in previous years of fighting Indians. Despite the unfavorable conditions, the British began to stand firm and blast volleys at the French and Indians. Braddock believed that the French and Indians would eventually give way in the face of

2976-461: The remnants of the British force to disengage. By sunset, the surviving British forces were fleeing back down the road they had built, carrying their wounded. Behind them on the road, bodies were piled high. The Indians did not pursue the fleeing British, but instead set about scalping and looting the corpses of the wounded and dead, and drinking two hundred gallons of captured rum. A number of British soldiers and female camp followers were captured in

3038-680: The ruins. He was returned to Philadelphia in a litter and died not long afterward. The collapse of Indian support and subsequent withdrawal of the French from the Ohio Country helped contribute to the "year of wonders" the string of British "miraculous" victories also known by the Latin phrase Annus Mirabilis . Braddock Expedition [REDACTED]   France [REDACTED]   Great Britain The Braddock Expedition , also known as Braddock's Campaign or Braddock's Defeat ,

3100-432: The shots were heard. The entire column dissolved in disorder as the Canadian militiamen and Native Americans enveloped them and began firing from the dense woods on both sides. At this time, the French marines began advancing from the road and blocked any attempt by the British to move forward. Following Braddock's example, the officers kept trying to form their men into standard battle lines so they could fire in formation -

3162-455: The skirmish that followed between Gage's soldiers and the French, Beaujeu was among those killed by the first volley of musket fire by the grenadiers. Although some 100 French Canadians fled back to the fort and the noise of the cannon held the Native Americans off, Beaujeu's death did not have a negative effect on French morale. Jean-Daniel Dumas, a French officer, rallied the rest of the French and their Native American allies. The battle, known as

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3224-437: The spot. Ironically, at this point the defeated, demoralized and disorganised British forces still outnumbered their opponents. The French and Native Americans did not pursue; they were far too busy looting dead bodies and collecting scalps. The French commander, Dumas, realized Braddock's army was utterly defeated. Yet, to avoid upsetting his men, he did not attempt any further pursuit. According to returns given June 8, 1755, at

3286-423: The survivors reached his position. Realizing there was no further likelihood of his force proceeding to capture Fort Duquesne, he decided to retreat. He ordered the destruction of supplies and cannon before withdrawing, burning about 150 wagons on the spot. His forces retreated back toward Philadelphia . The French did not pursue, realizing that they did not have sufficient resources for an organized pursuit. Beaujeu

3348-423: The time he set out from Fort Cumberland , Maryland on 29 May. He was accompanied by Colonel George Washington , who had led the previous year's expedition to the area . Braddock's expedition was part of a four-pronged attack on the French in North America. Braddock's orders were to launch an attack into the Ohio Country , disputed by Britain and France. Control of the area was dominated by Fort Duquesne on

3410-512: The upper hand, and brought about their victory. The French remained dominant in the Ohio Country for the next three years, and persuaded many previously neutral Indian tribes to enter the war on their side. The French were eventually forced to abandon Fort Duquesne in 1758 by the approach of the Forbes Expedition . The debate on how Braddock, with professional soldiers, superior numbers, and artillery, could fail so miserably began soon after

3472-431: The way, where the French and Canadians had defeated Washington the previous summer. Small French and Native American war bands skirmished with Braddock's men during the march. Meanwhile, at Fort Duquesne, the French garrison consisted of only about 250 French marines and Canadian militia , with about 640 Native American allies camped outside the fort. The Native Americans were from a variety of tribes long associated with

3534-455: Was Braddock's failure to rely on the time-honoured European methods that cost him the battle. The British Army already had experience fighting against irregular forces in the Jacobite uprisings . Furthermore, Eastern European irregulars, such as Pandurs and hussars , had already made an impact on European warfare and theory by the 1740s. Braddock's failure, according to proponents of this theory,

3596-407: Was a British military expedition which attempted to capture Fort Duquesne from the French in 1755 during the French and Indian War . The expedition, named after its commander General Edward Braddock , was defeated at the Battle of the Monongahela on July 9 and forced to retreat; Braddock was killed in action along with more than 500 of his troops. It ultimately proved to be a major setback for

3658-598: Was assigned in 1755 to serve under Braddock. Boone acted as a wagoner , along with his cousin Daniel Morgan , who would later be a key general in the American Revolution. In the Battle of the Monongahela, Boone narrowly escaped death when the baggage wagons were attacked, by cutting his wagons and fleeing. Boone remained critical of Braddock's blunders for the rest of his life. While on the campaign, Boone met John Finley,

3720-609: Was buried on July 12 at Fort Duquesne. The battle was a devastating defeat, and has been characterized as one of the most disastrous in British colonial history. It marked the end of the Braddock expedition , which many had believed contained overwhelming force, to seize the Ohio Country. It awakened many in London to the sheer scale of forces that would be needed to defeat the French and their Indian allies in North America . The inability of

3782-415: Was caused by not adequately applying traditional military doctrine (particularly by not using distance), not his lack of use of frontier tactics. Russell, in his study, shows that on several occasions before the battle, Braddock had successfully adhered to standard European tactics to counter ambushes and so had become nearly immune to earlier French and Canadian attacks. In 1930, on the 175th anniversary of

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3844-420: Was only able to progress at a rate of two miles (about 3 km) a day, creating Braddock's Road — an important legacy of the march — as they went. To speed up movement, Braddock split his men into a "flying column" of about 1,300 men which he commanded, and, lagging far behind, a supply column of 800 men with most of the baggage, commanded by Colonel Thomas Dunbar. They passed the ruins of Fort Necessity along

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