Braddock's March on Fort Duquesne 1755

First Disaster in the French and Indian War

Jan 23, 2009

Although badly outnumbered, French defenders and their Indian allies mounted a desperate ambush that resulted in the first major British defeat in North America.

The start of the French and Indian War hardly achieved the grand objectives envisioned by England in an attempt to dislodge the French from the colonial frontier. Instead, the war began with the spectacular defeat of General Edward Braddock’s army composed of two regiments, assorted militia, and a handful of Indian scouts within a mile of their destination, Fort Duquesne in Pennsylvania. Braddock is often maligned for his role in the disaster, yet other factors may have contributed to the defeat in a more direct manner.

Braddock was appointed by the Duke of Cumberland, second son of the king. Known as the “Butcher of Culloden,” Cumberland and his protégés relied on the efficiency of continental military strategy, never considering the geographical differences of colonial America or the mindset of the colonial peoples.

Braddock, according to Simon Schama, was a “…unsentimental administrator and a stickler for discipline.” Like many commanders sent to America, Braddock viewed colonial militias and officers with contempt. Expecting to find supplies for his campaign, neither Virginia nor Pennsylvania provided food or transportation until Benjamin Franklin, almost at the last minute, arrived with 150 wagons obtained from Pennsylvania farmers as well as large amounts of food.

Virginia had no surplus food. Virginia agriculture was dominated by tobacco. In Pennsylvania, the colonial Quaker proprietors, clinging to their pacifism, refused to grant funds for a military operation, relenting in the end to support the endeavor with food supplies.

Ironically, it was the wagons and 500 pack horses that slowed his column as the army hacked a trail through the wilderness to Fort Duquesne. Braddock’s colonial aide-de-camp was Virginian George Washington, whose past experience fighting the French and their Indian allies would be valuable. Washington had written to Braddock, requesting consideration as a member of the general’s staff.

Also assisting Braddock was the experienced and highly trusted frontiersman George Croghan who brought with him several Indian guides to scout the path. According to Dale Van Every, Braddock respected the Indians, giving gifts to friendly Indians he encountered on his trek, yet smarting that the Catawba and Cherokee had not come to assist him, as had been promised.

Having divided his force, Braddock led 1700 of his best men toward the French outpost. Vastly outnumbered, the French commander, Pierre Contrecoeur, contemplated surrendering his position. Excessive drought had lowered river levels, making resupply virtually impossible.

Contrecoeur’s second in command, Captain Daniel Beaujeu, however, convinced the commander to allow him to attempt a daring ambush as Braddock’s troops were crossing the Monongahela. Beaujeu caught Braddock after the river had been forded. Although killed in the ambush, Beaujeu’s Indians began to slaughter the English, firing into the disciplined ranks from the safety of the dense forest. Braddock lost two thirds of his command and would die during the retreat from a bullet wound. The French lost 23 men.

Washington would write in a letter, “we have been most scandalously beaten by a trifling body of men.” As the war continued, new leadership in England, learning some lessons from the initial disasters, appointed commanders willing to adapt to wilderness fighting and willing to share fully with colonial officers and militias.

Braddock Assessed

Edward Braddock was a product of European military experience. The colonial war was an entirely new experience. His antipathy for “backwater” provincials inclined him to disregard advice. Practically, he was hindered in movement by his supply train and the necessity of creating a path to the destination. Additionally, the strategic aims had been laid out by the Duke of Cumberland; Braddock was obliged to follow orders even if a more prudent policy appeared to promise more successful results.

Sources:

Fred Anderson, Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766 (Vintage, 2001)

Walter R. Borneman, French and Indian War: Fate of North America (Harper, 2007)

Dale Van Every, Forth to the Wilderness: the First American Frontier 1754-1774 (Mentor Book, 1961)

Simon Schama, A History of Britain, Volume II, The Wars of the British 1603-1776 (Hyperion, 2001)

The copyright of the article Braddock's March on Fort Duquesne 1755 in Colonial America is owned by Michael Streich. Permission to republish Braddock's March on Fort Duquesne 1755 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Mar 3, 2009 9:07 PM

NeilOBrien :

Not to quibble but, the site of present day Braddock, where the ambush took place, is nearly 10 miles from teh Point, former site of Fort Duquesne. I don't even think you can see the Pittsburgh skyline from teh Mon valley there. Maybe if you climb the hill to Grandview Avenue but, of course, had the British reached those heights, they wouldn't have been driven to panic and decimated by teh french and their native allies.