On July 9, 1755, British and colonial troops under the command of General Edward Braddock suffered a crushing defeat to French and Native American enemy forces in Ohio Country. Known as the Battle of the Monongahela, the loss altered the trajectory of the Seven Years' War in America, escalating the fighting and shifting the balance of power. An unprecedented rout of a modern and powerful British army by a predominantly Indian force, Monongahela shocked the colonial world--and also planted the first seeds of an independent American consciousness. The culmination of a failed attempt to capture Fort Duquesne from the French, Braddock's Defeat was a pivotal moment in American and world history. While the defeat is often blamed on blundering and arrogance on the part of General Braddock--who was wounded in battle and died the next day--David Preston's gripping new work argues that such a claim diminishes the victory that Indian and French forces won by their superior discipline and leadership. In fact, the French Canadian officer Captain Beaujeu had greater tactical skill, reconnaissance, and execution, and his Indian allies were the most effective and disciplined troops on the field. Preston also explores the long shadow cast by Braddock's Defeat over the 18th century and the American Revolution two decades later. The campaign had been an awakening to empire for many British Americans, spawning ideas of American identity and anticipating many of the political and social divisions that would erupt with the outbreak of the Revolution. Braddock's Defeat was the defining generational experience for many British and American officers, including Thomas Gage, Horatio Gates, and perhaps most significantly, George Washington. A rich battle history driven by a gripping narrative and an abundance of new evidence,Braddock's Defeat presents the fullest account yet of this defining moment in early American history.

Contains a history of Braddock's Campaign in 1755 against Fort Duquesne.

On July 9, 1755, an army of British and American soldiers commanded by Major General Edward Braddock marched toward a major western outpost held by the French, confident of an easy victory. Suddenly, they were attacked by a much smaller force of French and Indian fighters-Braddock's army was destroyed, its commander fatally wounded, and supplies and secret papers were lost to the enemy. Paul E. Kopperman has used all of the known eyewitness reports of Braddock's defeat-some never before printed-to present an exciting critical account of this definitive battle in the French and Indian War. Braddock at the Monongahela is a synthesis of in-depth analysis of primary source materials, thoughtful evaluation of previous studies on the subject, and Kopperman's own persuasive interpretation.

Crocker uses a wealth of sources to tell the story of one of the most important events in the American colonial period--the failed attempt by the British to drive the French from the New World. 30 b&w illustrations.

Major-General Edward Braddock's 2 orderly books, containing orders issued by Braddock in Virginia and Fort Cumberland (Md.) to the commanding officers of his troops between Feb. 26 and June 17, 1755, at the outset of the French and Indian War. The early orders by Braddock, general and commander-in-chief of the English forces in North America, were issued from Williamsburg, and concern logistical, administrative, and disciplinary matters of the army. Subsequent orders organize troop movements from Alexandria to Winchester (Va.), to Frederick (Md.), and to Rock Creek. An order of May 10, 1755 notes that "Mr. Washington is appointed Aid de Camp to His Excellency General Braddock," and court-martials, and sentences handed down for theft, desertion, alcohol consumption, gaming, and other infractions are also recorded. Other orders regulate supplies and provisions, and the presence of women among the troops.

In 1755, Major General Edward Braddock and two army regiments set out from Alexandria with the objective of capturing Fort Duquesne, near present-day Pittsburgh. To transport their sizable train of artillery and wagons, they first had to build a road across the rugged Appalachian Mountains. It was almost 289 treacherous miles from Alexandria, Virginia, by way of Fort Cumberland in Maryland and on to the French fort; the road they built was one of the most impressive military engineering accomplishments of the eighteenth century. Historian Norman L. Baker chronicles the construction of the road and creates the definitive mapping of those sections once thought lost. Join Baker as he charts the history of Braddock's Road until the ultimate catastrophic collision with the combined French and Indian forces.