In the year of Our Lord 1754, Colonel Edward Braddock of the Coldstream Guards was promoted to General and sent to North America. It was his task to drive the French off of land claimed by New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. His goal was Fort Duquesne.

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We all know the story of General Braddock [Editor: see commentary on this action in De Levis' Journal], but what about the composition of the army which accompanied him? Who were the those that died with him? The puepose of this brief article is to try to answer these two questions.

Background to the Campaign

The news of Colonel Washington's defeat and the subsequent domination of France in the Ohio Valley produced great excitement in England. It was decided that the French must be driven out of this area at all costs. This expedition was to be entrusted to Major General Edward Braddock, newly promoted from Colonel of the Coldstream Guards.

The force given to Braddock was to be a very powerful one, composed of the Forty-fourth Foot (Sir Peter Halkett) and the Forty-eighth Foot (Colonel Thomss Dunbar), with additional troops raised in Virginia and the other colonies. In order to show the importance of this expedition and to make the raising of troops easier, Genaal Braddock was made commander-in-chief of all His Majesty's forces in America.

British Regulars

The two British regiments were taken from the Irish Establishment and sailed for the colonies on January 14, 1755. The Irish Establishment was a device whereby regiments could be posted in Ireland at the end of a conflict and thereby not be disbanded, as was quite common during this period. These regiments are thus not "Irish" and were usually kept under strength, but were to be available if needed and could easily be recruited back to full strength.

These two regiments wae to be reauited in the colonies and in fact such recruiting had slready commeoced prior to their departure from Cork, Ireland. By the time the boat arrived at Alexandria, Virginia, on February 20, 1755, many of the levies were waiting for them.

Provincial Militia Units

The Provincial militia wae raised in Maryland, Virginia, New York and the Carolinas. Prior to the appointment and arrival of General Braddock, the Duke of Newcastle appointed Governor Horatio Sharpe commanded of all provincial forces. This order also reduced in rank all militia officers. Colonel Washington now became Captain Washington and as a consequence, he resigned his commission. It was hoped that Governor Sharpe, Braddock and others could enlist a force of 12,000 (including Indians).

A large number of the militia were seasoned veterans. Colonel Innes' North Carolina troops had been with Washington at the Great Meadows and were still available, and the Virginia militia also contained many who had been with Washington. Before the arrival of Braddock, militia units were sent west to build forts. Governor Dinwiddle (of Virginia) was instructed to erect a fort at Wills Creek:

"of such dimensions and character of construction as the importance of the position seemed to require..

The troops used were Rutherford's and Clarke's independent companies of New York, Demerie's independent company from South Carolina, and three independent companies firom North Carolina under Colonel Innes. Braddock renamed the structure Fort Cumberland.

The Virginia militia were ordered to Winchester where they were equipped, uniformed (here I believe they received the now well-known blue and red uniform), and organized into various companies. A company of Virginia light horse under the command of Captain Stewart was raised to act as scouts and the genaal's bodyguard. A group of 70 provincials was formed into two companies of pioneers, each having a captain, two lieutenants, two sergeants; with these were a small company of guides.

Specialists and Supporting Troops

Providing the transportation for the army were over 150 wagons with teams and drivers. These were hired from the counties of Lancaster and York in Pennsylvania by Ben Franklin. Daniel Boone was said to be one of those drivers.

The artillery consisted of 4 six-pounders, 2 twelve-pounders, 3 howitzers, and 8 cannons manned by a captain, 4 Lieutenants and 13 non-commissioned officers.

The Royal Navy provided Lieutenant Spindelow, 2 midshipmen and 30 sailors who were in charge of the cordage and tackles necessary for the building of bridges and moving the heavy artillery over the hills and creeks.

Finally, there were eight Indians and numerous camp followers.

The following table provides a summary of the forces available to General Braddock for his campaign against Fort Duquesne:

Unit	Complement	Effectives
44th Regt of Foot	700	700*
Capt. Rutherford's Ind. Co of NY	100	95
Capt. Gates Independent Co. of NY	?	?
Capt. Polson's Carpenters	50	48
Capt. Peronee's Virginia Rangers	50	47
Capt. Wagner's Virginia Rangers	50	45
Capt. Dagworthy's MD Rangers	50	49
48th Regt. of Foot	700	650*
Capt. Demerie's SC Detachment	100	97
Capt. Dobbs' NC Rangers	100	80
Capt. Mercer's Coy of Carpenters	50	35
Capt. Steven's Virginia Rangers	50	48
Capt. Hogg's Virginia Rangers	50	40
Capt. Cox's Virginia Rangers	50	48
*Note: Both regiments included 300 raised in the colonies. Note also that the term "Ranger" is not used in the same sense as in Roger's Rangers, but rather, denotes militia.

The Campaign Begins

General Braddock began his march from Alexandria on April 20, 1755 and advanced towards Fort Duquesne. His first mapr stop was to be Fort Cumberland, which was the gathering place for many of his troops as well as the official starting point of the campaign. It was at Frederick, Maryland, that General Braddock made his first mistake in underesting the problems of his march. There he purchased from Governor Sharpe an English chariot with six horses, and, accompanied by an escort of light horse, continued on to Fort Cumberland where he arrived on May 10th. Needless to say, the chariot was a wreck due to the lack of good roads and was left behind. The army continued its forward march, and in the area of the Great Meadows, the army was split with Braddock taking about 1,400 men as an advance guard, while Colonel Dunbar with 850 men and the wagon train were to follow.

Braddock began the final march full of confidence, especially as little sign of the enemy had been seen. As the enemy approached the Monongahela for the final crossing, extra preperations were made. Advance guards were sent forward, soldiers were well dressed and all weapons were brightened, flags unfurled, and music playing -- all calculated to impress the enemy as here is where Braddock expected to meet the French.

In fact, Uhio is where the French also expected the battle to take place, but the crossing came off without incident and even Washington remarked that he had ....never seen a more animated sight... Braddock was now less than ten miles from his destination.

The Battle at the Monongehela

The french and their Indian allies bumped into the advance guard and the battle began with the major portion taking place where now stanide the old football field of Braddock High School. The road here was twelve feet wide and this caused everyone to become bunched together, making the firing of volleys very difficult; but at the the time it created excellent targets for the French and Indians.

The action lasted about three hours, and by this time it was no longer a battle, but a butchery. Over half the army that had crossed the river were dead or wounded. Most of the officers were down and the ammunition was gone.

The retreat was ordered and panic quickly set in. The British regulars were the first to run and all sense of order was forgotten. The colonial militia covered the rear, and the retreat did not stop until the lot of them reached Dunbar's camp. It was during the retreat that Braddock received his wound, but not until having had five horses shot out from under him. He was not lacking in personal bravery and he was carried from the field in his officers.

At Dunbar's camp the decision was made to continue the retreat after destroying all the equipment and wagons. It was about this time that Braddock died, was buried in the road, and the command passed over to Colonel Dunbar. The army retreated back to Fort Cumberland.

The casualty list is very extensive. The number killed, wounded and left on the field was 896. The grenadier companies and carpenters were especially hard hit; Colonel Dunbar's grenadiers started the day at 79 and only 9 returned untouched, and Halkett's grenadiers returned only 13 out of 70. Every grenadier officer was either wounded or killed. Of the force, 456 were killed and over 400 wounded. Of 89 commissioned officers, 63 were dther killed or wounded, including every officer above the rank of captain except for Colonel Washington. Of the sailor detachment, 2 officers were killed and only 15 were uninjured. On the other hand, not a single Pennsylvania wagoner was hurt as they took the horses and fled at the first shot, some running over 40 miles away before stopping.

An Analysis Or the Battle

The battle on the Monongahela has to be one of the bloodiest for such a short time and number of people involved. It was reported that most of the British troops fired into the air since there was not enough room for them to level their muskets, and besides, the act of firing helped calm the nerves. That the troops stood for three hourss under these circumstances and retreated only after the ammunition was depleted, and were so ordered by Braddock, is quite an accomplishment.

It is believed that a third of the casualties were caused by their own men. One example is that of Captain Waggoner of Virginia, who led his 80 men behind a great log from where they fired upon the Indians and lost only three men; however, the British regulars, seeing the smoke, fired by platoon into them, killing fifty of the eighty provincials.

I believe that had the French attacked the river as planned, the ultimate victory would have been with Braddock. He was expecting the fight there and had made plans accordingly. I believe that the British artillery would have been able to drive off the Indians and the French themselves were not numerous enough to fight alone.

It would have then been a parade to Fort Duquesne which most certainly could not have stood up under artillery fire. I have also found that books written in the mid to late 1800s tend to much more objective and much less critical of Braddock than those written in this century.

Finally, a few words about George Washington: he resigned his commission in early 1755. Braddock asked him to rejoin his staff as an aide-de-camp with rank of colonel, which he accepted gladly.

Washington's knowledge of the lay of the land and the fact that he had visited Fort Duquesne previously as a delegate of Governor Dinwiddie's, made him valuable to Braddock's plans. He was ill during most of the march, but joined the anny in time for the final crossing of the river and the final battle.

He had several bullet holes in his clothing, had two horses killed under him, and was the only aide-de-camp who was not wounded or killed. He tried to organize an orderly retreat and did get the army back to Dunbar's camp. While dying, General Braddock, out of respect for Washington, gave him his officer's sash, which today can be seen at Mount Vernon.

Today, little of the road is left today, and, unless one really knows what to look for, it just looks like woods. Local people still find relics - mainly horse shoes and other such items. Just recently (1996) the area of Dunbar's camp was searched and many items were located but left in the ground, including some bones. The land is not to be touched again for ten years. Braddock's cannons (excluding the 4 captured by the French and the 2 taken with Dunbar during the retreat) have never been found.

Sources

Albert, George Dallas, History of Westmoreland Co. Pa.. Philadelphia, 1882.
Crumrine, Boyd, History of Washington Co. Pa. Philadelphia, 1882.
Kopperman, Paul E., Braddock at the Monongalhela. University of Pittsburgh Press, 1977.
Lacock, John Kennedy, Bradock Road, Private Printing.
McCardell, Leo, Ill-Starred General: Braddock of the Coldstream Guards, Univ. of Pittsburg Press, 1958.
O'Meara, Walter, Guns at the Forts. University of Pittsburg, 1958.
Sargent Winthorp, The History of an Expedition against Fort DuQuesne in 1755. Philadelphia, 1856.
Scharf, J. Thomas, History of Western Maryland, Vol. I. Baltimore (reprint of 1882 edition), 1968.

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