Braddock Expedition

Braddock Expedition
Part of the French and Indian War
Route of the Braddock Expedition
Date May–July 1755 Location Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio Country Result French and Indian victory
Belligerents
France New France Native Americans	Great Britain British America
Commanders and leaders
Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu † Jean-Daniel Dumas Charles de Langlade	Edward Braddock † George Washington
Strength
637 natives, 108 regulars 146 militia	2,100 regulars and militia 10 cannon
Casualties and losses
30 killed 57 wounded	500+ killed 450+ wounded
Pennsylvania Historical Marker
Designated	November 3, 1961

 France

 Great Britain

The Braddock expedition, also called Braddock's campaign or, more commonly, Braddock's Defeat, was a failed British military expedition which attempted to capture the French Fort Duquesne (modern-day downtown Pittsburgh) in the summer of 1755 during the French and Indian War. It was defeated at the Battle of the Monongahela on July 9, and the survivors retreated. The expedition takes its name from General Edward Braddock, who led the British forces and died in the effort. Braddock's defeat was a major setback for the British in the early stages of the war with France and has been described as one of the most disastrous defeats for the British 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 Braddock led the main thrust against the Ohio Country with a column some 2,100 strong. His command consisted of two regular line regiments, the 44th and 48th with about 1,350 men, along with about 500 regular soldiers and militiamen from several British American 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, 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 (renamed Fort Duquesne by the French), at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers.

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