The 250th Anniversary of the
Death of General Braddock

November of 1754, several months after the Battle at Jumonville Glen, the powers of Great Britain set forth plans for an attack upon the French Fort DuQuesne (pronounced dukane). The plans involved sending the 44th of Foot, under Sir Peter Halkett, and the 48th of Foot, under Colonal Dunbar, from Cork, Ireland, to Virginia, and for their ranks to be increased by American colonists to 700 men each. Two new units were to be raised in the colonies under the command of Gov. William Shirley and Sir William Pepperell. Sir John St. Clair (pronounced sinclair, not saint clair) was appointed Deputy Quartermaster General and he too was sent to America. And, amongst many other plans, Major General Edward Braddock was appointed Chief of all His Majesty's Forces in North America. What followed, in 1755, was an extraordinary story of how Braddock's men created a new road through the wilderness of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania en route to what might have been a great victory but ended up on July 11 as a disaster in every way imaginable.

In order to honor this event, I am providing two separate ways to look at Braddock's Defeat:

• Through the words of the people involved: a series of letters, journals, and book extracts from before and after the event, plus a chunk from Francis Parkman's Montcalm and Wolfe providing a superb summary
  
  
• Through the words and pictures of reenactors at Old Bedford Village in June, 2005
  
  
• A really great site about this battle (lots of detail, maps, and more!):  BritishBattles.com:  The Battle of Monongahela 1755 - Braddock's Defeat