Braddock, Edward

born 1695, Perthshire, Scot.

died July 13, 1755, Great Meadows, Pa.

British army commander in the French and Indian War.

After service in Europe, he arrived in Virginia in 1755 to command British forces in North America against the French. He undertook an expedition to attack the French-held Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh, Pa.); his force, which included British regulars and provincial militiamen such as George Washington, cut the first road across the Allegheny Mountains and reached a point on the Monongahela River near the fort. There his army of over 1,400 men was ambushed and defeated by a group of 254 French and 600 Indians, and he was mortally wounded in the ensuing rout.

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▪ British commander

born 1695, Perthshire, Scot.

died July 13, 1755, Great Meadows, Pa. [U.S.]

      unsuccessful British commander in North America in the early stages of the French and Indian War.

      Braddock, the son of Major General Edward Braddock (d. 1725), joined the Coldstream Guards in 1710 and served in the Netherlands during the siege of Bergen op Zoom in 1747. He was appointed major general in 1754 and arrived in Virginia the following February to command all British forces in North America against the French. Although hampered by administrative confusion and lack of resources, he undertook, after several months of preparation, to attack the French-held Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh, Pa.) in an extremely arduous wilderness expedition. His force cut a road westward from Cumberland, Md., the first road across the Allegheny Mountains. George Washington (Washington, George), then lieutenant colonel of the Virginia militia, was among the 700 provincials and 1,400 British regulars under his command. Braddock's force safely crossed the Monongahela River and reached a point only 8 miles (13 km) from Fort Duquesne. The forward column of 1,459 officers and men, being short of Indian scouts, was ambushed in a ravine by 254 French and 600 Indians on July 9. Wounded during the ensuing slaughter and riot, Braddock was carried off the field and died four days later at a rallying point known as Great Meadows, Pa., where he was buried. (The grave site is now lost.)

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