The Great Republic by the Master Historians Braddock's Defeat byBancroft, Hubert H.
[As it was now becoming apparent that war with France was inevitable, and as the
continued advances of the French upon what was claimed by the English colonists
as their territory demonstrated the necessity of co-operation in the colonies,
the English government recommended that a convention should be held at Albany,
for the double purpose of forming a league with the Iroquois and of devising a
plan of general defence against the common enemy. The delegates from the
colonies met in June, 1754, made a treaty of peace with the Six Nations, and
considered the subject of colonial union. Among the delegates was Benjamin
Franklin, of Philadelphia, who, starting in life as a printer's boy, was now
postmaster-general of America, and was looked upon by many as the ablest of
American thinkers. He proposed a plan of union, which the convention adopted on
July 4. There was to be a general government of the colonies, presided over by a
governor-general appointed by the crown, and conducted by a council chosen by
the colonial legislatures. The council was to have the power to raise troops,
declare war, make peace, collect money, and pass all measures necessary for the
public safety. The governor-general was to have the power to veto its
ordinances, while all laws were required to be ratified by the king. This plan
was favored by all the delegates except those of Connecticut, who objected to
the veto power of the governor-general and to the authority to lay general
taxes. But when submitted to the colonial Assemblies and to the British
government it was rejected by both, the colonies considering that it gave too
much power to the king, and the king that it gave too much power to the people.
As this plan had failed, the British ministry determined to take the control of
the war into their own hands, and to send out an army strong enough to force the
French to keep within their own territory. The story of the ensuring events we
select from Frost's "Life of General Washington."]
In January, 1755, General Braddock was despatched from Ireland, with two
regiments of infantry, to co-operate with the Virginian forces in recovering the
command of the Ohio. The arrival of Braddock excited enthusiastic hopes among
the colonists. The different provinces seemed to forget their disputes with each
other and with Great Britain, and to enter into a resolution to chastise the
French, at whatever cost. At the request of the British commander, a meeting of
the governors of five of the colonies was held at Alexandria, at which they
determined to undertake three simultaneous expeditions. The first of these was
to be conducted by Braddock, with the British troops, against Fort Duquesne; the
second, under the command of Governor Shirley, now honored with the commission
of a general from the king, was intended for the reduction of the French fort of
Niagara, and was composed of American regulars and Indians; the third was an
expedition against Crown Point, to be undertaken by a regiment of militia.
[The orders brought by Braddock divested the colonial generals and field-
officers of all rank while serving with British officers of the same grade, and
made company officers subordinate to those of the regular army. This left
Washington without rank in the new army; yet he was eager to take part in the
expedition, and at Braddock's request he joined him with the rank of aide-de-
camp. The army proceeded by way of Frederic Town and Winchester to Will's Creek,
which was reached about the middle of May. Here a long halt was made, to obtain
wagons and horses, though Washington strongly opposed the delay, and recommended
an immediate advance, before the French could reinforce their posts on the Ohio.
Finally the wagons were obtained, through the strenous exertions of Benjamin
Franklin and his personal influence with the farmers of Pennsylvania. On the
10th of June the army recommenced its march. As it proceeded very slowly,
Washington advised a rapid advance of a portion of the troops, leaving the rear
division, with the baggage, heavy artillery, etc, to follow more slowly.]
This advice prevailed in the council, and, being approved by the general, he
advanced on the 19th of June, with twelve hundred chosen men, and officers from
all the different corps, leaving the remainder, with most of the wagons, under
the command of Colonel Dunbar, with instructions to follow as fast as he could.
Notwithstanding this arrangement, Braddock advanced very slowly, "halting to
level every mole-hill and to erect bridges over every brook, by which means he
was four days in advancing twelve miles."
[Washington was now prostrated with a severe fever, and was obliged to remain
with the rear division. He rejoined the general on the day before the battle,
and was then able to sit on horseback, though still very weak.]
On joining Braddock's division on the 8th, at the mouth of the Youghiogheny,
Washington was surprised to find them, though within fifteen miles of the fort,
marching in regular European order, in as perfect security as if they were on
the wide plains of the Eastern Hemisphere, or in a peaceful review, on a field-
day, in England. They marched without advanced guards or scouts; and the offer
of Washington to scour the woods, in front and on the flanks, with his Virginian
provincials, was haughtily rejected.
A considerable bend in the Monongahela River, and the nature of the banks, made
it necessary for the army to cross it twice before they reached the fort. On the
morning of the 9th of July, everything being in readiness, the whole train
crossed the river in perfect order, a short distance below the mouth of the
Youghiogheny, and took up their line of march along its southern bank, in high
spirits. The garrison of the fort was understood to be small, and quite
inadequate to resist the force now brought to bear upon it; exulting hope filled
every heart; and no one doubted that he should see the British flag waving, next
day, over the battlements, and the enemy obliged to retire to Canada or
surrender themselves prisoners of war. The march on that morning is described as
a splendid spectacle, being made in full military array, in exact order, the sun
glancing from the burnished bayonets to the scarlet uniform of the regulars,
with a majestic river on the right, and dark, deep woods on the left. Not an
enemy appeared, and the most profound silence reigned over this wild territory.
The only countenance among them which was clouded with care or concern was that
of Washington, who, as he rode beside the general, vainly represented that the
profound silence and apparent solitude of the gloomy scenes around them afforded
no security in American warfare against deadly and imminent danger. Again, and
still vainly, did he offer to scour the woods in front and on the left with the
provincial troops. The general treated his fears as the effects of fever on his
brain, and the provincials were ordered to form the rearguard of the detachment.
About noon they reached the second crossing-place, within ten miles of Fort
Duquesne, and at one o'clock had all crossed the river in safety. Three hundred
men under Colonel Gage formed the advance party, which was closely followed by a
party of two hundred; and last of all followed the general with the main body,
consisting of about seven hundred men, the artillery and baggage.
After crossing the river, the road along which they marched led for about half a
mile through a low plain, and then commenced a gradual ascent of about three
degrees, the prospect being shut in by hills in the distance. About a hundred
and fifty yards from the bottom of this inclined plain, and about equidistant
from the road leading to the fort, commenced two ravines, from eight to ten feet
deep, which led off in different directions until they terminated in the plain
below. Covered as these ravines were with trees and long grass, and the British
having no scouts, it was impossible for them to discover their existence without
approaching within a few feet of them. Up this inclined plain, between these
ravines, General Braddock led his army on the afternoon of the 9th of July.
While the English were thus leisurely advancing, the scouts of the French kept
the commandant at Fort Duquesne accurately informed of their motions and their
numbers. Believing the small force under his command wholly inadequate to the
defence of the fort against three thousand men, with a formidable park of
artillery, as his scouts had represented them, he was hesitating what course to
pursue, when Captain de Beaujeu offered to lead a small party of French and
Indians to meet the enemy and harass his march. It required a great deal of
persuasion to induce the Indians to engage in what they considered an impossible
undertaking; but, possessing their confidence, he finally subdued their
unwillingness, and induced about six hundred of them to accompany him. With
these and about two hundred and fifty French and Canadians, he intended to
occupy the banks of the Monongahela and harass the English as they crossed the
river. It was only on the morning of the 9th that he was ready to start on this
expedition, and when he arrived near the river his spies reported that Braddock
had already crossed. Finding that he was too late to pursue his original plan,
de Beaujeu placed his followers in the ravines before mentioned, between which
the English were seen advancing along the road.
When the three hundred under Gage came near the head of the ravines, a heavy
discharge of musketry was poured in upon their front, and immediately after
another upon their left flank. This was the first notice which they had of the
presence of an enemy. Braddock was completely surprised. Gage ordered his men to
fire, and though no enemy was visible, yet they poured such a discharge upon the
spot where the smoke of the first fire was still to be seen, that the Indians,
believing that it proceeded from artillery, were upon the point of retreating.
Their indecision was but for an instant, for the advance, falling back upon the
main body, threw them into confusion; and instead of following the example of
the Indians and taking to the trees, or opening upon their invisible foe a
discharge of grape, they were ordered by Braddock to maintain their ranks and
advance. Captain de Beaujeu was killed by the first discharge of Gage's men, and
Captain Dumas, who succeeded him in the command, immediately rallied the
Indians, and, sending them down the ravines, ordered them to attack the enemy on
each flank, while he, with the French and Canadians, maintained his position in
front. Then commenced a terrible carnage. The British, panic-struck and
bewildered, huddled together in squads, heeded not the commands of their
officers, who were riding about madly urging them to advance, but they only fled
from one side of the field to be met by the fire of an invisible foe on the
other side; and then they would gather in small parties as if they hoped to
shield themselves behind the bodies of their friends, firing without aim,
oftener shooting down their own officers and men than Indians. Their only hope
would now have been to separate, rush behind the trees, and fight man to man
with their assailants; but Braddock insisted on forming them into platoons and
columns, in order to make regular discharges, which struck only the trees or
tore up the ground in front. The Virginians alone seemed to retain their senses.
Notwithstanding the prohibition of the general, they no sooner knew the enemy
with whom they had to deal, than they adopted the Indian mode of fighting, and
each for himself, behind a tree, manifested bravery worthy of a better fate.
Meanwhile the French and Indians, secure behind their natural breastworks, aimed
deliberately first at the officers on horseback, and then at others, each shot
bringing down a man. The leaders, selected by unerring aim, fell first. Captains
Orme and Morris, two of the three aides-de-camp, were wounded early in the
action, and Washington was the only person left to distribute the general's
orders, which he was scarcely able to do, as he was not more than half recovered
from his illness. Notwithstanding the neglect with which his warnings had been
treated, he still aided the general with his mental as well as his physical
powers; though the troops lay thick around him in slaughtered heaps, he still
gave the aid of salutary counsel to his ill-fated chief, and urged it with all
the grace of eloquence and all the force of conviction. Riding in every
direction, his manly form drew the attention of the savages, and they doomed him
to destruction. The murdering rifles were levelled, the quick bullets flew
winged with death, and pierced his garments; but, obedient to the Sovereign
will, they dared not shed his blood. One chieftain especially singled Washington
out as a conspicuous mark, fired his rifle at him many times, and ordered his
young warriors to do the same, until they became convinced that he was under the
special protection of the Great Spirit, and would never die in battle, when they
desisted. Although four balls passed through Washington's coat, and two horses
were shot under him, he escaped unhurt.
Washington's conduct in the action is described by an eye-witness whose verbal
account is thus given by Mr. Paulding: "I saw him take hold of a brass field-
piece as if it had been a stick. He looked like a fury; he tore the sheet-lead
from the touch-hole; he placed one hand on the muzzle, the other on the breach;
he pulled with this, and he pushed with that, and wheeled it around as if it had
been nothing. It tore the ground like a barshare. The powder-monkey rushed up
with the fire, and then the cannon began to bark, I tell you. They fought and
they fought, and the Indians began to holla, when the rest of the brass cannon
made the bark of the tress fly, and the Indians come down. That place they call
Rock Hill, and there they left five hundred men dead on the ground."
After the slaughter had thus continued for three hours, General Braddock, after
having three horses killed under him, received a shot through the right arm and
the lungs, and was borne from the field by Colonel Gage. More than one-half of
the soliders who had so proudly crossed the river three hours before were now
killed or wounded, and the rest, on the fall of the general, fled precipitately.
The provincials, who were among the last to leave the ground, were kept in order
by Washington, and served to cover the retreat of the regulars. The officers in
general remained on the field while there seemed any hope of rallying their
troops, and consequently, out of eighty-six engaged, sixty-three were killed or
wounded. Of the privates, seven hundred and fourteen fell. The rout was
complete, and the more disgraceful in that it was before an inferior enemy, who
attacked without the least hope of such success, and during the whole battle
lost but forty men. Most of these were Indians killed in venturing out of the
ravine to take scalps.
Captain Dumas thought his force too weak to pursue the fugitives, who fled
precipitately until they had recrossed the Monongahela, when, being no longer in
imminent danger, they again formed. Colonel Washington hastened forward to bring
up wagons and other conveyances for the wounded.
General Braddock, under the particular charge of Captain Stewart of the Virginia
forces, was at first conveyed in a tumbril; afterwards he was placed on
horseback, but being unable to ride, he was obliged to be carried by soldiers.
In this way he was transported until the night of the 13th, when they arrived
within a mile of Fort Necessity, where he died, and was buried in his cloak, in
the road, to elude the search of the Indians, Washington, by the light of a
torch, read the funeral service over his remains.
The news of the defeat soon reached the rear division under Colonel Dunbar. The
greatest confusion for a time reigned in his camp. The artillery stores were
destroyed, the heavy baggage burned, and as soon as the fugitives arrived he
took up the line of march with all speed for Philadelphia. Colonel Washington
proceeded to Mount Vernon, Justly indignant at the conduct of the regulars in
the late engagement, though his own bravery and good conduct in the action
gained him the applause of all his countrymen.
