The Road to Destruction

A Prequel

This is a rare Yankee Doodle Spies "prequel" post. In many ways, the seeds of the American struggle for independence were watered with the blood of the French and Indian War. And in a bold coincidence, George Washington's activities on the western frontier (in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio) played a role in its beginning. A young Washington had explored the frontier for the then-Governor of Virginia, Robert Dinwiddie. During one mission, an altercation with a party of French and Indians spurred both nations (and much of Europe) into a long and costly war. As one of the few Englishmen who had traversed the wilderness, Washington was appointed a special aide to the commander in chief of British forces in North America, Edward Braddock. Washington did not have a Royal commission, however, and was considered a colonial officer. This was no small factor in Washington's later drift from being English to being American.

Washington became a special assistant
due to his experience in the West

The Campaign

Gen Braddock

Because the war began over a dispute about the western boundaries of British North America, Britain's primary objective was to secure the French forts near the Ohio River. In the summer of 1755, General Edward Braddock, the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the British Army in America, decided to personally lead the main effort against the Ohio Country with a column of about 2,100 men. He had two regular line regiments, the 44th and 48th (approximately 1,350 men), along with about 500 colonial troops and militiamen. To capture the forts, he brought some artillery and other support personnel, including engineers and artificers. Braddock, a confident if not arrogant Scotsman, believed he could seize Fort Duquesne (today's Pittsburgh) with little difficulty. He planned to then move north to capture the other French forts, eventually reaching Fort Niagara. Two additional campaigns were planned to push directly north into French Quebec, but this was to be the primary effort.

The Western Theater of Operations

The Road to Victory

Sketch of Braddock's Route

There is some controversy as to which direction the British should take. There were two main routes to the west. One traversed Virginia (present-day West Virginia), while the other went through western Pennsylvania. Washington was connected to the commercial interests that supported using the southern route. The rationale for both parties was that British military improvements to the road chosen would ensure that the route became the main British artery to the west. In either case, Braddock chose the southern route, which ran through much more rugged and densely wooded terrain. The march to Fort Duquesne relied on the building of a road that Braddock and his men constructed by using an old Indian path called Nemacolin’s Path, which gave them a route through the Allegheny Mountains. Braddock's troops marched from Alexandria to Winchester to Cumberland (MD), where the road through the wilderness began. It took them a little over a month to build this road, which was 12 feet wide and 110 miles long. Fifty years later, it was financed by Congress as the first National Road. But it never took them to Fort Duquesne.

The thickly forested Allegheny Mountains would
prove a formidable obstacle for Braddock's column

The Road to Destruction

On July 9, 1755, Braddock's force crossed the Monongahela River west of a place called Turtle Creek. Braddock's advance guard of 300 grenadiers and colonials, along with two cannons under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gage (later known in Boston for his infamy), began to move ahead. Washington tried to warn him about the flaws in his plan, but Gage ignored him. Confident that there was no enemy nearby, they advanced in a column along a narrow path beneath the heavy wooded canopy. Suddenly, Gage's advance guard encountered the French and Indians, who were rushing to stop the British at the river. However, behind schedule and too late to set an ambush, they collided directly with Gage's men. The enemy forces were led by a French captain named Beaujeu, who became mortally wounded at the start of the engagement. The initial encounter of the two forces caught both sides off guard. Yet, the French and Indians quickly regrouped and started unleashing a deadly fire into the British column. After an exchange of gunfire, Gage's men fell back. In the narrow confines of the road, they crashed into the main body of Braddock's force, which had advanced rapidly upon hearing shots. The entire column dissolved in chaos as Canadian militiamen and Indians surrounded them and continued to snipe at the British flanks from the woods flanking the road. Musket balls zipped through the trees, striking limbs with a crack and leaves with a zing. But it was the silent rounds that hit man after man. War cries and death from behind the thick undergrowth also took a toll on the British, as did the heat. Then the French regulars began advancing along the road and pushed the British back. The British's organized defense collapsed.

Indians ambush the British column

Despite deadly bullets coming from seemingly all directions, the British officers attempted to rally their men. The British also tried to employ some of their cannons, but the narrow confines hindered effective use again. The colonial militias and troops rallied and engaged the Indians with aimed fire, but some received "friendly fire" from panicked British regulars who were still trying to maintain their formations. The fighting lasted several hours, with Washington moving everywhere, trying to take charge where he could. He rallied small groups, and when Braddock was shot from his horse, he established a rearguard to ensure the wounded commander reached safety. Many other officers perished trying to rally and lead their men. The Indians did a remarkable job of picking off the officers, who suffered an extremely high rate of casualties. Washington himself had two horses shot out from under him, and bullets pierced his clothing, yet he emerged without a scratch. By sunset, the remaining British and colonial forces were fleeing back down the road they had built.

Gen Braddock falls wounded

The Aftermath

The French won this battle, commonly referred to as the Battle of the Monongahela, and suffered 40 casualties, which was less than 10 percent. The British, on the other hand, suffered almost 900 casualties, accounting for more than 60 percent of their forces. Braddock himself succumbed to his wounds on July 13. The following day, Washington buried him under the road near the head of the column. The location for his burial was selected to prevent the French and Indians from desecrating his grave. Despite being outnumbered, the French did not pursue the British, while the Indians began looting and scalping. These two factors helped save the column from further destruction. Hopes for a quick British offensive toward the Ohio were decisively crushed on this path of devastation. Such hopes would not be rekindled until three years later, ironically through the use of the northern approach, which became known as Forbes Road.