General Edward Braddock

“ Many Americans, though still loyal to the mother country, would not stand this, and among those to resign their commissions was Washington, who went back to his mother and to his brother’s family at Mount Vernon.
But the trouble in America was now a matter of hot discussion in England and France and soon England decided to strike at France’s colonies in Nova Scotia, New York, and throughout the Ohio valley. For this purpose England sent Major-General Edward Braddock to Virginia at the head of two regiments of picked soldiers. ”

“ In May 1750 by royal appointment he became a member for life of the governor’s council, and in the same year he resigned the post of superintendent of Indian affairs. In 1754 he was one of the New York delegates to the inter-colonial convention at Albany, N.Y. In 1755 General Edward Braddock, the commander of the British forces in America, commissioned him major-general, in which capacity he directed the expedition against Crown Point, and in September defeated the French and Indians under Baron Ludwig A. Dieskau (1701-1767) at the battle of Lake George, where he himself was wounded. ”

“ Chafing to learn what has become of his parent, David remains at the home of his uncle until the next Spring, when General Braddock arrives with his troops from England. Another campaign against the French is now opened and once again the youth becomes a soldier boy, to witness Braddock’s bitter defeat and Washington’s masterly effort to save the remnant of the army from annihilation. ”

“ After this, however, he embraced the profession of arms, and distinguished himself in the Canadian war, and especially on the day of Braddock’s defeat, when, at the head of the provincial militia, he covered the retreat of the British troops, and saved them from destruction. Subsequently, when the French were driven from Canada and the war was over, Washington quitted the army, and began his political life as a member of the general assembly, to which honour his valour had been the chief instrument of raising him. ”

“ Braddock, General Edward, a British soldier, major-general commanding the English army in the expedition against the French on the Ohio in 1755, was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1695, and died from wounds received in an ambuscade of French and Indians, at Great Meadows, in July, 1755, sixty miles from Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburg) . ”

“ He rode by General Braddock's side, and was by far the most conspicuous figure there for grace and nobility. His illness seemed to have departed in a night, and he was the same erect, soldierly form, fairly dwarfing every one contrasted with him. As the General and his first aide rode together, General Braddock said, confidently:
"Colonel Washington, in spite of your warning, see how far we have come upon our way without disaster. The danger of an attack by Indians is now passed, and we have but to march a few miles more and glory is ours." ”

“ The Indians and French were hidden in bushes and behind trees, and they poured volley after volley into the British ranks. The settlers wished to fight in the Indian fashion, and take cover behind the trees; but Braddock thought this mode of warfare cowardly, and so they fought in the open until so many of the British were killed that a retreat had to be sounded. Soon the retreat became a flight, and but for Washington and his Virginians, Braddock’s little army would probably have been cut off to a man. ”

“ I would, my dear children, have you dwell on these glimpses of a more manly and generous nature that brightened the closing hours of Braddock's life; because it is but Christian and just that we should be willing to honor virtue in whomsoever it may be found. With all his self-conceit and obstinacy, he had a kindly heart, and was a brave man; and had it been his lot to deal with a civilized enemy, instead of a savage one, he would, no doubt, have proved himself a skilful general. ”

“ No road led through the woods; so the troops were forced to cut one as they slowly went westward. Braddock was brave and honest, but harsh and brutal in manners. He could not understand the nature of a war in the woods. Like other English officers of the time, he despised American militia and their half-Indian way of fighting. Washington and the other American officers advised him to send scouts ahead to look for the enemy; but Braddock would have none of this. He marched his army through the forest in perfect alignment, with the band playing and banners flying. ”

“ The shots were like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky.
"The Indians," said George, in a perfectly composed voice, reining up his horse.
"I see no Indians," cried General Braddock, excitedly. "There is disorder in the ranks; have them closed up at once, and march in double-time. We will soon find the enemy."
But the firing from the invisible foe again broke forth, this time fiercer and more murderous than before. General Braddock, riding to the head of the first regiment, which had begun to waver, shouted the order for them to reform and fire. ”

“ At twenty he was physically a young giant capable of enduring any hardship and of meeting any foe. He ran his surveyor's chain far into the wilderness to the west of Mount Vernon. When hardly a man in age, the State of Virginia knew of his qualities and made him an officer in its militia. At only twenty-three he was invited to accompany General Braddock's staff, but neither he nor angels from heaven could prevent Braddock from plunging with typical British bull-headedness into the fatal Indian ambush. ”

“ Under the influence of this consideration, it was determined to select twelve hundred men, who should be led by the general in person to the point of destination. The residue of the army, under the command of colonel Dunbar, was to follow, with the baggage, by slow and easy marches.
This disposition being made, Braddock pressed forward to his object, in the confidence that he could find no enemy capable of opposing him ”

“ Captain Vanbraam told him much of this one night when he rode from Alexandria to spend the night with George.
"General Braddock is a great, bluff, brave, foolish, hard-drinking, hard-driving Irishman. He does not understand the temper of our soldiers, and has not the remotest conception of Indian fighting, which our enemies have been clever enough to adopt. I foresee nothing but disaster if he carries out the campaign on his present lines. There is but one good sign. He has heard of you, Colonel Washington, and seems to have been impressed by the devotion of your men to you. ”

“ The commander then gave the sign to retreat, and was endeavouring to restore order when a ball struck him from his horse. The British Army had become bewildered fugitives, and a guard could hardly be kept for the wounded General, as he was borne along on a horse as a litter.
The sinking Braddock at last died and was buried in the road, that the tramp of the surging mass of men might obliterate his grave. His remains are said to have been discovered in 1823 by some workmen engaged in constructing the National road, at a spot pointed out by an old man who had been in the ranks in 1755. ”

“ The two armies were to enter the great valleys, one of the St. Lawrence, the other of the Ohio, but not in direct opposition. Dieskau was hurled back at Lake George; Braddock on the Monongahela. We must follow their fortunes.
In February, 1755, Braddock landed at Hampton, Virginia, and presently he and Dinwiddie were living “in great harmony.” A son of Shirley of Massachusetts was serving Braddock as secretary, and he was telling a correspondent how “disqualified his general was for the service he was employed in, in almost every respect.” ”

“ We will not narrate again in detail here the oft-told story of Braddock's Defeat—how he insisted on marching across the mountains and valleys of Pennsylvania, as though on parade—with banners flying, fifes shrilling, and drums beating. It was a brave display, and such as the old General was accustomed to, in Europe. It would undoubtedly put the French and their skulking allies to instant flight!
Against such a method of warfare Washington raised his voice of counsel, but in vain. The grizzled veteran brushed him aside. Washington was for rapid marching, with scouting troops deployed on ahead. ”

“ In the meantime, a fleet was to sail from New England to join the first army in besieging Quebec. But the fourth and principal expedition, led by Braddock himself, was to march across Pennsylvania to Fort Duquesne, so as to [207] drive the French out of the coveted Ohio valley. This plan was very fine; but Braddock, used to the European way of fighting, little knew how to carry on war with the French and Indians in the pathless forests.
Washington now advised Braddock, his superior officer, to leave the heavy baggage and cannons behind; but the British general would not consent. ”

“ After much discussion, a campaign plan was adopted whereby General Braddock was to capture Fort Duquesne and expel the French from the Ohio Valley. At this same conference, the suggestion was made that the British Ministry could levy taxes on the colonies to help pay the expense of the war.
Braddock and his troops marched westward from Alexandria into western Pennsylvania near Fort Duquesne through dense wilderness from April 12 to July 9. General Braddock had been accustomed to fighting the European tactics way, but he was wholly unfamiliar with Indian and ambush fighting. ”

“ The Governor detach'd a party to bury the Dead, and to look for the Indians, they found a Child standing in the Water scalp'd, which had 2 holes in its Skull, they brought it to the Doctor, who dressed it but Died in a Week. [19]
June 10th: the last Division of His Majesty's Forces March'd from Wills Creek with General Braddock, when the General Arrived at the little Meadows 22 Miles from the Creek, and having all his Forces wth. him, found that the Carriages, Pack horses &ca. ”

“ None of our home soldiers liked the ways of the troops from England, and it made them mad to have their officers pushed down and Braddock's underlings pushed up. Even Washington had to remonstrate, although they tell me he was willing to fight no matter what position they gave him. And matters are going no better in the North. Either England and our colonies must wake up, or, ere we know it, all will be lost to the French and their Indian allies. ”

“ Here he and his soldiers fought bravely against a French force of far superior numbers to which they had to yield at last.
The next year, Washington, in charge of the Virginia [162] troops, went with General Braddock, commanding the English forces, to attack the French and take Fort Du Quesne. Braddock was brave but stubborn and ignorant of the methods of Indian warfare. Washington wished the Virginia rangers to march in front in order to guard the army against surprise.
“What!” said Braddock, “a Virginia colonel teach a British general how to fight!” ”

“ Armies of regulars will never afford protection; they have never answered any good purpose against the Indians from the time of Braddock's defeat down to that of Major General St. Clair, although this last-mentioned unfortunate expedition cost the United States an immense sum of money, and the lives of a great number of valuable officers and citizens. History and the experience of ages have proved this fact, that unwieldy armies will never be able to fight the savages in the wilderness ”

“ The men were camped about the fort, and half a mile away through the forest a hundred Indians had pitched their wigwams. And here, on the tenth of May, came the Forty-Eighth under Colonel Dunbar, and General Braddock himself in his great traveling chariot, his staff riding behind and a body of light horse on either side. We were paraded to welcome him, the drums rolled out the grenadiers, the seventeen guns prescribed by the regulations were fired, and the campaign was on in earnest. ”

“ General Braddock looked at the gaunt weather-beaten man of the woods, clad in hunting shirt and moccasins, painted and bedecked with feathers like an Indian. Truly a strange ally, he thought. "I have experienced troops," he said, "on whom I can depend." ”

“ Washington was seized with a fever, and obliged to travel in a covered wagon. Braddock, however, continued to consult him, and he advised the general to disencumber himself of his heavy guns and unnecessary baggage, to leave them with a rear division, and to press forward expeditiously to Fort Du Quesne. In a council of war it was determined that Braddock [474] should advance as rapidly as possible with twelve hundred select men, and Colonel Dunbar follow on slowly with a rear-guard of about six hundred,—a number of the soldiers being disabled by sickness. ”

“ GENERAL BRADDOCK SCORNING
WASHINGTON'S ADVICE.
"The Indians," said Braddock, "may frighten Colonial troops, but they can make no impression on the king's regulars. We are alike impervious to fun or fear." Braddock thought of fighting the Indians by manœuvring in large bodies, but the first body to be manœuvred was that of General Braddock, who perished in about a minute.
GENERAL BRADDOCK AFTER SCORNING WASHINGTON'S ADVICE.
We give the reader, above, an idea of Braddock's soldierly bearing after he had been manœuvring a few times. ”

“ The warrant of appointment, of which there is a copy in the archives at Philadelphia, appoints Braddock to be 'general and commander-in-chief of all our troops and forces yt are in North America or yt shall be sent or rais'd there to vindicate our just rights and possessions.' Braddock, who must have been then about sixty, was a favourite with William, duke of Cumberland, to whom he probably owed the appointment, although his detractors alleged that his sturdy begging for place under pressure of his gambling debts was the real cause. ”