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Portrait of Braddock: George Washington learned a lot under this British general's command. (National Park Service)
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Gen. Edward Braddock
Washington's French And Indian War Commander Taught Him Much About Warfare -- And The British Army
By Bethanne Kelly Patrick
Military.com Contributing Writer
He was a career soldier who had risen through the ranks and followed every regulation to advance as far as he possibly could. In 1755, Gen. Edward Braddock was appointed to head the British forces in North America, and he believed himself eminently qualified. So did many others. His young volunteer aide, a colonial named George Washington, wrote that he "believed this was an excellent opportunity to learn military affairs from an experienced general." And Washington did learn much from the experience.
No one -- not Britain's monarch, not the new commander-in-chief, nor his young aide -- reckoned on New World fighting techniques as they plotted to attack as many French forts as possible. Braddock disembarked at the port of Alexandria in the spring of 1755, determined to lead the attack against Fort Duquesne (modern-day Pittsburgh) personally. Although he augmented his 1,800 British troops with 500 colonial militia and a few Indians, Braddock thought his trained soldiers worth far more in any amount.
On July 9, the advance party reached the Forks of the Ohio, crossed the Monongahela, and marched to Fort Duquesne, where the woods exploded with musket fire and fierce war cries from the French soldiers and their Indian allies. As the rear units advanced, the advance units fell back, causing the British column to disintegrate. The French and Indian warriors fought from behind trees, rocks, and other natural barriers, while the British remained in formation in the middle of the narrow road to the fort, their bright coats excellent targets. The colonial Virginians prevented a total rout by fighting wilderness-style, but Braddock refused to allow his regulars to protect themselves. Although the British outnumbered the enemy more than two to one, in the end 977 of Braddock's 1,500 men were killed, including 63 of 86 officers.
Braddock had done his best with the flat of his sword and the edge of his tongue to restore order to his ranks, but he was too late. With his men broken into heaving, purposeless groups, the general had four horses shot from beneath him. While trying to mount a fifth, Braddock was shot through the lungs. He lingered for four days, and when he died, he was buried in the middle of the military road that still bears his name so that his body would not be found and mutilated. Doctors later reported that the general had died more from anxiety than from wounds.
Thus ended the career of a man "whose good and bad qualities were intimately blended," wrote the future Gen. Washington -- who learned much about the weaknesses of the British Army under Braddock's tutelage.
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