Battle of the Monongahela
The Battle of the Monongahela (also known as the Battle of Braddock's Field and the Battle of the Wilderness) took place on July 9, 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War at Braddock's Field in present-day Braddock, Pennsylvania, 10 miles (16 km) east of Pittsburgh. A British force under General Edward Braddock, moving to take Fort Duquesne, was defeated by a force of French and Canadian troops under Captain Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu with its American Indian allies.
| Battle of the Monongahela | |||||||
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| Part of the French and Indian War | |||||||
Washington the Soldier Lt. Col. Washington on horseback during the Battle of the Monongahela – Reǵnier 1834 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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France New France Ottawas Abenaki Lenni Lenape Hurons Potawatomis Ojibwa |
Great Britain British America | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu † |
Edward Braddock † Peter Halkett † George Washington Robert Orme (WIA) Thomas Gage John Fraser | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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637 First Nations (the Ottawas, Ojibwa and Potawatomis) 108 troupes de la Marine 146 militia Total: 891 | 1,300 regulars and provincial troops. | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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39 killed 57 wounded |
457 killed 450+ wounded | ||||||
The defeat marked the end of the Braddock Expedition, by which the British had hoped to capture Fort Duquesne and gain control of the strategic Ohio Country. Both Braddock and Beaujeu were killed in action during the battle. Braddock was mortally wounded in the fight and died during the retreat near present-day Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He specifically asked for George Washington, who accompanied him on the march, to oversee his burial. The remainder of the column retreated south-eastwards and the fort, and region, remained in French hands until its capture in 1758.