Battle of Monongahela
The Battle of Monongahela, fought on July 9, 1755, was a significant conflict in the French and Indian War, marking a critical moment of military engagement between British and French forces in North America. Major General Edward Braddock led an army of 1,400 men towards Fort Duquesne, aiming to secure the area for the British. However, they encountered strong resistance from the French, commanded by Captain Claude-Pierre Contrecoeur, who dispatched Captain Daniel-Hyacinthe-Marie Liénard Beaujeu and over 600 Native American allies to disrupt the British advance. The battle commenced in the early afternoon, and despite initial British formations, they were quickly overwhelmed by relentless fire from the French and Native American forces hidden in the woods.
Braddock's troops suffered devastating losses, with 977 casualties, including a staggering 73 percent of the officers, while the French and their allies incurred only minimal losses. The battle not only resulted in the death of Braddock but also had far-reaching consequences for British colonial efforts, severely shaking morale and leaving the frontier exposed to further attacks. The French retained control of Fort Duquesne, highlighting the challenges faced by British forces in the early stages of the war. This battle exemplifies the complexities of colonial military conflicts and the interplay between European powers and Indigenous nations in North America.
On this Page
Battle of Monongahela
Type of action: Ground battle in the French and Indian War
Date: July 9, 1755
Location: Monongahela River, nine miles southwest of Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh)
Combatants: 1,400 British and Americans vs. 855 French, Canadians, and Native Americans
Principal commanders:British, Major General Edward Braddock (1695–1755); French, Captain Daniel-Hyacinthe-Marie Liénard de Beaujeu (1711–1755)
Result: French crush a British army, stopping an offensive against Fort Duquesne
On July 9, 1755, Major General Edward Braddock’s 1,400-man army neared Fort Duquesne after a month-long march from Fort Cumberland, Maryland, through the wilderness. Captain Claude-Pierre Contrecoeur, Duquesne’s commander, sent Captain Daniel-Hyacinthe-Marie Liénard Beaujeu and more than 600 Native Americans to slow the British advance. The two forces met in early afternoon. Beaujeu was killed immediately, but his men drove the British vanguard into the main body and quickly encircled it. Then, unseen by the British, they rained fire on them from the forest. Braddock’s regulars, tightly packed in their linear formations, blindly returned the fire and were slaughtered. His provincial troops tried to fight from cover but to no avail. After several hours, the British army broke and ran. George Washington, one of the general’s aides, helped conduct the retreat. The French inflicted 977 casualties, including 73 percent of the officers, and mortally wounded Braddock, while losing only 23 dead and 16 wounded. They also captured large amounts of military equipment.
Significance
The first major battle of the French and Indian War, the defeat at the Monongahela greatly shook Anglo-American morale. Furthermore, it left the frontier vulnerable to Indian raids as the French retained Fort Duquesne.
Bibliography
Kopperman, Paul E. Braddock at the Monongahela. Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1977.
O’Meara, Walter. Guns at the Forks. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1965.
Williams, Noel St. John. Redcoats Along the Hudson: The Struggle for North America, 1754–1763. London: Brassey’s, 1997.