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Braddock's Defeat: The Battle of the Monongahela and the Road to Revolution

(Pivotal Moments in American History)

David L. Preston

4.24 · Rating details · 135 ratings · 21 reviews

On July 9, 1755, British and colonial troops under the command of General Edward Braddock suffered a crushing defeat to French and Native American enemy forces in Ohio Country. Known as the Battle of the Monongahela, the loss altered the trajectory of the Seven Years' War in America, escalating the fighting and shifting the balance of power. An unprecedented rout of a mode ...more

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Hardcover, 480 pages

Published July 14th 2015 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published May 19th 2015)

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Dec 14, 2016 Matt rated it really liked it

Shelves: american-indian-wars, french-and-indian-war

Even if George Washington had never led the Continental Army to victory in the American Revolution, even if he never served as the first President of the United States of America, he would have gone down in history as a figure of world-historical impact. At the age of 23, following a short, confused fight at a placed later called Jumonville’s Glen, young George Washington sparked a world war.

The year was 1754. The French were fortifying strategic locations in the Ohio Valley. Governor Dinwiddie ...more

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Nov 15, 2015 Steven Peterson rated it it was amazing

This is a wonderful history of General James Braddock's campaign to capture Fort Duquesne and then continue with additional forays against French forces during the French and Indian War. Things did not work out as intended. . . . This book explores the background of English forces being sent to the colonies, the strategic decisions behind Braddock's march, the Battle of the Monangahela, and its aftermath.

The volume begins with the disadvantage to the colonies and the British Empire. A decision w This is a wonderful history of General James Braddock's campaign to capture Fort Duquesne and then continue with additional forays against French forces during the French and Indian War. Things did not work out as intended. . . . This book explores the background of English forces being sent to the colonies, the strategic decisions behind Braddock's march, the Battle of the Monangahela, and its aftermath.

The volume begins with the disadvantage to the colonies and the British Empire. A decision was finally made to send British forces (two regiments of regulars) to the colonies under the command of General James Braddock. Here, the reader gets a sense of Braddock's background and the evolution of his military career. His work had been solid and he seemed a good choice to command the expedition.

Upon his arrival, it was assumed that his regulars would be augmented by substantial colonial troops as well as Indians sympathetic with the British. This marked one of the first errors in assumptions--few Indians joined the expedition, stripping the British forces of scouts and a screen against French and Indians forces. More disappointments followed: supplies promised by the colonies were scarce, as governors had a difficult time getting food and other supplies needed for the march on Fort Duquesne. Benjamin Franklin played a positive role in getting some supplies and wagons to the force.

The march began--quite challenging as the force had to deal with mountains and rivers. George Washington served as an ad hoc staff member. Others who had a role to play in the Revolutionary War were also involved, such as future generals Gage (on the British side), Lee and Gates (on the American side), as well as Daniel Morgan. Their involvement adds an interesting dimension to the book.

After a difficult march, the battle of Monongahela.began--much to the disadvantage of the British and colonial forces. They were caught in a difficult geographic position and the French and Indians opposing them used different tactics to envelop British forces. Indeed, the casualties among French and Indians was quite modest--whereas the British and colonial casualties were quite heavy--including Braddock himself.

The retreat was difficult. The British support at a fort to the rear was scarcely praiseworthy and the retreat continued. The result was viewed as a catastrophe in the colonies and in Great Britain. It is good that the book does not end there, but speaks of the aftermath of the defeat. The British invested more troops into the war and changed their tactics to some extent. The book also considers the linkage between the French and Indian War and the Revolution itself.

All in all, an excellent volume. . . . ...more

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Oct 29, 2014 Jerome rated it it was amazing

A clear, sweeping and well-written history of the Braddock campaign, with an emphasis on the difference in tactics between the British regulars and the French, Canadian, and Indian forces. Preston does a fine job placing the campaign into its context and brings all of the players to life. He concludes that “the battle was not lost by one man’s arrogance or bluster,” and that in terms of the battles’ context and factors, Braddock was “simply unfortunate.”

Along with the actual campaign, Preston co A clear, sweeping and well-written history of the Braddock campaign, with an emphasis on the difference in tactics between the British regulars and the French, Canadian, and Indian forces. Preston does a fine job placing the campaign into its context and brings all of the players to life. He concludes that “the battle was not lost by one man’s arrogance or bluster,” and that in terms of the battles’ context and factors, Braddock was “simply unfortunate.”

Along with the actual campaign, Preston covers the motives of France’s Indian allies, and why the Indians allied with the British weren’t particularly eager to aid Braddock’s campaign. Many of the natives suspected that both the British and the French would discard or even eliminate their Indian allies once one side defeated the other, and Preston shows how this suspicion affected the war in general and the campaign in particular.

Most of the book deals with the actual march and the various difficulties encountered in traversing the terrain, and explores how the fatigue of the march may have affected the soldiers’ performance when they actually came to battle. Preston also points out that, when the enemy attacked them at the Monongahela, these men were able to stand and fight for three hours against a practically invisible enemy. These soldiers did not display panic, indiscipline, or incompetence as we understand it today.

Although older books and popular mythology have tended to portray Braddock’s march as an inflexible, hidebound “European” affair doomed to failure, historians have challenged this caricature over the years, and Preston does the same. He also concludes that the march was actually quite a success in terms of logistics. Many accounts also fault Braddock for arrogance and blundering; Preston notes that this robs the entire story of contingency, and he highlights several events that he argues were just as pivotal, such as the decision to send British regulars to North America, the Alexandria Congress, French logistics troubles, Indian diplomacy, intelligence failures, and Braddock’s actual success in constructing a road that quickened the march to his objective.

An excellent, well-researched history. ...more

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Jan 17, 2017 Chris rated it really liked it

Shelves: french-and-indian

This is an account of General Edward Braddock's disastrous 1755 expedition to attempt the capture of Fort Duqesne from the French at the forks of the Ohio River in present day Pittsburgh, PA. The author first goes into the background of how the British, French, and Native Americans came into conflict in the Ohio territory. He explains how the French and Indian War began and the subsequent planning for the Braddock Expedition. It is a detailed work on the expedition and battle and includes analys ...more

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Dec 03, 2017 Christopher Saunders rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017-reads

David L. Preston's Braddock's Defeat serves as a revisionist corrective to standard narratives about the French and Indian War. It's a detailed military history of Braddock's march and defeat along the Monongahela, yet he expands beyond the common narrative of the battle to show a more fleshed-out picture. He devotes significant space to the French expedition to Ft. Duquesne, with Captain Beaujeu (who, like Braddock, perished in the battle) coming off as a particularly heroic figure. He's much k ...more

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Nov 03, 2015 Ross rated it it was ok

This is really a very depressing story of British stupidity and incompetence. Braddock was sent to the colonies in 1755 with two regiments of regular troops to destroy the French Fort Duquesne which had been established in the western wilderness at a site that is now downtown Pittsburgh.
General Braddock had no fighting experience and neither had the great majority of his troops. Upon arriving the expedition pressed another thousand colonists, most of whom also had no fighting experience.
After h ...more

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Jun 25, 2017 Vince Ciaramella rated it it was amazing

The Braddock expedition and the Battle of the Monongahela are two of my favorite topics that I have been researching since I was a kid. I think I may have read almost every book out there dealing with the doomed army's march and I still have all of them plus a collection of books printed in small runs by sites along the road that you cannot by off of Amazon. So this book was a must.

What I really liked about this book is that Preston dispels the myth that Braddock was some tyrant on horseback tha ...more

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Mar 18, 2019 Clinton Shatzer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I've been interested in Braddock's expedition ever since I attended an elementary school on Braddock's Road in Alexandria,VA. This was my first bit of research on the subject and it doesn't disappoint. I found most valuable the battlefield maps, which are superimposed on maps of the present day, allowing a modern visitor to place himself at the scene of the action. I'm already planning my visit. This book gives full credit to the tactical baffle plan developed by the French and the significant c ...more

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Jun 05, 2018 Bryn Dunham rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history, owned-books

Excellent history of one of the first battles of the French and Indian War. Vivid descriptions of the monumental logistical challenges of marching men and materiel through the densely forested mountains of VA, MD, and PA; the contrasting of the tactics and composition of the rival forces; the consequences of the battle and its legacy. This is really a great book about 18th century warfare and life on the first frontier in America.

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Oct 08, 2018 Eric rated it really liked it

This was an excellent book, filled with well researched, well thought out, and well written analysis & conclusions about one of the seminal battles in American history. This is the way modern history should be done.

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Sep 04, 2018 W Charles rated it it was amazing

This is THE book to read on this battle and its importance in American history. It is very well researched, uncovering new sources and very well written.

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Mar 27, 2018 Raymond rated it really liked it

Painstakingly in detail Braddock's march across PA.
Great historical compilation that took about as long to read as it did to cross PA with George Washington himself.

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Oct 05, 2015 Charles Inglin rated it it was amazing

An excellent account of General Braddock's expedition against Fort Duquesne (modern Pittsburgh), his defeat, and the larger ramification for the history of North America. In the wake of the disastrous Battle of the Monongahela Braddock's reputation was savaged. The General Braddock the author portrays was in fact an able and competent commander and administrator faced with daunting problems. Before he could attack the French at the forks of the Ohio he had to get his army, at the time the larges An excellent account of General Braddock's expedition against Fort Duquesne (modern Pittsburgh), his defeat, and the larger ramification for the history of North America. In the wake of the disastrous Battle of the Monongahela Braddock's reputation was savaged. The General Braddock the author portrays was in fact an able and competent commander and administrator faced with daunting problems. Before he could attack the French at the forks of the Ohio he had to get his army, at the time the largest the British had mounted in North America, from tidewater Virginia across the Appalachians, a task made much more difficult by the inability of the colonial governments to provide sufficient transport and supplies. That he succeeded in building a road through the wilderness almost to Fort Duquesne is a testimony to his ability.

Braddock was also pilloried as an incompetent soldier. The author shows that the conduct of the march over the Appalachians was well organized tactically and that Braddock was very cognizant of the security of his columns. The only serious encounter with the French and Indians by his advanced guard was easily countered. But then Braddock fell victim to circumstances, not all of which can be laid at his feet. Had he arrived earlier, he would have easily overwhelmed the French, or more likely have found the fort abandoned. Instead, the French garrison was reinforced by French-Canadian marines and militia, with extensive experience fighting in the woods and with their Indian allies. They had a cadre of officers, including, critically, Captain Beaujeu, who were very experienced in working with the Indians, and were instrumental in gathering large numbers of them to oppose the British. Captain Beaujeu led a French-Canadian-Indian force out to meet Braddock's advance. In the first clash the French and Canadians were thrown back and Captain Beaujeu killed, but at that point the Indians essentially took control of the battle, using their knowledge of fighting in the forest to rapidly outflank the British column, inflicting casualties from cover and particularly picking off the officers. The British troops, trained to stand in ranks and fire by volley on command, rather than picking and firing at targets, wasted their ammunition firing into the trees, and at time in the confusion into each other. The American independent companies and rangers attached to Braddock's column, used to fighting Indian style, often ended up being decimated by friendly fire. Near the end of the battle it was the American troops who established a rear guard and ennabled the survivors to withdraw.

Braddock's defeat was followed by a series of defeats for British troops, but the survivors proved they were able to learn and they developed light infantry tactics based on the French and Indian tactics that enabled them to conquer French North America. But then they rapidly forgot the lessons and as the author points out the retreat of the British column from the battles of Lexington and Concord while harassed by colonial militia were almost a replay of Braddock's defeat.

Among the longer term affects of Braddock's defeat was increased friction between the British army and government and the colonists and the colonial governments. The Monongahela and other British defeats further eroded the status of British regular troops in the eyes of the colonists. The British officer class generally looked down upon the colonists. A serious source of friction was that it was difficult for colonials to gain commissions in the British army, and colonial troops were usually under British officers.

Significantly, when tensions reached the breaking point and revolution broke out, three of the leading American generals, native born George Washington and British immigrants Horatio Gates and Charles Lee, were veterans and survivors of Braddock's defeat, who put their experience to use creating an American army that combined the lessons of Europeand and American war fighting. ...more

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Sep 16, 2015 Doug Gordon rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2015

When I first saw that this was written by a history professor, I was concerned that it would be too "academic" and make for dense reading with a lot of superfluous details. But I was wrong about that. It certainly is greatly detailed, and at times I got lost with the profusion of unfamiliar names, but the narrative flowed very well and held my interest all the way through.

I had a particular interest in this story since I have traveled in that area of Pennsylvania a couple of times and stopped by ...more

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Jul 15, 2016 Brian rated it it was amazing

Shelves: american-history-colonial

The pivotal moments in American History series always delivers well researched and thoughtful books and Braddock’s Defeat is no exception. This book traces how the defeat of Braddock led to the American revolution by giving the colonists an identity and binding them in the face of war. The roads built by Braddock’s army became conduits for the French and Indians to attack the British colonies and cemented a loyalty creating heroes like George Washington, Gates, and Lee. The book traces the effor ...more

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Jul 20, 2015 Mike Staresinic rated it really liked it

In this reassessment of Braddock's Expedition, Preston asks the questions that come to mind in reading staid histories of the expedition and its rapid demise above the banks of the Monongahela in 1755. Original documents unearthed by Preston show the French plan of attack - in a 3-party battle, American authors had not located French battle plans, first-hand accounts recorded within months, and an American Indian participant's account. Preston reveals that Indian leaders long believed to be at t ...more

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Sep 30, 2015 Chris Kostenko rated it really liked it

An excellent history that looks at the reasons for Braddock's defeat as well as the ramifications. Interesting to note: the friction between the English and the British Americans. Royal governors have no use for Colonial Assemblies, Regular British officers will always supersede colonial officers, regardless of rank, British officers take what they need from colonists without much thought and often without compensation, and the role of the Native Americans during the battle of the Monongahela an ...more

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Jan 06, 2016 James rated it really liked it

Interesting as one of the few books I have seen on this subject. Paints a complete picture - dsopelling some of the myths regarding Braddock and Co. while filling in the French/Native American side as well. One complaint - some of the pictures are so small I needed a magnifying glass to look at any details.

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Apr 29, 2016 Joseph rated it really liked it

A comprehensive and detailed examination of a critical event in the nation's history, this book should probably not be one's first dive into the subject unless being immersed in dense detail is the goal. Luckily for me, the story is a familiar one so I found Preston's insights and research very interesting, probably because I chose to tackle the book in smaller doses.

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May 31, 2015 Brad Hayes rated it it was amazing

A groundbreaking study that reexamines a pivotal event in colonial American history. Preston draws on new sources and perspectives to breathe new life into his subject matter. A well-written and engaging book.

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Feb 27, 2016 Butch rated it really liked it

Shelves: military, us-history

Best account I have read, thorough and unprecedented use of French/Canadian sources to get a better glimpse of American Indian/French accounts. Major event in the history of the United States.

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