Location: Western Pennsylvania, just south of Lake Erie

1. French and Indian War:Battle of the Wilderness at Fort Duquesne, “General Braddock’s Defeat,”July 9, 1755

3. Location: Western Pennsylvania, just south of Lake Erie

5. Fort Duquesne as it would have looked in 1755. This is from a diorama built by Table Top Studios for the film, Last of the Mohicans.

6. The Two Sides:1600 against 891 • The British: Reportedly had around 4,000 officers and troops altogether. However, the actual number was much smaller: 1600 troops were in the field, consisting of around 200 of British “regulars,” 200 volunteers, 40-50 women, and a few Oneida Native allies. • The French and Allies: 36 officers, 72 “regulars,” 146 militiamen, 637 Natives

7. The Fight

8. Though they outnumbered the French and their Native allies by thousands, the British suffered severe losses.

9. At one point in the fighting, two British 6-pounders, similar to the one pictured below, were taken by the French and Natives and fired upon the British.

10. British General Braddock was having a particularly rough day:4 times, his horse was shot out

11. Battlefield deaths were agonizing.

12. Prisoner Deaths were Even Worse: A British prisoner of war recalled this: After sundown, I … [saw] about a dozen prisoners, stri[p]ped naked, with their hands tied behind their backs, and their faces and parts of their bodies blackened; these prisoners they burned to death on the bank of the … river ... I stood on the fort wall until I beheld them begin to burn one of these men; they had him tied to a stake, and kept touching him with firebrands, red-hot irons … and he screamed ... [T]he Indians, in the mean-time, yelling like infernal spirits.

13. The Defeat • Toward the end of the battle, General Braddock and his assistant, Major George Washington, were the only officers on the British side still alive.

14. Painting Title: Braddock’s Defeat Date of Painting: 1903 Artist: Edwin DemingDate of Battle: 1755Source: Wisconsin Historical Society

15. A Primary Voice: Charles Langlade was a Frenchman who lived among the Natives of modern-day Wisconsin and Michigan in the mid-1700s. Like so many of his French countrymen, he lived off the land, hunting, trapping, and trading with Natives. The Natives gave the French furs to sell to Europe, food to survive in the wilderness, and lessons about how to survive and thrive in the wilderness. In return, the French gave the Natives textiles, iron tools, and European weapons such as muskets. The onset of war between the British and French pulled Charles Langlade out of his life as a fur trader and into the life of a soldier. Because of his knowledge of the land and the many friendships he had with Natives throughout the Great Lakes region, Charles Langlade was appointed to lead a band of Frenchmen and Natives in battle against the British at Fort Duquesne. Charles Langlade told his wartime experiences to his grandson, who wrote down the stories so that they could be preserved for future historians like us.

16. In Charles Langlade’s Words: “… I [do not] know how large a band my grandfather led from the northwest; but I remember his saying that when they assembled at [the fort] the total number of French and their Indian allies amounted to not far from fifteen hundred; … nearly all the Indian force was composed of the bands led … by my grandfather… Upon their arrival at Fort Du Quesne, spies were sent out to discover the enemy’s approach and they soon returned reporting that Braddock’s army was within a half a day’s march of the Monongahela [River], cutting a load as they advanced. It was determined that … with what French could be spared, the Indian force and my grandfather … should go out and meet the enemy at the Monongahela [River] and attack them while crossing that stream. The English got to the south bank of the Monongahela about noon, halted and prepared for dinner; while the French and Indians were secreted on the other shore. [My grandfather] went to [the commander] and told him no time should be lost but that the attack should be at once [begun]. [The commander] made no reply. [My grandfather] then called the chiefs together and [asked] them to go to [the commander] and demand orders to [begin]the battle. No reply was made to this demand. Then [my grandfather] went himself and urged the necessity of at once attacking the English. [He said] to [the commander] that if he did not intend to fight at all then it was well to act as he did. But if fighting was to be done then it was the time to do it while the English were eating.” Source: Wisconsin Historical Society, ID whcvIII0000. Date of AugustinGrignon’s memoir: 1857. Date of battle: 1755. Edited by Ms. Ellison. 

17. Due largely to their Native allies and their use of guerrilla techniques, the French and Indians defeated the British at Fort DuquesneSketch Title: Defeat of General Braddock Artist: Billings Sketch Date: 1855 Battle Date: 1755Source: Wisconsin Historical Society