The Braddock Expedition, also called the Battle of Monongahela or the Battle of the Wilderness, was a failed attempt by the British and Thirteen Colonies to capture the French outpost of Fort Duquesne in the Ohio Valley. General Edward Braddock planned to clear room for white settlement in native lands in the Frontier, so the Lenape, Abenaki, and Shawnee allied under Kaniehtizio and ambushed the British, defeating them and killing Braddock.
Background[]
In 1752, the Marquis Duquesne of France ordered the construction of forts to consolidate French control over the Ohio Valley, the land that linked French Canada and Louisiana. Duquesne built Fort Frontenac, Fort Niagara, Fort Duquesne, and Fort Chambly to guard the valley, and reinforced the strongholds of Montreal and Quebec. Colonel George Washington was sent by Robert Dinwiddie to demand the immediate withdrawal of the French forces, but there was a clash at Jumonville Glen that left a French officer dead. This started the French and Indian War, initially an undeclared conflict.
Major General Edward Braddock and 1,500 British and Colonial troops prepared to go on an expedition to seize Fort Duquesne from the French, as well as to clear out the Frontier for white settlement. In the winter of 1754-1755 he encamped at Fort St-Mathieu (near New York City) and was supplied by wagons, but Knights Templar associate Haytham Kenway snuck into the fort on one of these wagons and stole a reference map containing the plans for the campaign. He gave it to the Mohawk, who alerted the Lenape, Abenaki, and Shawnee tribes to the invasion.
Braddock's army marched down the trail to Fort Duquesne in a wooded area, making their cannon ineffective. The Abenaki, Lenape, and Shawnee warriors, supervised by some French officers, took up position in the brush among the trees so that the expedition would not spot them. When Braddock set up a series of camps, Haytham Kenway and other Templars (who fought along with the French and Indians to gain access to the Grand Temple) ambushed a small one and took the uniforms. In disguise, Kenway rode up to Braddock and pointed a gun at him. Before he could fire, the trap was sprung.
Battle[]
The Indians and French charged out of the brush, with the French light infantry firing at the British and colonials with their rifles as the Indians charged in with tomahawks. The British forces were caught by surprise and butchered. George Washington tried to save Braddock, shooting Kenway's horse, but Kaniehtizio, a Mohawk woman, pushed him to the ground as Kenway chased Braddock. The general attempted to flee on foot, but Kenway shot him in the back with a pistol, killing him. After his death, the expedition was defeated, and Washington retreated back to Pennsylvania.
Aftermath[]
Only a few British and Colonials escaped. Nearly 900 of 1,500 British and Colonials were killed in the battle, and the Indians won a great victory. However, the war continued on, and the British recovered to defeat the French and Indians at the Battle of Lake George.
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