Battles in the Americas

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Battle of the Monongahela

On July 9, 1755, Braddock's men crossed the Monongahela without opposition, about nine miles south of Fort Duquesne. The advance unit under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gage began to move ahead, and unexpectedly came upon the French and Indians, who were hurrying to the river, behind schedule and too late to set an ambush. In the furious skirmish that followed between Gage's soldiers and the French, the French commander was killed, although apparently his death did not have a negative effect on French morale as the French and their Indian allies continued to advance. The battle, which came to be known as the Battle of the Monongahela (or the Battle of the Wilderness, or just Braddock's Defeat), was officially begun. Braddock's impressive column of almost 1,500 men faced fewer than 900 French and Indians.^[2]

After an initial defense, Gage's advance group fell back. In the narrow confines of the road, they collided with the main body of Braddock's force, which had advanced rapidly when the shots were heard. The entire column dissolved in disorder as the Canadian militamen and Indians enveloped them and continued to snipe at the British from the woods and ravines on the sides of the road. At this time, the French regulars began advancing from the road and began to push the British back.

Following Braddock's example, the officers kept trying to reform units into regular order within the confines of the road, mostly in vain and simply providing targets for their concealed enemy. In a fruitless attempt, cannon was used, but in such confines of the forest road, it was ineffective. The colonial militia accompanying the British either fled or took cover and returned fire. In the confusion, some of the militiamen who were fighting from the woods were mistaken for the enemy and fired upon by the British regulars.

Finally, after around an hour of intense combat, Braddock was shot off his horse, and effective resistance collapsed. However, Colonel Washington, with no official position in the chain of command, was able to impose and maintain some order and formed a rear guard, which allowed the force to evacuate and eventually disengage. This earned him the sobriquet Hero of the Monongahela, by which he was toasted, and established his fame for some time to come.

By sunset, the surviving British and American forces were fleeing back down the road they had built. Braddock died of his wounds during the long retreat, on July 13, and is buried within the Fort Necessity parklands.

Of the approximately 1,500 men Braddock had led into battle, 456 were killed and 422 wounded. (Commissioned officers were prime targets and suffered greatly: out of 86 officers, 26 were killed and 37 wounded.) Also, of the 50 or so women that accompanied the British column as maids and cooks, only 4 survived. The roughly 250 French and Canadians reported 8 killed and 4 wounded; their 637 Indian allies lost 15 killed and 12 wounded.

Colonel Dunbar, with the rear supply unit, took command when the survivors reached his position. He ordered the destruction of supplies and cannon before withdrawing, burning about 150 wagons on the spot. Ironically, at this point the demoralised and disorganised British forces still outnumbered their opponents, who had not even dared to pursue.

It is claimed that the retreat did not begin until three to four hours after the opening shots. This seems unlikely. The British soldiers carried 24 rounds into battle. It seems more likely that, being shot at from hidden positions, they began to retreat after these were expended, or the officers became casualties.

1.) Cajamarca (1532) Spanish  force of 100 infantry and 67 cavalry. Their commander was Fransico Pizarro. Against them  the Incas had 6,000 warriors . They were commanded by Atahualpa.

2.) Quebec (1759) British force of 4,441 troops commanded by Major general James wolfe. Against them the French had 4,500 commanded by General Marquis Louis-Joseph de Montcalm.