Battle of the Monongahela

Battle of the Monongahela
Part of the French and Indian War
Washington the Soldier by Reǵnier (1834), depicting Lt. Col. Washington on horseback during the battle
Date July 9, 1755[1] Location near present-day Braddock, Pennsylvania 40°24′13″N 79°52′7″W / 40.40361°N 79.86861°W / 40.40361; -79.86861 Result French-Indian victory
Belligerents
France New France Ottawas Abenaki Lenni Lenape Hurons Potawatomis Ojibwa	Great Britain British America
Commanders and leaders
Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu † Jean-Daniel Dumas Pontiac (Leader of Ottawa forces) Shingas (Leader of Lenape forces) Charles Michel Mouet de Langlade (Leader of Ojibwa Forces)	Edward Braddock † Peter Halkett † George Washington Robert Orme (WIA) Thomas Gage John Fraser
Strength
637 First Nations (the Ottawas, Ojibwa and Potawatomis) 108 troupes de la Marine 146 militia[2] Total: 891	1,300 regulars and provincial troops.[2]
Casualties and losses
39 killed 57 wounded[3][4]	457 killed[5][2] 450+ wounded[6]

The Battle of the Monongahela (also known as the Battle of Braddock's Field and the Battle of the Wilderness) took place on July 9, 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War at Braddock's Field in present-day Braddock, Pennsylvania, 10 miles (16 km) east of Pittsburgh. A British force under General Edward Braddock, moving to take Fort Duquesne, was defeated by a force of French and Canadian troops under Captain Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu with its American Indian allies.

The defeat marked the end of the Braddock Expedition, by which the British had hoped to capture Fort Duquesne and gain control of the strategic Ohio Country. Both Braddock and Beaujeu were killed in action during the battle. Braddock was mortally wounded in the fight and died during the retreat near present-day Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He specifically asked for George Washington, who accompanied him on the march, to oversee his burial. The remainder of the British column retreated south-eastwards. Fort Duquesne and the surrounding region remained in French hands until its capture in 1758.