Swanning off with Braddock and Washington

Sharon's great-to-the-x grandfather makes an appearance in a listing of some ancestral items possessed by family members. The compiler of The Husson Manuscripts mentions that his mother had an old poplar chest containing Jean Henri's clothing brush that he bought to brush his wedding clothes and "some buckskin tassels that Jean Henri wore on his coat when he went west with Washington and Braddock to drive the French Catholics out of Penn."

The incident referred to is probably The Braddock Expedition (aka Braddock's campaign aka Braddock's Defeat) of 1755. You have probably correctly surmised that this was another piece of American history I missed during my schooling and the subject of this post.

The Braddock Expedition seems to mark the beginning of the French and Indian Wars in the colonies, though war was not formally declared until after the end of the expedition. General Edward Braddock led British forces on a campaign to disrupt activities by French colonies in Canada along the northeastern border with the American colonies. 

The Brits decided to expand into the area known as the Ohio Country, territory the French laid claim to. The French, in alliance with several Native American tribes, conducted raids and ambushes against the British colonials and attempted to control the waterways that eventually led to New Orleans. Toward this end they had built forts along the way, the most notable being Fort Duquesne in what is now Pittsburgh. 

Fort Duquesne was located on a point of land where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers flows into the Ohio river. This would be the "three rivers" from the old Three Rivers stadium where the Pittsburgh Steelers played before moving to their current facility. These stadiums lie across the Allegheny from the site of the fort, which no longer stands.

Braddock was commissioned to occupy the fort. Among those he took with him were a young sergeant by the name of Daniel Boone and a 23 year old lieutenant from the Virginia militia. You know, the previously mentioned George Washington. 

Washington had distinguished himself the previous year in a skirmish with French Canadian militiamen under the command of Joseph Coulon de Jumonville. De Jumonville had led a scouting expedition from Fort Duquesne in the direction of a fort that Washington commanded. 

Native American scouts allied with the Brits came upon de Jumonville's group at an encampment and reported back to Washington, encouraging him to attack the group. He obliged. The French Canadians troops were overwhelmed in something like 15 minutes, and de Jumonville, wounded during the fighting, was captured. Washington treated the commander as a prisoner of war, but one of the scouting party members had a beef with the French and killed de Jumonville while Washington was trying to interrogate him. At least that's one story. Another has it the commander was killed during the battle. 

This led to another skirmish, led by de Jumonville's half brother, in which Washington was defeated. But the commander's death caused an international incident, with French authorities calling it an assassination. Still Washington's leadership caught Braddock's eye, and Braddock invited Washington, who had become a colonel in the militia, along on the expedition as his volunteer aide. 

Braddock and his troops followed a meager path from their starting place in Maryland to Pennsylvania. Along the way they cleared and created a road, commonly called Braddock's road, which still sort of exists, though much of it lies on private property and is not accessible to the public. This part of tale is an interesting subchapter in itself. 

Though Braddock's troops seriously outnumbered their enemy, they were not ready for the fighting that lay ahead of them in Pennslyvania. Braddock led a "flying column," an advance group of just under 1,500 troops, with the rest still building the road and ferrying supplies and weapons The advance would be harassed and attacked by Native American forces on the French side, who fought guerilla style. 

Braddock and company reached the Monongahela about 10 miles south of the fort and encamped in preparation for an attack. The French Canadian forces and their allies learned of the camp and planned an ambush, but Braddock managed to ferry his forces across the river before they could act and headed toward the fort British style -- in the open and with great fanfare. 

When the French and Indian forces began to fire, the Brits dropped to their knees and began firing back. This worked initially, sending most of the French Canadians into retreat, but the Native Americans used the woods for cover and began picking off the British troops, especially the officers. American militiamen in Braddock's forces responded in kind, melting into the forest to find the enemy. 

The British would not prevail. Braddock was wounded during the battle and would later die from his injuries. Washington, though a volunteer, took charge of the forces and saw to it that Braddock was carried to the rear to be tended to and organized a retreat. By the time the battle ended and the Brits began their retreat, more than half the advance troops had been killed or wounded. French and Indian troops suffered only light casualties -- probably fewer than 100.

Washington's actions enhanced his reputation, helping lead to his appointment a couple of decades later as general of the colonial forces in that bigger dustup with Britain over independence. 

I have no more information on Jean Henri's involvement. 

The Husson Manuscripts refers to: Hussong, Edward Marston. 1976 (1993 Printing). The Hussong Manuscripts. Compiled by Mary Marie Glascock Brewer. Genealogical Forum of Portland Oregon, Milwaukie, Oregon