EDWARD BRADDOCK
Braddock’s hubris caused him to underestimate the Indians as military opponents and shortly after this statement Braddock led his “disciplined troops” into an Indian ambush at Fort Duquesne, and the Indians made an impression that he and the English troops never forgot.
In the French & Indian War, Braddock had organized a military expedition to destroy some of the forts that the French had constructed. (See {37008}.) Braddock and the other military officers thought that the force Braddock had organized would be overwhelming and easily accomplish the objective. Benjamin Franklin was one of the only Colonial leaders who expressed concern about the expedition–{583427}. This was one of the first battles for a promising young officer named George Washington who had two horses shot out from under him.
Major General Edward Braddock was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), which is also known in Europe and Canada as the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). He is generally best remembered for his command of a disastrous expedition against the French-occupied Ohio River Valley in 1755, in which he lost his life. (Both Virginia and Pennsylvania claimed this territory by their Royal grants.)
