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After crossing the Monongahela River, Braddock's men moved on toward Fort Duquesne. An advance guard headed by scouts encountered a French and Indian detachment that had come out from the fort to engage them. The commander of the French force, Captain Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu, was killed in the first exchange of fire, but the Indians took advantage of the cover provided by the surrounding forest and poured fire into the British ranks, killing 15 of the 18 officers in the advance guard.

The Crossing, by Robert Grifing.

Upon hearing the fire, Braddock's rear guard rushed forward just as the panicked advance guard fell back. Regiments collided and disintegrated into each other, and more officers, easy targets because they were on horseback, fell to enemy fire. [Original Document] Troops fired volleys without proper direction, vainly aiming for the enemy but often hitting their own. The battle raged for three hours while Braddock tried to restore order to his ranks. After Braddock was wounded in the side, the troops fell back pell-mell across the Monongahela. Approximately 1,000 of the 1,500 men in the flying column were killed or wounded in the engagement. George Washington, who had two horses shot out from underneath him, was one of the few officers to survive. [Original Document]

It took two days for the remnants of the flying column to reach the support column at Dunbar's Camp. The wounded Braddock died shortly thereafter, on July 13.

The following Marker in Allegheny County has a similar story line and therefore has the same behind and beyond the marker text: Braddock's Defeat located at US 30 at Forest Hills, S of I376 exit 10.

Beyond the Marker