Braddock's Field is a historic battlefield on the banks of the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , ), sometimes referred to locally as the Mon (), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in nor ...

, at Braddock, Pennsylvania, near the junction of Turtle Creek, about nine miles southeast of the "Forks of the Ohio" in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. In 1755, the Battle of the Monongahela was fought on Braddock's Field, which ended the

Braddock Expedition The Braddock Expedition, also known as Braddock's Campaign or Braddock's Defeat, was a British Empire, British military expedition which attempted to capture Fort Duquesne from the French colonial empire, French in 1755 during the French and Ind ...

History

Native Americans inhabited the region in the 18th century. In 1742, Queen Alliquippa, a local Seneca leader, gave John Fraser several hundred acres of land. The Unwritten History of Braddock's Field (Pennsylvania), editor, Geo. H. Lamb, A. M., Nicholson printing co., Pittsburgh, 1917 The place became known as "Braddock's Field" after French and Indian forces from

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne ( , ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed ...

defeated British General

Edward Braddock Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe and Canada as ...

there, on July 9, 1755, in the Battle of the Monongahela. Braddock himself was mortally wounded, dying several days later. The bones of the soldiers killed in the battle were visible to passers-by for years after the battle. The field was purchased in 1769 by John Fraser, an Indian trader who had been living there at the time of the battle. It was sold by his widow Jane Frazier after his death in 1773.Douglas MacGregor, "Braddock's Field: How Brilliant the Morning, How Melancholy the Evening," ''Western Pennsylvania History,'' March 2005, pp 22-29
/ref> Braddock's Field also was the site of a rally of rebellious militiamen and farmers during the

Whiskey Rebellion The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...

, prior to a massive march on the city of

on August 1, 1794."The Planting of Civilization in Western Pennsylvania, Buck, Solon J. The Edgar Thomson Steel Works is located nearby and may cover the former site of John Fraser's cabin. Braddock's Field was also the location of Camp Copeland, a rendezvous for men who had been drafted into the Union forces during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. At Camp Copeland the men would be trained and sent to their assigned regiments. Poor conditions and several deaths in March 1864 invited inspections and changes to the Camp. The Camp name was briefly changed to Camp Reynolds, but the old name was adopted again. Camp Copeland closed on April 29, 1865.

Location

The towns of Braddock, Pennsylvania and North Braddock now occupy the approximate site of the battlefield. The exact location is disputed by some historians, but a

state historical marker, located at 549 Jones Avenue near a small recreation park, is generally considered the likely center of the battlefield. The sign reads, "July 9, 1755 Gen. Braddock's British forces en route to capture Fort Duquesne were ambushed and routed by French and Indians within present limits of Braddock and North Braddock, forcing retreat and failure of the expedition. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission." A statue of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

by Frank Vittor stands nearby. A bronze plaque on a senior citizens apartment building on Sixth Street marks the furthest west Braddock's advance guard got before falling back to "Braddock's Field." Braddock is located at . According to a map in Crocker's book (references), Braddock crossed the Monongahela from the southwest at the south side of the current Edgar Thomson Steel Works just north of Turtle Creek, turned north along the base of the hill now occupied by the Grandview golf course, turned northwest roughly along Bell Avenue, and first encountered the French just south of where the railroad crosses Sixth Street. (The Braddock's Battlefield History Center is located just north of this spot, across the tracks.) His forces were strung out for at least a half mile from Sixth Street toward the river crossing and the French and Indians attacked from both sides.

References

Footnotes

Sources

*Thomas E Crocker, 'Braddock's March', 2011 {{French colonial campaigns History of Pittsburgh