|
The Battle of the Monongahela, also known as the Battle of the Wilderness, took place on 9 July 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War, at Braddock's Field in what is now Braddock, Pennsylvania, 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 Native American 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. Braddock was mortally wounded in the battle 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 column retreated south-eastwards and the fort, and region, remained in French hands until its capture in 1758. ==Background== (詳細はNorth America in the new position of Commander-in-Chief, bringing with him two regiments (the 45th and 48th) of troops from Ireland.〔Anderson p.67-71〕 He added to this by recruiting local troops in British America, swelling his forces to roughly 2,200 by the time he set out from Fort Cumberland, Maryland on 29 May.〔Anderson p.96〕 He was accompanied by Virginia Colonel George Washington, who had led the previous year's expedition to the area.〔 Braddock's expedition was part of a four-pronged attack on the French in North America. Braddock's orders were to launch an attack into the Ohio Country, disputed by Britain and France. Control of the area was dominated by Fort Duquesne on the forks of the Ohio River. Once it was in his possession, he was to proceed on to Fort Niagara, establishing British control over the Ohio territory. He soon encountered a number of difficulties. He was scornful of the need to recruit local Native Americans as scouts, and left with only eight Mingo guides. He found that the road he was trying to use was slow, and needed constant widening to move artillery and supply wagons along it. Frustrated, he split his force in two, leading a flying column ahead, with a slower force following with the cannon and wagons.〔 The flying column of 1,300 crossed the Monongahela River on 9 July, within of their target, Fort Duquesne. Despite being very tired after weeks of crossing extremely hard terrain, many of the British and Americans anticipated a relatively easy victory—or even for the French to abandon the fort upon their approach.〔Anderson p.97〕 Fort Duquesne had been very lightly defended, but had recently received significant reinforcements.〔Dull p.31〕 Claude-Pierre Pecaudy de Contrecoeur, the Canadian commander of the fort, had around 1,600 French troupes de la Marine, Canadian militiamen and Native American allies. Concerned by the approach of the British, he dispatched Captain Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu with around 800 troops, (108 Troupes de la Marine, 146 Canadian militia, and 600 Indians),〔W. J. Eccles, France in America, p184〕 to check their advance.〔Anderson p.98-99〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of the Monongahela」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|