|
 General Braddock's Grave Posted by:  Arby Geo
N 39° 49.953 W 079° 36.061
17S E 619710 N 4410108
Grave of British General Edward Braddock, mortally wounded in combat during the French & Indian War
Waymark Code: WM12DF
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 12/25/2006
Views: 178
General Braddock is buried beneath a monument in a park along U.S. Route 40 (the National Road), about 1 mile west of Fort Necessity and about 35 miles southeast of Pittsburg.
Description:
General Braddock led an expedition of 2400 British soldiers, including Daniel Boone and a young Colonel George Washington, against the French at Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh). The expedition left from Columbia, Maryland on June 10, 1755, blazing a tortuous road through the Allegheny Mountains as they proceeded.
Braddock, although a brave soldier, was a pompous man with little understanding or respect for colonials, Native Americans, or their methods of warfare. After crossing the Monongahela River, Braddock's men were ambushed on July 9, 1755 by 900 French soldiers and Native American warriors. Braddock insisted on fighting in the open in traditional British "stand-up" style, and as a result his force was slaughtered. Braddock himself was mortally wounded.
Braddock asked his soldiers to leave him to die on the battlefield. His men refused, and carried him back along the trail they had blazed through Pennsylvania. While in transit, Braddock orchestrated the retreat of his troops and organized relief expeditions for other wounded soldiers. On July 13th, near Uniontown, Braddock died and was buried in the road. His soldiers continued their retreat the next morning, marching over his grave to obliterate all traces of it and spare it from desecration by the enemy.
The road that Braddock and his men blazed would later become the "National Road", and closely follows present-day U.S. Route 40. Decades after his death, his body was exhumed and moved a couple hundred feet to its present location (the coordinates above). The original grave site is still visible at N39°49.960 W079°36.056.
Date of birth: 01/01/1695
Date of death: 07/13/1755
Area of notoriety: Military
Marker Type: Monument
Setting: Outdoor
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: No restrictions
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log for waymarks in this category, you must have personally visited the waymark location. When logging your visit, please provide a note describing your visit experience, along with any additional information about the waymark or the surrounding area that you think others may find interesting.
We especially encourage you to include any pictures that you took during your visit to the waymark. However, only respectful photographs are allowed. Logs which include photographs representing any form of disrespectful behavior (including those showing personal items placed on or near the grave location) will be subject to deletion.
|