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Braddock Road (Route 40)
Encyclopedia
The Braddock Road was a military
road built in 1755 in what was then British America
and is now the United States
. It was the first improved road to cross the barrier of the successive ridgelines
of the Appalachian Mountains
. It was constructed by troops of Virginia militia
and British regulars commanded by General Edward Braddock
of the Coldstream Guards
, part of an expedition
to conquer the Ohio Country
from the French at the beginning of the French and Indian War
, the North American portion of the Seven Years' War
. George Washington
was a low ranking colonial militia
officer who accompanied the expedition, which gave him his first field military experience. Some accounts credit Washington for saving the expedition, while others criticize some of his actions (especially where and how he built Fort Necessity).
(Pittsburgh). Starting from Fort Cumberland
, Braddock's army cut a military trail through the wilderness, roughly following Nemacolin's path
, an improved, prehistoric Native American
trail.
Braddock met defeat east of Fort Duquesne
and was fatally wounded. He was buried in the middle of the road he built, and his soldiers marched over the grave, with the hope of concealing the grave's location from the Indians. The grave site is now marked by a marble monument erected in 1913.
The Forbes Expedition
, a more successful British expedition mounted against Fort Duquesne in 1758, used a different route through the mountains north of Carlisle, Pennsylvania
along what became known as Forbes' Road.
The National Road
and later, U.S. Route 40
, roughly parallel Braddock's Road between Cumberland, Maryland
, and Laurel Ridge
near Uniontown
.
In August of 1908 and again during June and July of 1909, John Kennedy Lacock, a Harvard professor originally from Amity, near Washington, Pennsylvania
, was able to identify the path of Braddock's march. He hired Ernest K. Weller to photograph the road. Lacock's commissioned photographs survive in the form of postcards, which he published in 1910, and his written account was published in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography in 1914.
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
road built in 1755 in what was then British America
British America
For American people of British descent, see British American.British America is the anachronistic term used to refer to the territories under the control of the Crown or Parliament in present day North America , Central America, the Caribbean, and Guyana...
and is now the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was the first improved road to cross the barrier of the successive ridgelines
Ridge-and-valley Appalachians
The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extending from southeastern New York through northwestern New...
of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
. It was constructed by troops of Virginia militia
Virginia Militia
The Virginia militia is an armed force composed of all citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia capable of bearing arms. The Virginia militia was established in 1607 as part of the British militia system. Militia service in Virginia was compulsory for all free males...
and British regulars commanded by General Edward Braddock
Edward Braddock
General Edward Braddock was a British soldier and commander-in-chief for the 13 colonies during the actions at the start of the French and Indian War...
of the Coldstream Guards
Coldstream Guards
Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....
, part of an expedition
Braddock expedition
The Braddock expedition, also called Braddock's campaign or, more commonly, Braddock's Defeat, was a failed British military expedition which attempted to capture the French Fort Duquesne in the summer of 1755 during the French and Indian War. It was defeated at the Battle of the Monongahela on...
to conquer the Ohio Country
Ohio Country
The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...
from the French at the beginning of the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, the North American portion of the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
. George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
was a low ranking colonial militia
Virginia Militia
The Virginia militia is an armed force composed of all citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia capable of bearing arms. The Virginia militia was established in 1607 as part of the British militia system. Militia service in Virginia was compulsory for all free males...
officer who accompanied the expedition, which gave him his first field military experience. Some accounts credit Washington for saving the expedition, while others criticize some of his actions (especially where and how he built Fort Necessity).
Construction
In 1755, Braddock was sent to remove the French from Fort DuquesneFort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
(Pittsburgh). Starting from Fort Cumberland
Fort Cumberland (Maryland)
thumb|380px|Fort Cumberland, 1755 Fort Cumberland was an 18th century frontier fort at the current site of Cumberland, Maryland, USA...
, Braddock's army cut a military trail through the wilderness, roughly following Nemacolin's path
Nemacolin's Path
thumb|450px|[[Braddock's Road|General Braddock's March]] follows or parallel's Chief Nemacolin's Trail from the Potomac River to the Monogahela. The wagon negotiable route from the summit to [[Redstone Creek]] was bypassed by Braddock...
, an improved, prehistoric Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
trail.
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
and was fatally wounded. He was buried in the middle of the road he built, and his soldiers marched over the grave, with the hope of concealing the grave's location from the Indians. The grave site is now marked by a marble monument erected in 1913.
The Forbes Expedition
Forbes Expedition
The Forbes Expedition was a British military expedition led by Brigadier-General John Forbes in 1758, during the French and Indian War. Its objective was the capture of Fort Duquesne, a French fort constructed at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers in 1754.The expedition...
, a more successful British expedition mounted against Fort Duquesne in 1758, used a different route through the mountains north of Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
along what became known as Forbes' Road.
The National Road
National Road
The National Road or Cumberland Road was the first major improved highway in the United States to be built by the federal government. Construction began heading west in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River. It crossed the Allegheny Mountains and southwestern Pennsylvania, reaching...
and later, U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40 is an east–west United States highway. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, U.S. 40 once traversed the entire United States. It is one of the original 1920s U.S. Highways, and its first termini were San Francisco, California, and Atlantic City, New Jersey...
, roughly parallel Braddock's Road between Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
, and Laurel Ridge
Laurel Hill (Pennsylvania)
Laurel Hill, also known as Laurel Ridge or Laurel Mountain, is a long mountain in Pennsylvania's Allegheny Mountains. This ridge is flanked by Negro Mountain to its east and Chestnut Ridge to its west. The mountain is home to six State Parks; Laurel Ridge State Park, Laurel Mountain State Park,...
near Uniontown
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census...
.
In August of 1908 and again during June and July of 1909, John Kennedy Lacock, a Harvard professor originally from Amity, near Washington, Pennsylvania
Washington, Pennsylvania
Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Pittsburgh Metro Area in the southwestern part of the state...
, was able to identify the path of Braddock's march. He hired Ernest K. Weller to photograph the road. Lacock's commissioned photographs survive in the form of postcards, which he published in 1910, and his written account was published in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography in 1914.