It was a sunny afternoon that July 9, 1755, as Gen. Braddock watched his nearly 1,400 troops cross the Monongahela River for a second time on route to Fort Duquesne to do battle with the French and Indians:there, to once and for all, chase them from the landscape of the Forks of The Ohio. Little was Gen. Braddock to know that by days end, he would lay mortally wounded, almost 1,000 of his men would either be dead or wounded, and the remnants of his once proud army would be in full retreat to Dunbar's Camp some 40 miles to the rear. 400 French and Indians, hiding in wait, had laid waste to the once mighty British fighting machine and set into motion the events that would set a continent on fire for the next 10 years.

The Braddock expedition and evenual disaster is one of the great mysteries of Colonial America. Was it caused by poor performance of the British enlisted soldier? Was it caused by British infantry tactics, particularly platoon volley firing, firing at French and Indians hidden behind dense foliage. Was it because of Braddock's advance position being nearly forty miles ahead of his backup, Colonel Dunbar and 1,000 more men and all the heavy guns? Or was it caused by an arrogant, overbearing, and stubborn General Braddock who refused to listen to practical advise from lowly woodsmen and Indians. The answer to these questions and many more are in this exciting and factfilled book by Winthrop Sargent.

No book on the Braddock campaign is equal this one. Wright Howes historical reference book calls " The History of an Expedition Against Fort DuQuesne in 1755, the best account of the Braddock disaster. But not only is this book, by far and away the most factual account, Sargent includes many additional sources of facts about the Braddock campaign that are not found in any other book. Sargent's memoirs begins on the night of April 30, 1748, with what was boldly proclaimed to a definitive and lasting pence between France and England with the signing of the treaty of Aix-laChapelle. Little did the parties involved know that this would only lead to future conflicts that would set the North American continent ablaze for the next 15 years.

So rich in detail is this book that you will read the complete journal of Captain Robert Orme of the Coldstream guard, a right hand man to General Braddock, as well as the journal of Captain Roger Morris, aide de camp with Washington to Gen. Braddock's campaign. Among the information included in the 6 part appendix is George Croghan's statement about the Indians with him in the campaign, and his opinion about Braddock's attitude toward these men and their fate and what might have been in 'that day of our unhappy defeat." Additional parts of the appendix include Gen. Braddock's instructions for his North American campaign by order of the Duke of Cumberland, the French report of the battle and details of Gen. Braddock's last night in landon. Every journey starts with a first step. Walk with us now through those crucial events of the mid-eighteenth century to that one fateful sunny afternoon in July of 1755, on this new wilderness frontier, where a mighty army was brought to it's knees, a struggle for a continent begun, and with it the roots of a new nation begin to sprout and grow.

464 pages, 6 part appendix and index, 4 double-sided full color fold out maps, 2 black&white double-sided foldouts, limited to 500 copies, printed on acid-free paper, smythe-sewn, hardcover, bound in "Union Jack" red cloth cover with gold embossing and 6 pound cannon on cover and spine. $74.95.