Author Description

Braddock's Defeat by David Preston is a "classic work by one of the most gifted young historians working today," according to series editor David Hackett Fischer.Finalist, 2016 George Washington Book PrizeWinner, 2015 Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize in Military HistoryWinner, 2016 Distinguished Book Award in U.S. History, Society for Military HistoryWinner, 2016 PROSE Award for U.S. History Category, Association of American PublishersWinner, 2016 Distinguished Book Award, Society for Colonial WarsWinner, 2016 Judge Robert Woltz History Award, French & Indian War FoundationOn July 9, 1755, British regulars and American colonial troops under the command of General Edward Braddock, commander in chief of the British Army in North America, were attacked by French and Native American forces shortly after crossing the Monongahela River and while making their way to besiege Fort Duquesne in the Ohio Valley, a few miles from what is now Pittsburgh. The long line of red-coated troops struggled to maintain cohesion and discipline as Indian warriors quickly outflanked them and used the dense cover of the woods to masterful and lethal effect. Within hours, a powerful British army was routed, its commander mortally wounded, and two-thirds of its forces casualties in one the worst disasters in military history.David Preston's gripping and immersive account of Braddock's Defeat, also known as the Battle of the Monongahela, is the most authoritative ever written. Using untapped sources and collections, Preston offers a reinterpretation of Braddock's Expedition in 1754 and 1755, one that does full justice to its remarkable achievements. Braddock had rapidly advanced his army to the cusp of victory, overcoming uncooperative colonial governments and seemingly insurmountable logistical challenges, while managing to carve a road through the formidable Appalachian Mountains. That road would play a major role in America's expansion westward in the years ahead and stand as one of the expedition's