We toured the local historical sites, beginning with Friendship Hill, the home of Albert Gallatin. On our way from there to Fort Necessity, we passed Braddock’s Grave and stopped to take a look.
On July 9, 1755, British Major General Edward Braddock led an expedition to try to capture Fort Duquesne, a French fort located where Pittsburgh now stands. His force, which included George Washington, was attacked by French soldiers and their Indian allies and nearly wiped out. After fighting for several hours, the army retreated. Braddock was wounded and died on July 13. To keep the enemy from finding his body, he was buried on the road the troops had made on the outward journey. The army marched over his grave to pat down the dirt. A body, which might have been Braddock’s was discovered in 1804 and reburied on the knoll where the monument stands.
The marker on the right marks the spot on the old road where the body was found. The other photo shows one side of the monument.
