Braddock Road Chronicles, 1755 (From the Diaries and Records of Members of the Braddock Expedition and Others Arranged in a Day by Day Chronology)
From the AuthorAndrew J. WahllBraddock Road ChroniclesHaving traveled the road between Philadelphia, PA and later Washington, DC to and from central Ohio, I have been interested in this trans-Appalachian corridor since the 1950s. This, my first book is about this historic route in the context of France and England and the final war for empire called French and Indian War, or Seven Years Wars in Europe (1752-1763). Braddock Road Chronicles 1755 is the narrative of the first action of the French and Indian War when England began the conquest of French held North America. In the 1700s only the most daring or desperate half-breed trappers and traders knew anything about the vast howling wilderness to the west. General Braddock with an army of English Grenadiers most of them from Irish units with wagons, cannon and colonial levies was ordered take Fort Duquesne at the forks of the Ohio River. Landing at the tidewater port of Georgetown, Maryland on the Potomac River, the force began marching across the coastal plain to the piedmont and climbed toward the distant Appalachian Mountains. After crossing the Eastern Continental Divide they entered the Ohio River water shed knowing the worst was behind them. This work is the most detailed and comprehensive account of this epic expedition begining with preparations in Ireland, the ocean crossing and ending with the aftermath of the defeat. I have been privileged to have the suggestions of Jim Sorensen and Heather Bouslog on the route through Maryland and at the site of Dowden's Ordinary. Dowden's Ordinary was the only structure to witness the troops march by and was torn down in the 1920s. Bob Bantz, a retired mechanical engineer from Cumberland, MD.allowed me to include his GPS technology plots that laid down the actual right-of-way in Maryland using his field observations and understanding of the land and the march. Carney Rigg of Fort Necessity National Battlefield enabled me to experience the land and events of this locale in George Washington's early life.   Writing this narrative gave me understanding of the research needed before an author can begin to keyboard a manuscript and the need to have a well thought out idea. This was my first book of historical geography writings about America.