The 1859 engraving by Christian Schuessele (ca 1824-1879), reflecting the artistic taste of the period, shows the British troops being routed and the fall of General Edward Braddock, who is said to have had five horses slain under him before being mortally wounded himself. Braddock's fatal confrontation occurred in 1755 in the Ohio River Valley, territory claimed by the British colonists but fiercely defended by the French. The Battle of the Monongahela was but one in a series of victories won by French troops, Canadian militia and their Amerindian allies. Their success depended upon superior organization and experience in bush warfare. Buoyed by their initial victories, the French colonists were optimistic about the war's outcome and were, no doubt, better able to bear their losses and privations.
