As commander-in-chief of the British Army in America, General Edward Braddock led the main thrust against the Ohio Country with a column some 2,100 strong.

George Washington, promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel of the Virginia Regiment on June 4, 1754, by Governor Robert Dinwiddie,[7] was then just 23, knew the territory and served as a volunteer aide-de-camp to General Braddock.

Among the officers of the expedition were Thomas Gage, Charles Lee, future American president George Washington, and Horatio Gates.

The expedition progressed slowly because Braddock considered making a road to Fort Duquesne a priority in order to effectively supply the position he expected to capture and hold at the Forks of the Ohio, and because of a shortage of healthy draft animals.

In some cases, the column was only able to progress at a rate of two miles (about 3 km) a day, creating Braddock's Road — an important legacy of the march — as they went.

Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur, the Canadian commander, received reports from Native American scouting parties that the British were on their way to besiege the fort.

The Native Americans asked the British to halt their advance, claiming that the French could be persuaded to peacefully leave Fort Duquesne.

The advance guard of 300 grenadiers and colonials, accompanied by two cannon, and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gage began to move ahead.

Then, unexpectedly, Gage's advance guard came upon Beaujeu's party of French and Native Americans, who were hurrying to the river, behind schedule and too late to prepare an ambush.

The quick and effective response of the French and Native Americans — despite the early loss of their commander — led many of Braddock's men to believe they had been ambushed.

In the narrow confines of the road, they collided with the main body of Braddock's force, which had advanced rapidly when the shots were heard.

The entire column dissolved in disorder as the Canadian militiamen and Native Americans enveloped them and began firing from the dense woods on both sides.

Following Braddock's example, the officers kept trying to form their men into standard battle lines so they could fire in formation - a strategy that did little but make the soldiers easy targets.

The artillery teams tried to provide covering fire, but there was no space to load the pieces properly and the artillerymen had no protection from enemy sharpshooters.

The officers behaved gallantly, in order to encourage their men, for which they suffered greatly, there being near sixty killed and wounded; a large proportion of the number we had.By sunset, the surviving British forces were retreating back down the road they had built.