Meanwhile, at Fort Duquesne, the French garrison …

Years: 1755 - 1755
June
Meanwhile, at Fort Duquesne, the French garrison consists of only about two hundred and fifty regulars and Canadian militia, with about six hundred and forty native allies camped outside the fort.

The natives are from a variety of tribes long associated with the French, including Ottawas, Ojibwas, and Potawatomis.

Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur, the Canadian commander, receives reports from native scouting parties that the British are on their way to besiege the fort.

He realizes he cannot withstand Braddock's cannon, and decides to launch a preemptive strike, an ambush of Braddock's army as he crosses the Monongahela River.

The native allies are initially reluctant to attack such a large British force, but the French field commander Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu, who dresses himself in full war regalia complete with war paint, persuades them to follow his lead.

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