Braddock's March: How the Man Sent to Seize a Continent Changed American History

Attorney Crocker brings comprehensive research and fresh perspective to his first work He presents Sir William Braddock's disastrous 1755 campaign against the French as a defining event of American history, not a “one-shot loss.” It brought together a large number of men who later played prominent roles on both sides of the Revolutionary War—not only George Washington but Thomas Gage and Charles Lee, Daniel Morgan and Daniel Boone, among others. The campaign provided lessons that shaped the American consciousness. It showed the vulnerability of the British redcoats and the potential of irregular warfare. It introduced the political issues of burden sharing and taxation. Above all, says Crocker, Braddock's march was a human story. In his fast-paced description of events, Crocker calls it a “pilgrimage of destiny.” At the narrative's center is the general. Hard-drinking, hard-driving, sustaining discipline with the lash and confronting increasing disaffection, Braddock was more complex—and more competent—than the stubborn dunce of myth. Crocker describes him as “done in... by a confluence of adverse circumstances” ranging from geography to lack of support from the colonies. The judgment is debatable, but Crocker's justification is worth reading. 66 illus. (Oct. 1)