Two cannon dating from 1755, when George Washington accompanied General Braddock to the Ohio, are displayed in the city. These cannon were re-discovered in storage at the Masonic Memorial. Abandoned here as being too cumbersome to take on the forest trails, these and many other cannon used to stand on the street corners until about 1889, when removed to make way for electric light poles. Many disappeared, never to be seen again. Two were saved by patriotic citizens, however, early in the 20th century. One cannon stands here, at the intersection of Braddock and Russell Roads, mounted on a block faced with cobblestones. The other was made into a fountain and is next to Gadsby's Tavern.
General Braddock in Alexandria
During the mid-1750s, Alexandria was a staging area for British troops involved in the French and Indian War. English General Edward Braddock made his headquarters in Alexandria and occupied the Carlyle House while planning his campaign against the French in 1755.
In the Carlyle House on 15 April 1755, General Braddock held the Congress of Alexandria, in which he met with the governors of five of the constituent colonies (Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York). The meeting was an attempt by Braddock to raise funds for a war fund to fight the French. The governors rebuffed the request, demanding prior funding from the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Congress did, however, agree on a war plan for a four-pronged attack against New France. The Congress of Alexandria is sometimes noted as the beginning of intercolony dialogue and of the political tension between the colonies and Britain over issues of taxation.
Braddock's Expedition
In April 1755 General Braddock began his expedition west to the Ohio Country. The expedition's goal was to capture the French Fort Duquesne at what is modern-day downtown Pittsburgh. Braddock's army was defeated at the Battle of the Monongahela on 9 July 1755. George Washington, then a colonel and the senior American aide to General Braddock, had accompanied the ill-fated expedition. During the battle, Washington rode back and forth across the battlefield, rallying the remnants of the British and Virginian forces to an organized retreat. General Braddock led the British forces and died in the effort.
Braddock's defeat was a major setback for the British in the early stages of the war with France and has been described as one of the most disastrous defeats for the British in the 18th century.
To learn more about General Braddock's time in Alexandria and his march to Ohio, I recommend "Braddock's March: How the Man Sent to Seize a Continent Changed American History" by Thomas E. Crocker.
I have integrated this cache into my Alexandria History Series and have updated the title and description. Its former name was "Lost Ordnance II," which was a replacement for my "Lost Ordnance" cache at this very spot that was archived some time ago.
Congratulations to Cali n Friends for the FTF (when it was Lost Ordnance II).