flanking
parties.

It was now near two o'clock. The advanced party and the working party
had crossed the plain and were ascending the rising ground. Braddock
was about to follow with the main body and had given the word to
march, when he heard an excessively quick and heavy firing in front.
Washington, who was with the general, surmised that the evil he had
apprehended had come to pass. For want of scouting parties ahead, the
advance parties were suddenly and warmly attacked. Braddock ordered
Lieutenant-Colonel Burton to hasten to their assistance with the
vanguard of the main body, eight hundred strong. The residue, four
hundred, were halted, and posted to protect the artillery and baggage.
The firing continued, with fearful yelling. There was a terrible
uproar. By the general's orders an aide-de-camp spurred forward to
bring him an account of the nature of the attack. Without waiting for
his return the general himself, finding the turmoil increase, moved
forward, leaving Sir Peter Halket with the command of the baggage.

The van of the advance had indeed been taken by surprise. It was
composed of two companies of carpenters or pioneers to cut the road,
and two flank companies of grenadiers to protect them. Suddenly the
engineer who preceded them to mark out the road gave the alarm,
"French and Indians!" A body of them was approaching rapidly. There
was sharp firing on both sides at first. Several of the enemy fell;
among them their leader; but a murderous fire broke out from among
trees and a ravine on the right, and the woods resounded with
unearthly whoops and yellings. The Indian rifle was at work, levelled
by unseen hands. Most of the grenadiers and many of the pioneers were
shot down. The survivors were driven in on the advance.

Gage ordered his men to fix bayonets and form in order of battle. They
did so in hurry and trepidation. He would have scaled a hill on the
right, whence there was the severest firing. Not a platoon would quit
the line of march. They were more dismayed by the yells than by the
rifles of the unseen savages. The latter extended themselves along the
hill and in the ravines; but their whereabouts was only known by their
demoniac cries and the puffs of smoke from their rifles. The soldiers
fired wherever they saw the smoke. The officers tried in vain to
restrain them until they should see their foe. All orders were
unheeded; in their fright they shot at random, killing some of their
own fl