Dowden's Ordinary: A French & Indian War Site
On April 15, 1755 a British seaman wrote in his diary:
On the 15th: Marched at 5 in our way to one
Dowden's, a Publichouse ... and encamped upon
very bad ground on the side of a hill. We got our
tents pitched by dark when the wind shifted
from the South to the North - from a sultry hot
day it became excessively cold, and rained with
thunder and lightning till 5 in the morning, when
in 10 minutes it changed to snow, which in 2
hours covered the ground a foot and a half.
What were British soldiers doing at Dowden's
Ordinary in the middle of a spring snowstorm?
The answer begins in 1754 when Great Britain
and France renewed their war for control of
North America - a war that became known as
the Seven Years' War in Europe. The war's
spark occured when George Washington's
Virginia volunteers fired on a French scouting
party in southeastern Pennsylvania. The
French counterattacked and forced
Washington from the area. In response to
this defeat, the British in 1755 sent Major-
General Edward Braddock to America to
expel the French from Fort Duquense
(Pittsburgh).
Concerned about limited supplies, Braddock
divided his forces, sending the 44th
Regiment of Foot and his artillery to
Winchester, Virginia and the 48th
Regiment of Foot (about 700 troops)
under Thomas Dunbar to Frederick by way
of the Great Road through Rockville and
Clarksburg. At Clarksburg, Dunbar's
troops were caught in the snowstorm.
Following a few days later, General
Braddock took the same route to
Frederick as the 48th Regiment, possibly
enjoying a meal or spending a night at
Dowden's Oridinary.
On July 9, 1755, a combined French and
Indian force attacked Braddock's troops
outside Fort Duquesne. Mortally
wounded, Braddock died five days
later. Washington and Dunbar led the
remaining British and colonial troops
to saftey. [Picture included ]
By 1758, the war shifted in Britain's favor,
and in 1763 France surrendered, losing
its territory in North America. As a
result of the war, Great Britain imposed
taxes on the colonists to help pay for its
mounting war debt. Colonial opposition
of taxes without consent became an
important cause of the American
Revolution.
The Cannon
[Picture included
The three - pound cannon is a replica
of a British brass field piece, three
pounds being the weight of an individual
cannon ball. The cannon along with its
carriage, weighed about 500 pounds
and was drawn by two horses. Along
with a six-pounder cannon, these lighter
weight field pieces were more suited
to the rough roads of colonial America
during the French and Indian War.
(Map included)
Route of General Braddock's doomed
wilderness march to expel the French
from the Ohio Valley.
Marker is on North Frederick Road (Maryland Route 355) near Stringtown Road, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
