Did Thomas Fausett murder General Braddock? (1 Viewer)

[mikemiller1955]

Has anybody read more into this...particularly the discredit by Winthrop Sargents book Braddock's Campaign...

Sargents lived from 1825-1870...well after the Battle of Monongahela in 1755...

Thomas Fausett lived from 1713-1822....109 years old...he was at the battle...

http://www.archive.org/stream/historyanexpedi00penngoog#page/n260/mode/2up/search/tom+fausett

the story as I understand it...

is that Thomas Fausett...

proudly admitted later and frequently repeated the story often throughout his life...

that in a fit of anger and revenge...

he shot and killed General Braddock for killing Fausett's brother at the Battle of Monongahela...

apparently Braddock had caught Fausett's brother breaking rank formation and cowering behind a tree to avoid the punishing destruction of Braddock's lines by the French/Indian crossfire...

and Braddock ran him through with his sword killing him...

later somewhat recanting his reason of anger and revenge...Thomas Fausett claimed that someone had to stop this arrogant madman leading this slaughter...

never proven or disproven...but discredited by Sargents in his book...

I have also read that after the battle...several of Braddock's own men took credit for having the shot that hit him...

Read the link if you're interested...Sargents doesn't really seem to discredit Fausett's boasts in my opinion...

I got to wondering...with the strict corporal punishment of the British army...the rules and codes enforced...the harsh structure of army discipline...the open self admission of his murder of Braddock...

why wasn't Fausett ever charged for this crime?

 

[mikemiller1955]

Try pages 244-253...a short read...

the confusion of the battle...

the animosity by the privates to the commanders of the battle...

the poorly trained, cowardly and undisciplined privates...

the futility of Braddocks strategy...

Braddocks arrogant and loathing attitude to advice...

the self admitted shooting of their own officers to escape their leadership and retreat...

the documentation of so many casualties to friendly fire by examination of "rounds" removed...

I think it's a fair bet that a British soldier did shoot Braddock...

probably Fausett...

Braddock was despised by all...

 

[Combat]

There are several references to Thomas Faucett in the recent "Braddock's March" book - also "Braddock at the Monongahela." We probably will never know for certain. It is also possible Braddock was shot by one of his own by accident in the confusion. There were several reports of panic during the battle that may have resulted in friendly fire incidents.

In my opinion, many participants tend to enhance their role in events in later years. My guess is that it didn't happen. It seems unlikely no one would have seen him do it as Braddock was the center of attention. Thomas probably liked the attention and Braddock was not a popular fellow after the battle. So a few free rounds for old Thomas with that story. One interesting tidbit in the Braddock at Monongahela book is that it references another book which indicates Faucett's brother Joseph actually survived the battle and went on to marry and have children!

 

[mikemiller1955]

I read Braddock's March at your reommendation...it started slow but ended up a good read...

I realize there was panic and confusion and "friendly fire" was attributed to a very large majority of the deaths...

Braddock was neither a popular fellow before or after the battle...and the willingness of several privates to come forward and claim they shot Braddock is testimony to that...

I have read the pages I ear marked by Sargents...and I believe it's highly credible that he was shot on purpose or by accident by friendly fire...

Did Fausett have 2 brothers at Monongahela and can you tell me what page the reference to one having survived and sired children is...

I looked in the index of Braddock's March and re-read all 5 entries but can't find anything about a brother that lived...

Why wasn't he prosecuted...or at least questioned?

 

[Combat]

Did Fausett have 2 brothers at Monongahela and can you tell me what page the reference to one having survived and sired children is...

I looked in the index of Braddock's March and re-read all 5 entries but can't find anything about a brother that lived...

QUOTE]

The reference is from the Kopperman book "Braddock at the Monongahela" - p 140. He cites a book by James Hadden who apparently believed the Faucett story, but indicated Joseph Faucett had survived the battle. Apparently not recognizing that it would contradict the reason given by Thomas for killing Braddock. Kopperman notes other stories including one concerning a Capt. Robert Allison who claimed he killed Braddock when he refused to order a retreat. Not a likely scenario - there are no records of a Capt. Robert Allison at Monongahela etc.

Kopperman concludes "there is no way to prove that Braddock was not killed by one of his own men. However, the fact that there are so many different accounts, given by various individuals, and that virtually every known version contains elements that are implausible at best, militates against accepting the legend."

Another interesting side aspect here is the spelling of names. Apparently individuals at that time weren't particular about consistency. So you see many names with different spellings even in the hand of the individual themselves. In this case, I've seen Faucett, Fausett and Fossit referenced in books. The same is true for Halket and others.

 

[mikemiller1955]

Doug...thanks for looking that up and explaining his version...

history can get so twisted at times...

so many versions...

spelling was inconsistent...I have seen variations on many names...some of the most different were the Indians...example...Scarouyady...