In April 1755, Major General Edward Braddock arrived in Alexandria, Virginia with a small army of British regulars. Contrary to popular belief, Braddock realized the need to adopt new methods of fighting in the American wilderness, but he was allowed only a brief and inadequate opportunity for retraining his men. Soon he began to move up Washington's Road into southwestern Pennsylvania to dislodge the French and capture Fort Duquesne. The Fort was held by 200 French regulars and militia, supported by many hundreds of Indians. In July, on the approach to the Fort, Braddock's column was ambushed by the Indians. Braddock was mortally wounded and buried in an unmarked grave in the road that now bears his name. Most of his army was slaughtered. It was the first major battle in the Seven Years War, known in America as the French and Indian War. In the months that followed Braddock's defeat, Indian warriors from beyond the Ohio and the Great Lakes devastated the American frontier settlements from New York to Virginia. Hundreds of pioneers were killed in these raids, and hundreds more were taken captive. Pioneers of western Pennsylvania, which included many Scot-Irish such as the Paxtons of the Marsh Creek settlement, bore the brunt of this terrible onslaught. English losses in Braddock's defeat were 853 officers and men, or about 75 percent of the English force engaged. George Washington's contingent of colonial militia, armed with Pennsylvania long rifles, were able to return fire with aimed shots from behind trees and rocks, and they have been credited with saving the survivors of Braddock's force. If the Gibsons and Paxton were with Braddock's army, it is most likely that they were in Washington's militia. Daniel Boone was a young teamster in Braddock's army. Britain ultimately won the Seven Years War, and emerged from this victory as the most powerful nation in the world.