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74 the dead Braddock's mistakes speaks loudly of his commanding abilities; the numerous quotations from his correspondence given elsewhere in this monograph will present a clearer picture of this almost unknown hero than has ever yet been drawn. "Though a well-bred man of the world," writes Parkman, "his tastes were simple; he detested ceremony, and dealt frankly and plainly with the colonists, who both respected and liked him." The correspondence between Forbes and his chief assistant, Lieutenant-colonel Henry Bouquet, a Swiss, commanding the regiment of Royal Americans, is convincing proof of the democratic plainness and whole-hearted earnestness of Braddock's successor.

The condition of the frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania during the years succeeding Braddock's defeat has been previously reviewed, and the greatness of the task now thrown upon General Forbes's shoulders can be readily conceived. Yet there was much in his favor; the colonies were quite aroused to the danger. Pennsylvania and Virginia were at last ready to put