Bill Ryan/The Gazette   Ben Newton of Fairfield, Pa., dressed as Gen. Edward Braddock (right), jokes with Mona Thiel, vice president of the Braddock Heights Historical Society, during a re-enactment Sunday of Braddock's 1755 march across Braddock Mountain, on the way to Pennsylvania's Fort Duquesne.

In red military coats and tan uniform pants, the band played patriotic flute, bugle and drum music as it led a Clydesdale-drawn carriage down Schley Avenue, past a crowd gathered in front of Beachley's Variety Store and around the block to Braddock Heights Park.

"It was really exciting to see the President's Corps play," said James Steel, secretary of the Central Maryland Heritage League, which had a display booth at the event. "We had no idea they were going to be here."

The parade was led by the character Lt. Col. George Washington, who was Gen. Braddock's volunteer assistant during the French and Indian War.

At the end of the neighborhood route, "Washington" dismounted his dark horse to meet with an actor playing Gen. Braddock.

A British general, Gen. Braddock was commander-in-chief of all British forces in North America. The British claimed American colonies and planned to simultaneously attack and obtain French-held forts in North America. Gen. Braddock organized the attacks and led troops from Virginia to attack Pennsylvania's Fort Duquesne.

The soldiers stopped at several locations, including what is now Braddock Heights. There they refreshed, re-supplied and reviewed plans to push westward through the Middletown Valley.

In the 15-minute reenactment conversation, the officers sat in the pavilion with microphones and discussed battle plans for the roughly 200 attendees on a surrounding embankment.

The officers outlined their route to the "forks of the Ohio" and rallied each other's enthusiasm for a battle they would later lose. (The troops were eventually ambushed seven miles from their Pennsylvania destination and Gen. Braddock was killed. A monument now honors his efforts at the site.)

"Whoever holds the forks of the Ohio indeed holds the key, sir," Lt. Col. Washington said. "The French intend to take that."

"Of course," Braddock said. "But we have been kicking them on the continent for years and we will continue to win. The king has said what he wants."

The men spoke of Benjamin Franklin, reviewed their supply list and debated the skill levels of the soldiers. Braddock said he was disappointed at the lack of supplies and poor road conditions and said the American troops "spend all their time getting drunk."

Washington defended the troops as men who, "when the time comes, they will fight like men and die like soldiers." He added that the colonies had received little protection from Britain.

The reenactment was followed by a demonstration by the American Society Sons of Revolution Color Guard, who fired three rounds of rifle shots over a ridge next to the pavilion.

The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps is part of the 3rd United States Infantry Regiment. The 45-year-old music unit from Virginia regularly performs for White House ceremonies, military and civilian ceremonies, parades and funerals.

In marching formation, the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps played patriotic music from old field manuals and demonstrated each of three instrument sections ­ flute, drum and bugle.

The music performance concluded the day's entertainment events, but for the next hour attendees browsed history booths, listened to time period music and admired historical costumes of several attendees.

A trio of locals dressed in colonial-era costumes, Donald and Janice Clipp of Adamstown and Barbara Morgan of Frederick attracted much attention. The women's frilly hoop dresses and bonnets and Donald Clipp's grey wool uniform adorned with gold buttons were a fashion slightly after Braddock's time and a few attendees noticed.

The Clipps and Morgan, who attend historical events in costume throughout the county, said event organizers recruited them to add to the local history theme.

"This area is alive with history." Janice Clipp said. "We've talked to a lot of people about our costumes."

History-based books, mugs and pamphlets were on sale nearby at booths of several local historical groups ­ The Middletown Valley Historical Society, the Braddock Heights Historical Society and the Central Maryland Heritage League.

"It was quite an effort to pull it all together," said event organizer Lucille Davis, member of the Braddock Heights Historical Society. "Everybody seemed to love it, especially the fife and drum corps."

The Braddock Heights Historical Society was organized in 2003. It was the first time the group marked the anniversary of Gen. Braddock's march through the area. Davis said the society would likely not hold a celebration of similar proportions until the 300th anniversary, in 50 years.

The French-Indian War was a territorial war between the French and the British. The French were backed by Native Americans, then called "Indians." The war resulted in the Treaty of Paris of 1763 that granted all land east of the Mississippi to the British.

That treaty was a precursor to the American Revolutionary War for Independence.