Braddock's Battlefield History Center opened in August of 2012. It commemorates one of the most famous military engagements in the history of Colonial America, the Battle of the Monongahela, or "Braddock's Defeat" on July 9, 1755 at the  beginning of the French & Indian War. In a surprise encounter for both sides, approximately 650 French allied Indians and 200 French  engaged the considerably larger Braddock Expedition, which had been sent to seize Fort Duquesne and  thereby to control the "Forks of the Ohio" at the Point in present day Pittsburgh.  The  result of this engagement , which lasted more than three hours, shocked the Colonies and Europe.  It also enhanced  the military career of young George Washington, which had previously been undistinguished at best. The cast of participants in the Braddock Expedition and this engagement reads like a "Who's Who" of colonial America. Many of them were in their twenties and this experience remained with them for the rest of their lives. After more than  250 years since the Battle, the Braddock's  Battlefield communities finally have a historic tourism center befitting this significant historic event.