15. Meanwhile, a congress of the American colonies had assembled at Albany. The first object was to renew the treaty with the Iroquois; the second, to unite the colonies in a common government. On the 10th of July, Benjamin Franklin presented the draft of a constitution, which was finally adopted. Philadelphia was to be the capital. The chief executive was to be a governor appointed by the king. Each colony should be represented in congress by not less than two or more than seven representatives. 16. Copies of this constitution were transmitted to the several colonies; but the new scheme of government was everywhere received with disfavor. The English ministers also rejected it, saying that the Americans _were trying to make a government of their own_. Meanwhile, the French were constantly preparing for war. [Sidenote: =General Braddock Arrives.=] 17. Early in 1755 General Braddock arrived in America; the plans of four campaigns were agreed on. Lawrence, the governor of Nova Scotia, was to complete the conquest of that province. Governor Johnson, of New York, was to capture Crown Point. Shirley, of Massachusetts, was to take Fort Niagara. Braddock himself was to lead the main army against Fort Du Quesne. 18. In the latter part of April, the British general set out with two thousand veterans, from Alexandria to Fort Cumberland. A few provincial troops joined the expedition. Washington became an aide-de-camp of Braddock, and frequently gave him honest counsel, which the British general rejected. 19. Braddock marched with the main body. On the 19th of June he put himself at the head of twelve hundred chosen troops, and pressed forward toward Fort Du Quesne. On the 9th of July, when the English were only twelve miles from Fort Du Quesne, they were suddenly fired upon by the French and Indians, who were hidden among the rocks and ravines. [Sidenote: =Braddock's Defeat.=] 20. The battle began with a panic. The men fired constantly, but could see no enemy. Braddock rushed to the front and rallied his men; but it was all in vain. They stood huddled together like sheep. The forest was strewn with the dead. Out of eighty-two officers, twenty-six were killed. Of the privates seven hundred and fourteen had fallen. A retreat began at once, and Washington, with the Virginians, covered the flight of the army. 21. On the next day the Indians returned to Fort Du Quesne clad in the laced coats of the British officers. The wounded Braddock was borne in the train of the fugitives to Fort Necessity, where he died. When they reached Dunbar's camp the confusion was greater than ever. The artillery, baggage, and public stores were destroyed. Then followed a hasty retreat to Fort Cumberland, and finally to Philadelphia. [Sidenote: =The English in Acadia.=]