George Washington’s Inauspicious Beginning
The fertile Ohio River Valley lay between French Canada and English colonies on the Atlantic seaboard. Both French and English settlers and traders increasingly expanded into North America in the first half of the 18th century. Possession of this territory became vitally important. If the French could build continuous settlements along the Mississippi River, they could hem the British in to a limited area. The French did not want the British to control the Midwest either. British control of the Ohio River Valley endangered continued French claims to the Mississippi nd beyond. Both the English and French tried to ally themselves with regional Native American tribes to gain an edge.
In addition to alliances, forts played a leading role in settling and protecting the frontier while projecting power in symbolic and practical ways. A strategically located installation could double as a center for trade and as a centralized place to rally and defend against raids. Most importantly, a strong, unassailable fort was an effective reminder to all that the builders were powerful and there to stay.
Early British explorers in the Ohio River Valley discovered an ideal location for a fort at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers in western Pennsylvania. A small British expedition arrived in late 1753 to begin construction at the site. In February, 1754, 500 French militia ousted the British and began construction on their own citadel on the site which they named Fort Duquesne.
The British responded quickly. Virginia’s royal Governor, Alexander Spottswood , ordered a promising and well connected 21-year-old militia Colonel named George Washington to raise a force and prevent completion of the fort. Governor Spottswood selected the young Washington mainly for his three years of experience surveying the still unsettled western frontier. Washington gathered 300 volunteers and marched west in March. Along the way, Mingo braves, part of the Iroquois Nation led by Chief Half King, joined the Virginians.
Hearing rumors that the Virginia militia was on the march, the French dispatched Joseph Coulon de Villars de Jumonville with 35 men to scout south of Fort Duquesne. Washington learned of French approach on May 27th from Half King’s Indian scouts and advanced through the night to meet them. The next day, Washington and his men located the French party and laid in wait. Sources disagree on who fired first, but Washington’s men quickly subdued the French killing 10 and wounding 21 more including Jumonville. The language barrier made interrogation difficult. Before Washington could make any progress, Half King charged Jumonville without warning burying a tomahawk in the Frenchman’s skull killing him instantly.
Expecting a French reprisal, Washington retired to Great Meadows near modern day Uniontown, Pennsylvania to construct a wooden what he appropriately named Fort Necessity. The French did indeed respond. Louis de Villars Coulon, Jumonville’s older brother, commanded the garrison at Fort Duquesne and he led a force of 600 French militia and 100 Indians to exact revenge.
Coulon arrived at a still incomplete Fort Necessity on July 3, 1754. Washington was badly outnumbered in only partially prepared defenses. The French advanced and exchanged musket fire with the British, eventually falling back. As Washington’s men prepared for another attack, a heavy downpour began quickly dampening the gunpowder rendering the militia’s muskets useless. Coulon incorrectly believed the British might have reinforcements on route and sent an officer under a white flag to negotiate terms.
Coulon offered to allow the Virginians to leave under terms but if they refused he promised to unleash his Indian warriors. Washington understood the implied threat of using Native American braves. In battle they rarely took prisoners and often scalped their victims. With far fewer soldiers and incapacitated muskets, Washington faced a potential massacre. He had no choice but to capitulate. The French drew up surrender terms in French which Washington signed but could not read. The next day he and his troops departed for Virginia and the French burned Fort Necessity down.
Upon returning to Virginia, Washington learned the surrender document he signed contained an admission Jumonville was a diplomatic courier whom Washington had “assassinated.” That admission started the French and Indian War. The British decided to send an expeditionary force of 1,300 British regulars and Virginia militia under Major General Edward Braddock to capture Fort Duquesne. With his reputation tarnished, Washington was barred from a command. He could only join the expedition as an unofficial advisor. Washington warned Braddock not to use European military tactics in the untamed frontier and instead advance more covertly. Braddock ignored the disgraced Virginian, marching in columns with few to no scouts, noisily cutting a road as he went.
The French and Indians ambushed Braddock on July 9, 1755 south of Fort Duquesne attacking from behind trees and bushes killing or wounding 880 British including Braddock. In a moment of crisis, George Washington rose to the occasion. He assumed command and organized an effective defense allowing the remaining 450 British soldiers to disengage and retreat back to Virginia without further loss. Washington’s calm and effective leadership prevented a disaster from becoming a massacre. He returned to Virginia as a hero, his reputation restored.
Having proven his military capability, Washington again received a command in the Virginia militia and spent the next three years fighting on the frontier. In 1758, he joined the final campaign to capture Fort Duquesne. The British dispatched a 6,000 soldiers with an additional 800 Virginia militia under Washington’s command. This time it was the French who were badly outnumbered. On November 26, 1758, the French blew up their ammunition magazines, set fire to the fort and hastily retreated. Washington entered the smoldering remains the next day to the cheers of his men. The British quickly rebuilt a new installation they named Fort Pitt which established British dominance in the Ohio River Valley for the remainder of the war and permanently secured the region for the English. After the war, a town sprung up at the site of the fort the settlers named Pittsburgh.
Though Washington’s actions initiated the French and Indian War, it is unfair to lay the blame solely at his feet. The conflict had been building for a long time and by 1754 was probably inevitable. Nevertheless, the surrender at Fort Necessity was a black mark on Washington’s record that was not removed until the British finally captured Fort Duquesne. The victory ultimately established the British and later American claim to the Ohio River Valley founding a modern major American city, Pittsburgh, in the process. Washington emerged from the French and Indian War as one of the most experienced American born officers. In 1775, he was the obvious choice to lead the Continental Army when American Patriots took up arms in their quest for independence in the Revolutionary War. Washington’s subsequent achievements rightly receive the lion’s share of attention but his military career almost ended in disgrace before it began at Fort Necessity.
