Old
postcard of the modern replica of Fort Necessity. The Battle of Fort
Necessity (also called the Battle of the Great Meadows) took place
on July 3, 1754, in what is now the mountaintop hamlet of Farmington
in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The engagement was one of the first
battles of the French and Indian War and George Washington's only
military surrender. The battle, along with the May 28 Battle of
Jumonville Glen, contributed to a series of military escalations
that resulted in the global Seven Years' War.
Washington built Fort Necessity on an alpine meadow west of the
summit of a pass through the Allegheny Mountains. Another pass
nearby leads to Confluence, Pennsylvania; to the west, Nemacolin's
Trail begins its descent to Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and other parts
of Fayette County along the relatively low altitudes of the
Allegheny Plateau.
History
Throughout the 1740s and early 1750s, British and French traders had
increasingly come into contact in the Ohio Country, including the
upper watershed of the Ohio River in what is now western
Pennsylvania. Authorities in New France became more aggressive in
their efforts to expel British traders and colonists from this area,
and in 1753 began construction of a series of fortifications in the
area. In previous wars, the Québecois had more than held their own
against the English colonials.
The French action drew the attention of not just the British, but
also the Indian tribes of the area. Despite good Franco-Indian
relations, British traders became successful in convincing the
Indians to trade with them in preference to the Canadiens, and the
planned large-scale advance was not well received by all. The reason
for this was that they had to provide them with the goods that the
Anglo-American traders had previously supplied, and at similar
prices. This proved to be singularly difficult. With the exception
of one or two Montreal merchant traders, the Canadians showed a
great reluctance to venture into the Ohio country. In particular,
Tanacharison, a Mingo chief also known as the "Half King", became
anti-French as a consequence. In a meeting with Paul Marin de la
Malgue, commander of the Canadian construction force, the latter
reportedly lost his temper, and shouted at the Indian chief, "I tell
you, down the river I will go. If the river is blocked up, I have
the forces to burst it open and tread under my feet all that oppose
me. I despise all the stupid things you have said."He then threw
down some wampum that Tanacharison had offered as a good will
gesture. Marin died not long after, and command of the operations
was turned over to Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre.
Virginia colonial Lieutenant Colonel George Washington was sent by
Governor Robert Dinwiddie to travel from Williamsburg to Fort
LeBeouf in the Ohio Territory (a territory claimed by several of the
British colonies, including Virginia) as an emissary in December
1753, to deliver a letter. Saint-Pierre politely informed Washington
that he was there pursuant to orders, and Washington's letter should
have been addressed to his commanding officer in Canada.
Washington returned to Williamsburg and informed Governor Dinwiddie
that the French refused to leave. Dinwiddie ordered Washington to
begin raising a militia regiment to hold the Forks of the Ohio, in
present-day Pittsburgh, a site Washington had identified as a fine
location for a fortress. The governor also issued a captain's
commission to Ohio Company employee William Trent, with instructions
to raise a small force and immediately begin construction of a
fortification on the Ohio. Dinwiddie issued these instructions on
his own authority, without even asking for funding from the Virginia
House of Burgesses until after the fact. Trent's company arrived on
site in February 1754, and began construction of a storehouse and
stockade with the assistance of Tanacharison and the Mingos. In
response, the Canadians sent a force of about 500 men, Canadian,
French, and Indians under Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur
(rumors reaching Trent's men put its size at 1,000). On April 16,
they arrived at the forks; the next day, Trent's force of 36 men,
led by Ensign Edward Ward in Trent's absence, agreed to leave the
site. The Canadians tore down the British works, and began
construction of the fort they called Fort Duquesne.
Prelude
In March 1754, Governor Dinwiddie sent Washington back to the frontier
with orders to "act on the [defensive], but in Case any Attempts are
made to obstruct the Works or interrupt our [settlements] by any
Persons whatsoever, You are to restrain all such Offenders, & in
Case of resistance to make Prisoners of or kill & destroy them".
Historian Fred Anderson describes Dinwiddie's instructions, which
were issued without the knowledge or direction of the British
government in London, as "an invitation to start a war". Washington
was ordered to gather as many supplies and paid volunteers as he
could along the way. By the time he left for the frontier on April
2, he had gathered 186 men.
Contrecœur operated under orders that forbade attacks by his force
unless they were provoked. On May 23, he sent Joseph Coulon de
Villiers de Jumonville with 35 men to see if Washington had entered
French territory, and with a summons to order Washington's troops to
leave; this summons was similar in nature to the one Washington had
delivered to them four months previous. Sources disagree on the
exact composition of Jumonville's force, which may have included
French troupes de la marine, Canadian militia, and Indians. During
the march through the forests of the frontier, Washington received a
few more men from another regiment that they met at Winchester. At
this point Captain Trent arrived with news of the advance of the
French force under Jumonville. Trent was accompanied by Tanacharison,
who promised warriors to assist the British.To keep Tanacharison's
support, Washington decided not to turn back, choosing instead to
build a fortification 37 miles (60 km) south of the forks and await
further instructions.
Jumonville
Glen
The Battle of Jumonville Glen, also known as the Jumonville affair,
was the opening battle of the French and Indian War fought on May
28, 1754 near what is present-day Hopwood and Uniontown in Fayette
County, Pennsylvania. Washington sent out Captain Hog with 75 men to
pursue French troops who had threatened to destroy his house and
property. However, shortly after Hog left, Washington called
together some young Indians and told them that the French had come
to kill Tanacharison, and the Indians also left to pursue the
French. That evening, Washington received a message from
Tanacharison, who said he had found the French encampment.
Washington decided to attack himself and brought 40 soldiers with
him towards Tanacharison's camp. That morning, they met with
Tanacharison's 12 Indian warriors, and Washington and Tanacharison
agreed to attack the encampment. Washington ambushed the French,
killing 10 to 12, wounding 2 and capturing 21. Among the dead was
Jumonville; the exact manner of his death is uncertain, but by
several accounts Tanacharison executed Jumonville in cold blood,
crushing his head with a tomahawk and washing his hands in
Jumonville's brains. One account, reported by an Indian to
Contrecœur, claimed that Jumonville was killed by Half King while
the summons was being read.
Fort
Necessity
After
retiring from Jumonville, Washington expected to be attacked.
Tanacharison attempted to convince the Delaware, Shawnee and the
Seneca Indians to join the Virginians at Great Meadows. With about
150 Virginians at Great Meadows, they began to construct a fort,
which Washington named Fort Necessity. The fort was completed on
June 3. By June 9, the rest of the Virginia Regiment arrived at
Great Meadows, excluding Colonel Joshua Fry, who had fallen from his
horse, broken his neck and died.Washington took his place as
colonel. A few days later, 100 British regulars under the command of
James Mackay arrived, but, instead of making camp with the
Virginians, they camped separately outside the fort.
Red Stone Creek
Washington had heard that there were 500 poorly supplied French
troops at Fort Duquesne, and thus he led the 300 Virginians out of
Great Meadows on June 16 to widen the road, for he had been unable
to convince the other chiefs to assist. They had said that they
would also be unable to help the Virginians. Although he had lost
Indian support, which made his troops more vulnerable to attack,
Washington continued to widen the road towards Red Stone Creek.
On June 28, after a council of war, Washington ordered the
withdrawal to Great Meadows. That same day 600 French, and 100
Indians left Fort Duquesne led by the slain Jumonville's older
brother, Louis Coulon de Villiers. In order to keep ahead of the
French/Canadian force, the Virginians had to abandon most of their
supplies. On July 1, they reached Fort Necessity.
British preparations
At Fort Necessity, the provision hut was depleted, and there was
little shelter from the heavy rain that started to fall on the 2nd.
With the rain, the trenches that Washington had ordered to be dug
had turned into streams. Washington realized that he would have to
defend against a frontal assault and also realized that it would be
difficult because the woods were less than 100 yards away, within
musket range, making it possible for a besieging attacker to pick
off the defenders. To improve the defense, Washington ordered his
men to cut trees down and to make them into makeshift breastworks.
As the British worked, Coulon approached Fort Necessity using the
road the Virginians had built.He arrived at Jumonville's Glen early
on the morning of July 3. Horrified to find several scalped French
bodies, he immediately ordered them to be buried.
The Battle
French attack
By 11:00 am on the 3rd of July 1754, Louis Coulon de Villiers came
within sight of Fort Necessity. At this time, the Virginians were
digging a trench in the mud. The pickets fired their muskets and
fell back to the fort, whereupon three columns of Canadian soldiers
and Indians advanced downhill towards the fort. However, Coulon had
miscalculated the location of the fort and had advanced with the
fort at his right. As Coulon halted and then redeployed his troops,
Washington began to prepare for an attack.
Coulon moved his troops into the woods, within easy musket range of
the fort. Washington knew he had to dislodge the Canadians and
Indians from that position, so he ordered an assault with his entire
force across the open field. Seeing the assault coming, Coulon
ordered his soldiers, led by Indians, to charge directly at
Washington's line. Washington ordered the men to hold their ground
and fire a volley. Mackay's regulars obeyed Washington's command,
and supported by two swivel cannons, they inflicted several
casualties on the oncoming Indians. The Virginians, however, fled
back to the fort, leaving Washington and the British regulars
greatly outnumbered. Washington ordered a retreat back to the fort.
Coulon reformed his troops in the woods. The Canadians spread out
around the clearing and kept up heavy fire on Fort Necessity.
Washington ordered his troops to return fire, but they aimed too
high, inflicting few casualties, and the swivel cannon fared no
better. To add to the garrison's troubles, heavy rain began to fall
that afternoon, and Washington's troops were unable to continue the
firefight because their gunpowder was wet.
Negotiations
Louis Coulon de Villiers, who did not know when British
reinforcements might arrive, sent an officer under a white flag to
negotiate. Washington did not allow the Canadian officer into or
near the fort, but sent two of his own men, including his translator
Jacob Van Braam, to negotiate. As negotiations began, the
Virginians, against Washington's orders, broke into the fort's
liquor supply and got drunk. Coulon told Van Braam that all he
wanted was the surrender of the garrison, and the Virginians could
go back to Virginia. He warned, however, that if they did not
surrender now, the Indians might storm the fort and scalp the entire
garrison.
Surrender
Van Braam brought this message to Washington, who agreed to these
basic terms. One of Louis Coulon de Villiers' aides then wrote down
Coulon's surrender terms and then gave them to Van Braam, who in
turn gave them to Washington. Washington, who could not read French,
had Van Braam translate it for him, and in the document it said that
Jumonville had been "assassinated".However, Van Braam may have
skipped over this word; otherwise Washington would have likely sent
it back to Coulon and asked that the word be removed. Both
Washington and Mackay signed the surrender document.
Aftermath
On July 4, Washington and his troops abandoned Fort Necessity.The
garrison marched away with drums beating and flags flying, but the
Indians and the French began to loot the garrison's baggage on their
way out. Washington, who feared a bloodbath, did not try to stop the
looting. The Indians continued to steal from the soldiers until July
5. Washington and his troops arrived back in eastern Virginia in
mid-July. On the 17th, Washington delivered his report of the
battles to Governor Dinwiddie, expecting a rebuke, but Washington
instead received a vote of thanks from the House of Burgesses and
Dinwiddie blamed the defeat not on Washington but on poor supply and
the refusal of aid by the other colonies.
The battlefield is preserved at Fort Necessity National Battlefield,
and includes a reconstruction of Fort Necessity.
Political consequences
Further information: Great Britain in the Seven Years War
When news of the two battles reached England in August, the
government of the Duke of Newcastle, after several months of
negotiations, decided to send an army expedition the following year
to dislodge the French. Major General Edward Braddock was chosen to
lead the expedition. His expedition ended in disaster, and the
French remained in control of Fort Duquesne until 1758, when an
expedition under General John Forbes finally succeeded in taking the
fort.
Word
of the British military plans leaked to France well before
Braddock's departure for North America, and King Louis XV dispatched
a much larger body of troops to Canada in 1755. Although they
arrived too late to participate in Braddock's defeat, the French
troop presence led to a string of French victories in the following
years. In a second British act of aggression, Admiral Edward
Boscawen fired on the French ship Alcide in a naval action on June
8, 1755, capturing her and two troop ships carrying some of those
troops. Military matters escalated on both North American soil and
sea until France and Britain declared war on each other in spring
1756, marking the formal start of the Seven Years' War.
Fort Necessity National Battlefield
During
the Great Depression of the 20th century, attempts to preserve the
location of Fort Necessity were undertaken. On March 4, 1931,
Congress declared the location a National Battlefield Site under
management of the War Department. Transferred to the National Park
Service in 1933, the park was redesignated a National Battlefield on
August 10, 1961. As with all historic sites administered by the
National Park Service, the battlefield was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.
Subsequent archaeological research helped to uncover the majority of
the original fort position, shape and design. A replica of the fort
was constructed on site in the 1970s. A new visitor center, which
also is home to a National Road interpretive center, opened on
October 8, 2005. The battlefield and fort are currently being
improved.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Necessity
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/…/Fort_Necessity_National_Battlefi…
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