Fort Necessity

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The Opening Battle of a World War

The battle at Fort Necessity in the summer of 1754 was the opening action of the French and Indian War. This war was a clash of British, French and American Indian cultures. It ended with the removal of French power from North America. 




 


Battle of Great Meadow Summary


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 According to Kennedy Hickman, "In the spring of 1754, Virginia Govenor Robert Dinwiddle dispatched a construction party to the Forks of the Ohio(Pittsgurgh, PA). To support the effort, he later sent 159 militia, under Lieutenant Colonel George Washington, to join the building team. 
Washington's men proceeded to Wills Creek (present-day Cumberland, MD) and began work. By May 14, 1754, the reached a large, marshy clearing known as the Great Meadows. After seting up camp Washington and 40 of his men marched through the night and bad weather to set a trap. They found the french in a narrow valley. The British surronded the French and opened fire on them, which started The Battle of Jumonville Glen. Washington's men killed 10 men and captured 21 including commander Esign Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville. Anticipating a French counterattack, Washington fell back to Great Meadows and on May 29 ordered his men to begin constructing a log palisade. Placing the fortification in the middle of the meadow, Washington believed the position would provide a clear field of fire for his men. Though trained as a surveyor, Washington's relative lack of military experience proved critical as the fort was sited in a depression and was too close to the tree lines. Dubbed Fort Necessity, Washington's men quickly completed work on the fortification.On July 3, the French, led by Captain Louis Coulon de Villiers, Jumonville's brother, arrived and quickly surrounded the fort. Taking advantage of Washington's mistake, they occupied high ground along the tree line which allowed them to fire into the fort.Jumonville out ranged from the previous death of his brother he pinned down Washingto, and his men ran out of ammunition. It started to rain which made it harder to shoot. Around 8:00 PM, Villiers sent a messenger to Washington to open surrender negotiations. With his situation hopeless, Washington agreed. Washington and McKay met with Villiers, however the negotiations went slowly as neither spoke the other's language. Finally, one of Washington's men, who spoke bits of both English and French, was brought forward to serve as an interpreter. The Great Meadow Battle finally ended."