The Battle of Fort Necessity, also known as the Battle of the Great Meadows, took place on July 3, 1754, in what is now
Farmington
Farmington may refer to:
Places Canada
*Farmington, British Columbia
* Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation)
United States
*Farmington, Arkansas
*Farmington, California
*Farmington, Connecticut
*Farmington, Delaware
* Farmington, Georgia
* ...
in
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, adjacent to Maryland and West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 128,804. Its county seat is Uniontown. The county w ...
. The engagement, along with the May 28 skirmish known as the
Battle of 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 present-day Hopwood and Uniontown in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. A company of provincial ...
, was
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
's first military experience. The Battle of Fort Necessity began the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
, which later spiraled into the global conflict known as the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
. Washington built
Fort Necessity
Fort Necessity National Battlefield is a National Battlefield in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, which preserves the site of the Battle of Fort Necessity. The battle, which took place on July 3, 1754, was an early battle of the F ...
on an
alpine meadow
Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...
west of the summit of a pass through the
Laurel Highlands
The Laurel Highlands is a region in southwestern Pennsylvania made up of Fayette County, Somerset County and Westmoreland County. It has a population of about 600,000 people.
The region is approximately fifty-five miles southeast of Pitts ...
of the
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...
. Another pass nearby leads to
Confluence, Pennsylvania
Confluence is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 724 at the 2020 census.
Geography
Confluence is at (39.809997, -79.356692). ...
; to the west,
Nemacolin's Trail
450px, Braddock's Road, General Braddock's March (points 1–10) follows or parallels (and improves upon) Chief Nemacolin's Trail from the Potomac River to the Monogahela. The route from the summit to Redstone Creek, which could be used by wago ...
begins its descent to
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Greater Pittsburgh Region. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census, down from 12,422 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat and ...
, and other parts of Fayette County along the relatively low altitudes of the
Allegheny Plateau
The Allegheny Plateau , in the United States, is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divide ...
.
Background
The French Empire, despite the fact that they began colonizing North America in the 16th century, had between only 75,000 and 90,000 colonists living in
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
in the mid-1700s.
However, France was able to control the large colonies of
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
(modern-day
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
),
Acadia
Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...
, and the
French Louisiana
The term French Louisiana refers to two distinct regions:
* first, to Louisiana (New France), colonial French Louisiana, comprising the massive, middle section of North America claimed by Early Modern France, France during the 17th and 18th centu ...
with relatively few people by controlling waterways (especially the
Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...
, the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
, the
Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
, and the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
) and cultivating strong political and economic relationships with powerful Native American nations. The
Ohio Country, an area located roughly between
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...
and the
Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
, became increasingly important to the French throughout the 18th century. As more settlers moved from Montreal, Quebec, and other established French settlements along the St. Lawrence to the newer Louisiana colony, the Ohio Country became an important connection between New France and Louisiana.
British settlers were also expanding into the Ohio Country at this time. The British colonies were far more populated than the French (there were about 1.5 million British subjects living in North America in 1754, meaning that the British outnumbered the French almost twenty to one), and settlers were eager to move over the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
and into the Ohio Country and other western lands.
Most British traders declared that, despite the facts that the French had been trading in the Ohio Country for years and that more and more displaced Native Americans were moving west from the Atlantic coast every year, the Ohio Country was unsettled, uncharted, and therefore unclaimed land that should be open to all traders.
The French had no interest in trying to compete with the British for trade in the Ohio Country. Due to their high population and large colonial cities, British traders could offer Native Americans cheaper, higher quality goods than could their French counterparts. The French therefore set about keeping the British as far away from the Ohio Country as possible.
Authorities in
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
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
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
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
French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...
, 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
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
merchant traders, the Canadians showed a great reluctance to venture into the Ohio country. In particular,
Tanacharison
Tanacharison (; c. 1700 – 4 October 1754), also called Tanaghrisson (), was a Native American leader who played a pivotal role in the beginning of the French and Indian War. He was known to European-Americans as the Half-King, a title also ...
, a
Mingo
The Mingo people are an Iroquoian group of Native Americans, primarily Seneca and Cayuga, who migrated west from New York to the Ohio Country in the mid-18th century, and their descendants. Some Susquehannock survivors also joined them, and ...
chief also known as the "Half King", became anti-French as a consequence. In a meeting with
Paul Marin de la Malgue Paul Marin de la Malgue ( bap. 19 March 1692 – 29 October 1753) was the eldest son of Charles-Paul Marin de la Malgue and Catherine Niquet. He was born in Montreal and, as many of the prominent historical figures of his time, had a military c ...
, 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
Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western Nort ...
that Tanacharison had offered as a good will gesture.
[O'Meara, p. 28] Marin died not long after, and command of the operations was turned over to
Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre
Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre (October 24, 1701 - September 8, 1755) was a Canadian colonial military commander and explorer who held posts throughout North America in the 18th century, just before and during the French and Indian War.
Famil ...
.
Virginians felt that their colonial charter, the oldest in the British colonies, gave them claim to the Ohio Country despite competing claims from Native Americans, the French, and other British colonies. In 1748, wealthy Virginians formed the
Ohio Company
The Ohio Company, formally known as the Ohio Company of Virginia, was a land speculation company organized for the settlement by Virginians of the Ohio Country (approximately the present U.S. state of Ohio) and to trade with the Native Americ ...
with the aim of solidifying Virginia's claim and profiting off the speculation of western lands.
Governor Robert Dinwiddie, the royal governor of Virginia and founding investor in the Ohio Company, sent a twenty-one year old
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
colonial Lieutenant Colonel
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
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. George Washington's older brothers Lawrence and Augustine had been instrumental in organizing the Ohio Company, and George had become familiar with the Ohio Company by surveying for his brothers as a young man. After a long trek and several near-death experiences, Washington and his party (which included the Mingo sachem,
Tanacharison
Tanacharison (; c. 1700 – 4 October 1754), also called Tanaghrisson (), was a Native American leader who played a pivotal role in the beginning of the French and Indian War. He was known to European-Americans as the Half-King, a title also ...
, and the explorer
Christopher Gist
Christopher Gist (1706–1759) was an explorer, surveyor, and frontiersman active in Colonial America. He was one of the first white explorers of the Ohio Country (the present-day states of Ohio, eastern Indiana, western Pennsylvania, and nort ...
) arrived at
Fort Le Boeuf
Fort Le Bœuf (often referred to as Fort de la Rivière au Bœuf) was a fort established by the French during 1753 on a fork of French Creek (in the drainage area of the River Ohio), in present-day Waterford, in northwest Pennsylvania. The fort ...
and met with the regional commander,
Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre
Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre (October 24, 1701 - September 8, 1755) was a Canadian colonial military commander and explorer who held posts throughout North America in the 18th century, just before and during the French and Indian War.
Famil ...
. 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
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
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
Point State Park (locally known as The Point) is a Pennsylvania state park on in Downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River.
Built on land acqu ...
, in present-day Pittsburgh, a site Washington had identified as a fine location for a fortress. However, unlike the French, Washington and his Virginia regiment could not easily reach the Forks via river. The governor therefore also issued a captain's commission to
Ohio Company
The Ohio Company, formally known as the Ohio Company of Virginia, was a land speculation company organized for the settlement by Virginians of the Ohio Country (approximately the present U.S. state of Ohio) and to trade with the Native Americ ...
employee
William Trent
William Trent (February 13, 1715–1787) was an American fur trader and merchant based in colonial Pennsylvania. He was commissioned as a captain of the Virginia Regiment in the early stages of the French and Indian War, when he served on the wes ...
, with instructions to raise a small force capable of moving quickly through the wilderness and virgin forest that lie between Williamsburg and the Forks. Once there, they were to immediately begin construction of a fortification on the
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. Dinwiddie issued these instructions on his own authority, without even asking for funding from the
Virginia House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been established ...
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.
[Anderson, p. 46] In response, the Canadians sent a force of about 500 men, Canadian, French, and Indians under
Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur was an officer in the colonial regular troops ( troupes de la marine), seigneur, and member of the Legislative Council of New France. Born on December 28, 1705 at Contrecœur, Quebec, son of Francois-Antoine P ...
(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
Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...
.
Prelude
In March 1754, Governor Dinwiddie sent Washington back to the frontier with orders to "act on the
efensive but in Case any Attempts are made to obstruct the Works or interrupt our
ettlementsby 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
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, as "an invitation to start a war".
[Anderson, p. 51] 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.
[Lengel, p. 32]
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
Joseph Coulon de Villiers, Sieur de Jumonville (September 8, 1718 – May 28, 1754) was a French Canadian military officer. His defeat and killing at the Battle of Jumonville Glen by forces led by George Washington was one of the sparks that ignit ...
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.
[Lengel, p. 34] Sources disagree on the exact composition of Jumonville's force, which may have included French
troupes de la marine, Canadian militia, and Indians.
![Washington 1772](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Washington_1772.jpg)
During the march through the forests of the frontier, Washington received a few more men from another regiment that they met at
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
.
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 south of the forks and await further instructions.
[Lengel, p. 33] The men of the Virginia Regiment built a road through the wilderness as they went, "broad enough to pass with all our Artillery and our Baggage." This road was essential, not just to allow Washington and his men to move quickly to Fort Duquesne, but to open up the Ohio country to Virginia troops and settlers in the future. Washington and the
Ohio Company
The Ohio Company, formally known as the Ohio Company of Virginia, was a land speculation company organized for the settlement by Virginians of the Ohio Country (approximately the present U.S. state of Ohio) and to trade with the Native Americ ...
had originally hoped to use the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
to travel between the
tidewater and the Ohio country; however, the Great Falls made such a journey impossible until the completion of the
Patowmack Canal
The Patowmack Canal, sometimes called the Potomac Canal, is a series of five inoperative canals located in Maryland and Virginia, United States, that was designed to bypass rapids in the Potomac River upstream of the present Washington, D.C., are ...
in 1803.
Jumonville Glen
Washington sent out Captain Hog with 75 men to pursue French troops who had threatened to destroy his house and property.
[Lengel, p. 35] 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.
[Lengel, p. 36] 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.
[Lengel, p. 37] Washington ambushed the French, killing 10 to 12, wounding 2 and capturing 21.
[Lengel, p. 38] 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 the Half King while the summons was being read.
Fort Necessity
![The Night Council At Fort Necessity from the Darlington Collection of Engravings](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/The_Night_Council_At_Fort_Necessity_from_the_Darlington_Collection_of_Engravings.PNG)
After retiring from Jumonville, Washington expected to be attacked.
[Lengel, p. 39] Tanacharison attempted to convince the
Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
,
Shawnee
The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
and the
Mingo
The Mingo people are an Iroquoian group of Native Americans, primarily Seneca and Cayuga, who migrated west from New York to the Ohio Country in the mid-18th century, and their descendants. Some Susquehannock survivors also joined them, and ...
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
Colonel Joshua Fry (1699–1754) was an English-born American adventurer who became a professor, then real estate investor and local official in the colony of Virginia. Although he served several terms in the House of Burgesses, he may be best kn ...
, who had fallen from his horse, broken his neck and died.
[Lengel, p. 40] 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
Louis Coulon, Sieur de Villiers (17 August 1710 – 2 November 1757) was a French military officer who served during the French and Indian War. Perhaps his greatest claim to fame is the fact that he is the only military opponent to force Geor ...
. 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.
[Lengel, pp. 40–41]
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.
[Lengel p. 41] 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.
[Lengel, p. 42] To improve the defense, Washington ordered his men to cut trees down and to make them into makeshift
breastworks
A breastwork is a temporary fortification, often an earthwork thrown up to breast height to provide protection to defenders firing over it from a standing position. A more permanent structure, normally in stone, would be described as a parapet or ...
.
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.
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.
[Lengel, p. 43] 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, with his men exhausted, powder and ball were running low, and reason to fear that American reinforcements were approaching, decided to parley. Sending an officer under a white flag to negotiate.
[Lengel, p. 44] 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
Jacobus van Braam (b. Bergen op Zoom, in the Netherlands, 1 April 1729, d. 1 August 1792 Charleville, France) was a sword master and mercenary who trained the 19-year-old George Washington in 1751 or shortly thereafter. He was also retained by Wash ...
, to negotiate. The French had no desire to disturb the peace between the two kingdoms but wished only to “avenge the murder of one of our officers, bearer of a summons, and of his escort, and also to prevent any establishment being made on the lands of my King.” 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".
Both Washington and Mackay signed the surrender document.
Order of battle
Strength report of the Virginia Regiment, July 1, 1754
Aftermath
On July 4, Washington and his troops abandoned Fort Necessity.
[Lengel, p. 45] 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 plunder the soldiers until July 5. Washington and his troops arrived back in eastern Virginia in mid-July.
[Lengel, p. 47] 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.
When news of the two battles reached England in August, the government of the
Duke of Newcastle
Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle u ...
, after several months of negotiations, decided to send an army the following year to dislodge the French.
[Fowler, p. 52] Major General
Edward Braddock
Major-General Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe ...
was chosen to lead the expedition.
[Lengel, p. 52] His expedition
ended in disaster, and the French remained in control of Fort Duquesne until 1759, when
an expedition under General
John Forbes finally succeeded in taking the fort.
[Fowler, pp. 159–163]
Word of the British military plans leaked to France well before Braddock's departure for North America, and
King Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...
dispatched a much larger body of troops to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in 1755.
[Fowler, p. 64] 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
Admiral of the Blue Edward Boscawen, PC (19 August 171110 January 1761) was a British admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall, England. He is known principally for his various naval commands during ...
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.
[Fowler, pp. 74–75] Military matters escalated on both North American soil and sea until France and Britain declared war on each other in spring 1768, marking the formal start of the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
.
[Fowler, p. 98]
The battlefield is preserved at
Fort Necessity National Battlefield
Fort Necessity National Battlefield is a National Battlefield in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, which preserves the site of the Battle of Fort Necessity. The battle, which took place on July 3, 1754, was an early battle of the F ...
.
Notes
References
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* Toner, J.M. (ed.) (1893). ''Journal of Colonel George Washington.'' Albany, N.Y.
External links
Fort Necessity National Battlefieldone of the hostages taken by Louis Coulon de Villiers at the surrender of Fort Necessity
Includes podcast of the topic.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Necessity, Battle of
1754 in the Thirteen Colonies
Battles of the French and Indian War
Battles in Pennsylvania
Battles involving Great Britain
Battles involving France
Conflicts in 1754
Pre-statehood history of Pennsylvania
Military history of the United States
History of Cumberland, MD-WV MSA