The American Story: Building the Republic

Chapter 3

Early Military Career: Bulletproof

In 1752, shortly after Washington returned from Barbados, Virginia’s British governor Robert Dinwiddie appointed him commander over the militia for the southern part of the state. At that time, it appeared that the seemingly perpetual war between Great Britain and France would spill over into North America, for both wanted to control those vast lands.

The English colonies in North America developed originally along the Atlantic seacoast, but many colonists began to push westward, opening new settlements in the interior. England (based on the early voyages of John and Sebastian Cabot in the late 1490s) claimed all of America for herself, from the Atlantic seacoast all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

But the French (also early explorers of North America) felt that they, too, had a right to a generous share of the New World and likewise claimed all of North America. They primarily colonized the interior of the continent along the Mississippi River, with settlements such as Montreal and Detroit in the north and St. Louis and New Orleans in the south. These French encampments were more than 500 miles inland from the English settlements along the Atlantic seaboard.

To expand French influence, the French governor of Canada ordered that a chain of forts be built on lands occupied by the English. Soldiers began erecting French strongholds, intending to draw a line from north to south across the American continent and keep English settlements confined east of the Allegheny Mountains.

But the English had already moved west of those mountains. The fur traders of Virginia previously established a chain of English trading posts stretching deep into the Ohio Valley (which included portions of what is now Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Maryland). The English had friendly relations with Indian villages throughout that expansive region, so the French began visiting the same locations to undermine the British relationships with the Natives.

To counter the growing French encroachment, several prominent Virginians—including Robert Dinwiddie (governor of Virginia), Lawrence and Augustine Washington (George’s elder half-brothers), and Thomas Lee (president of the Virginia Council)—established the Ohio Company to promote additional English settlements in the Ohio Valley section of the Virginia Colony.

But before the Ohio Company could dispatch more English settlers to the region, the governor of Canada sent 300 Frenchmen to claim the area. They began building forts, even within the English colony of Pennsylvania. They also began attacking English trading posts, taking English traders as prisoners.

Tensions increased and it seemed an all-out war was looming on the horizon. Governor Dinwiddie decided to attempt one more diplomatic solution: he would send a final official remonstrance to General St. Pierre, the commander of French forces in northwestern Pennsylvania. Dinwiddie selected Washington to carry his message. On October 31, 1753, as winter was settling into the mountains, the 21-year-old set out on his perilous trek.

Washington was accompanied by Christopher Gist, the surveyor, explorer, and Indian agent for the Ohio Company. The two plunged into the recesses of the wild, leaving behind every vestige of civilization. They endured snow and storms, crossed rugged mountains, and traversed through dense forests and into flooded valleys where they were forced to navigate swollen, raging rivers on rapidly-made but frail and dangerous rafts. On December 12, after six weeks of treacherous winter travel, they reached French General St. Pierre.

The General refused to accept the official papers from Washington. Instead, the Frenchman informed Washington that his orders were to eject every Englishman from the Ohio Valley and that he meant to carry out those orders. He directed Washington to remain while he prepared a reply to Dinwiddie.

While George was waiting, he took careful note of the French preparations occurring around him. He saw a fleet of 50 birch-bark canoes, 170 pine boats, and a large body of French soldiers preparing to move into Pennsylvania and build a fortress.

When St. Pierre finished his message to Dinwiddie, Washington and Gist received it and set out for Virginia. The return trip, in the dead of winter, was brutal.

On the way back, they were ambushed by a party of Indians. After escaping the attack, they traveled throughout the night and the next day without stopping, in hopes of leaving their foes far behind.

Upon reaching a large river, they were dismayed to discover that it had not yet completely frozen over, thus preventing them from walking across. Ice floes drifted in some parts of the river, while in other places there was a thin layer of ice. They were forced to build a raft on which to cross—a project that consumed an entire day.

Shortly after sunset, they launched out into the swiftly moving frigid waters, but the raft quickly smashed into an ice jam, threatening to sink the small craft. Attempting to stabilize it, Washington thrust his push pole into the river, but the raging water seized the pole, knocked him off balance, and pulled him overboard into the icy current.

Gist was able to save Washington, pulling him back onto the raft. But despite their best efforts, they were unable to navigate toward either shore. They finally managed to guide the raft to a small island in the middle of the river where they endured a cold, wet, miserable night. In fact, Gist’s fingers and toes froze in the extreme weather. By the next morning, the river was iced enough for the two to walk to the other side and continue their journey. Washington arrived back at Dinwiddie’s on January 16, 1754, 11 weeks after his departure.

During that harrowing trek, Washington kept a daily journal. After his return, the Maryland Gazette published it, and it was also printed separately as a small book, The Journal of Major George Washington (1754). It resulted in widespread public praise for the young leader.

Despite Washington’s gallant efforts, official negotiations failed; possession of the disputed territory would now be determined by war. Preparations thus began on the English side. Washington was made Lieutenant Colonel and entrusted with command of Virginia’s forces.

Meanwhile, the French boats and troops that Washington had seen earlier arrived at the location for their new military citadel in the Pennsylvania Colony. They felled trees, built barracks, and erected a fort, naming it Fort Duquesne (pronounced Dew-cain). (This would become the modern city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.)

In May 1754, Dinwiddie dispatched Lt. Colonel Washington and a small body of 150 troops to locate the French in preparation for a later attack against Fort Duquesne to be made by a much larger force, which Dinwiddie promised to send. After three weeks of marching, Washington’s men reached a location in southern Pennsylvania called the Great Meadows, still some 60 miles from the French fort. His Indian scouts informed him that a company of French soldiers was approaching.

Washington promptly erected a small stockade in the open meadow, which he called Fort Necessity. When his scouts reported that the approaching French body was only a scouting party, Washington decided to attack. The Americans overwhelmed them, killing 10 (including their commander) and capturing 21.

Washington returned to Great Meadows and Fort Necessity to await the promised reinforcements. Meanwhile, he began to cut a road across the rough country toward Fort Duquesne to accommodate the forthcoming American army. Over the next month he made 20 miles of progress, but the promised troops still did not arrive.

Washington’s force had now increased to some 300, but they were still greatly outnumbered by the French force. In that day, greater numbers were often the determining factor in a battle, since each soldier had a single-shot musket that could only be fired 2-4 times per minute. The more soldiers there were, the more shots could be fired, and the more potential damage done to the enemy. Numbers were crucial.

Washington’s scouts reported that the main body of French forces now approaching them was comprised of 1,100 troops. The Virginians took refuge in Fort Necessity, but the French stationed themselves in trees and hilltops around the fort, where they could shoot down into it. For nine long hours, a continuous shower of musket balls was poured in upon Washington’s forces huddled there.

Washington—greatly outnumbered, still unreinforced, and without sufficient food and supplies—knew it would be impossible to hold out much longer. The French proposed the Americans surrender and Washington accepted the terms of capitulation offered him.

On July 4, 1754, his little army marched out of the tiny fort and returned to Virginia. This was the only surrender that George Washington ever experienced in his long military career.

Upon his arrival, the Virginia House of Burgesses voted Colonel Washington a public thanks for the gallant stand he and his men had taken in the face of overwhelming odds.

The Ohio Valley was now in possession of the French, who ravaged and plundered English trading posts and settlements along the inner frontiers. Dinwiddie had so badly mismanaged Virginia’s military that Washington resigned in protest.12

Both sides prepared for a full-scale war. King Louis XV of France sent 3,000 soldiers to reinforce the French army in...