Summer of 21 - #38 - Fort Necessity National Battlefield & Museum - Part 1 of 2

July 12th, 2021 - Part 1 of 2

We have quite a few places we want to see while we're at Hickory Hollow Campground. Today we went to Fort Necessity National Battlefield.

The museum here is very well laid out and has lots of interesting exhibits and information.

Wikipedia has a good write up of what happened here. Much better than I can explain. Here is the LINK to that. I'll supply the pictures.

"The battle, which took place on July 3rd, 1754, was an early battle of the French and Indian War, and resulted in the surrender of British colonial forces under Colonel George Washington, to the French and Indians, under Louis Coulon de Villiers." 

I will tell you that it was George Washington's first military experience and the only surrender of his military career.   

LINK-Prelude to War

The French buried these plates hoping to establish claim to the land. 

Celeron's Plate

Click on this LINK to read about Jumonville Glen which is where the British and the French would first come to blows on May 28th, 1754.

This was the start of the French and Indian War (1754-1763). Despite the name the war was between the French and the British.  The neutral Native American Indians were in the middle and pitted the two against each other.  Click HERE to read about the war. Washington won this first battle. 

Washington returned to Great Meadows and constructed Fort Necessity.

Click on this LINK to read about the Battle of Fort Necessity on July 3rd, 1754.  It was a battle between the British and the French and the French got even. 

The French were considering holding off on their attack, until a British deserter tipped off the French that the conditions of the British troops were poor. They then took advantage of that information and attacked.

You could read or listen to recordings about the battle.

I liked this depiction of the troops.

After Washington's defeat at Fort Necessity, the British retreated to Wills Creek. Major General Braddock was sent from England with two Infantry regiments. This was the start of the Braddock Campaign which you can read HERE but ultimately Braddock was severely wounded at the battle of the Monongahela.  

The British retreated from the battle and Braddock died on the evening of July 13th, 1755 from his wounds, one mile west from Fort Necessity.

He was buried the next day, Washington officiated at the ceremony.  The General was buried in the road his men had built.  The army then marched over the grave to obliterate any traces of it and continued to eastern Pennsylvania.

In 1771, long after the Battle at Fort Necessity, George Washington returned to the site of his first defeat and bought the property where Fort Necessity once stood. He thought the land would increase in value as Americans moved Westward but it didn't materialize.  He failed to rent or sell it. After his death it changed hands many times, although the Great Meadows kept its place in history.  One farmer never plowed the old fort site out of respect. In 1854 a local group placed a cornerstone to commemorate the 100th anniversary.  it was meant to be the start of a memorial that didn't materialize. The land remained undeveloped for the next 77 years.

Cornerstone from 1854

George Washingtons reflections on the French Indian War

There was an exhibit on the British Empire, which I found very interesting.

This LINK to an article "Setting the Stage for Revolution" explains the French & Indian 7 Year War(1756-1763) in detail. 

The British did well, after a rocky start, but incurred great debt. On April 5th, 1764 they started levying taxes upon the colonies. The tax year in the UK ends on April 5th, is that a coincidence I wonder!!!!! Always thought how weird it was that the tax year was different to the calendar year. Who knows??

Anyway, the taxes upset the colonials who started to rebel and advocate for independence from Great Britain. After the Boston Tea Party, the British put soldiers into American private homes and the port of Boston was closed.

"Things came to a head on April 17th, 1775, when Patriot militias and British regulars fired upon each other at the Massachusetts town of Lexington."

The Revolutionary War(1775-1783) had started. 

The Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776 separated England from the American Colonies.

There was exhibit about the National Road, which you can read about HERE. It was America's first federally funded highway.

Phew......After going around the museum, we went to look at the re-creation of Fort Necessity.  You can read about that in the next blog........