The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1932-08-19
Capt George Washington
BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON


IkIINA Nk stOckaded fort in mountain mead
IEIIBaAIhl ow near UniOntOwL+ Pa, a
UEbHy tiOnal shrine to the Father of His
~ND Country. For this little fort con-
sisting only of q log cabin circled
by a log stockade, was Fort Necessity, where
on July 3, 1754 George Washington began the
military career which was to place his name
among those of the great captains of all time
and where, the famous Voltaire expressed
ii, was fired the cannon shot in the woods OF
America which set all Europe ablaze"
Paradoxical as it may seem, the fact remains
that WashingtOn'S brilliant career began there
in failure rather than in success, and Fort
Necessity witnessed the one time in his career
when he surrendered to an enemy instead of
receiving the surrender of an enemy. Except
for a brief mention of the affair in our school
histories, the affair at Fort Necessity is but
little known to most Americans. For more than
IT'S years the scene of this hstory-making event
was known only TO a few scholars.
But now Fort Necessity has come into its own
and because of easy access to it by way of
Route 40, the national highway, it is expected
that thousands of Americans will visit it every
year. Some time ago the state of Pennsylvania
purchased 314 acres, including the site of the
fort, and a further appropriation by congress
last year assured its preservation a national
historical monument. The fort has been re-
constructed exactly it stood on that fateful
day rs years ago. A large brick tavern stand
ing at the roadside, built in 1916 as a stop on
the Good Intent stage line is being remodeled
and will be used museum. Money to re-
construct the fort and to remodel the museum
have been raised by patriotic societies, notably
the American Legion, and by individuals.
The affair at Fort Necessity had its origins
in the clash between the British and the French
for the control of the interior of the North
American continent. To make good her claim to
the Mississippi and Ohio valleys and to check
the westward expansion of English settlement
beyond the AIleghenies the French had erected
a fort at Pressure Isle, Erie, Pa had built
Fort lie Boeuf on French creek and had also
seized the British trading post of Venango at
the junction of French creek and the Allegheny
river
In 1853 Gov. Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia
selected George Washington, then only twenty
one years old, for the difficult task of demand
ing that the French cease their encroachments
upon British SOIL" When Washington returned
with the Information that the French had no
intention of giving up their forts, Dinwidde
decided upon more drastic action. Late in
1853 he sent a party of men under Captain
Trent to build a fort at the Forks of the Ohio,
where Pittsburgh stands and to hold it
against any attacks which the French might
make.
Both North Carolina and the home govern
ment had promised aid to the expedition but
when no troops had arrived by the last day
of March, 1914, Dnwiddie ordered Washington
and his 800 Virginians to proceed to the Ohio,
there TO help Captain Trent build forts and
TO defend the possessions of his majesty against
the attempts and hostilites of the French
Meantime Trent's little company of S3 men
had commenced stockade at the Forks But
in April. force of French and Indians arrived
on the scene and made them prisoners They
were promptly released and allowed to return
home without harm. Washington coming to
their aid met the returning fort builders at
Wills Creek near the present city of Cumber-
land Md.
By this time the French had extended Trent's
work and pushed it to rapid completion, call
ing their stronghold Fort Duquesne. Here had
been gathered a considerable force of Canadians.
French regulars and Indian allies, detach-
ment from which, led by Coulon de Jumon-
ville secuted Washngton's advance On May
2S, at the head of scouting party Washington
stumbled upon the small French scouting party
The Virginians Immediately fired upon the
French. Ten were killed one wounded and 81
taken prisoner. Among the French dead was
Jumonyille. As will be seen later, this killing
was TO become an international incident and
for the first time (but not the last y it was to
make the of George Washington well
known in foreign capitals. Incidentally, it was
TO cause no little anxiety in the mind of King
George Of England. although he could not then
have realized how much more anxiety this same
young Virginian was to cause him two decades
later as the head of 'rebel army" which was
challenging the might of Great Britain
The news of this encounter was carried to
Fort DuQuesne and its commander Immediately
sent out a force under Coulon de vfIers.
brother of Jumonville, to attack the English
Washington withdrew to Great Meadows
where he erected fort. Although the place
was unfit for defense, being surrounded on
three sides by higher ground, which was heavi-
~ forested and afforded good shelter from