In May of 1754, with the French in control of the Ohio Valley at the Forks of the Ohio River in present day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Lieutenant–Colonel George Washington of the Virginia Militia and about one hundred-forty men were camped sixty miles away at Great Meadows in the Allegheny Mountains. Washington was intent on attacking Fort Duquesne and reclaiming the Ohio Country for the British.
Fort Duquesne
Captain Claude-Pierre Pecaudy, seigneur de Contrecoeur, in command of the French at Fort Duquesne, having received reports of Washington’s location, decided to send a diplomatic envoy of thirty-six men to speak with him. Contrecoeur instructed the leader of the envoy, Ensign Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville, to meet with Washington and demand his immediate withdrawal from French territory. On May 27, Washington was alerted to the advancement of the French, who by that time had progressed to within five miles of the British encampment at Great Meadows. Washington and forty-seven men left Great Meadows after dark, intending to intercept the French before they reached his camp. They marched through a driving rain and arrived at the camp of Mingo leader Tanaghrisson the following morning.
Jumonville Glen
After meeting with Washington, Tanaghrisson sent two scouts off to determine the exact location of Jumonville’s camp. It was found in a long narrow valley now known as Jumonville Glen. The British and the Mingos advanced and surrounded the French. The ensuing battle resulted in eleven casualties for the French and three for the British, who also took twenty-one of Jumonville’s men as prisoners. The wounded Jumonville produced a letter from Contrecouer. As an interpreter for Washington was reading the letter, Tanaghrisson tomahawked Jumonville’s head, splitting it open. He removed Jumonville’s brain and then proceeded to wash his hands with it. Describing the battle, Washington wrote in his journal; I fortunately escaped without any wound, for the right wing, where I stood, was exposed to and received all the enemy’s fire, and it was the part where the man was killed, and the rest wounded. I heard the bullets whistle, and, believe me there is something charming in the sound.
Fort Necessity
Following the battle, Washington retreated to his camp at Great Meadows. The French, considering Washington’s action against Jumonville to be an unnecessary attack on a peaceful diplomatic party, launched an expedition to expel the British from the region. Expecting French retaliation, Washington and his men quickly constructed a small fortification and awaited the French attack that would become known as The Battle of Fort Necessity.
