A charming field for an encounter
Alberts RC and Illustrated by Daniel Maffia. 1975. A charming field for an encounter. Division of Publications, National Park Service. Washington, D.C.
This is the story of George Washington’s Fort Necessity. The story begins in Alexandria, Va., on April 2, 1754. There on a Tuesday morning, Lt. Col. George Washington mounted his best horse, gave a command, and to the sound of a single drummer marched a column of troops westward out of the city. Among his regimental papers he carried orders from Gov. Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia commanding him and his men to occupy, fortify, and defend the Upper Ohio Valley against a French army advancing southward from Canada. The march led to Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley, to Wills Creek (Cumberland) in western Maryland, and on to the Great Meadows in southwestern Pennsylvania where Fort Necessity would soon stand. It led to frustration, to short-lived victory, to fame clouded by censure, and to perhaps the bitterest defeat George Washington was ever to know. This is the story of George Washington’s Fort Necessity.