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Joseph Styers

Prof. Alec Thomson

HIST 151

7/23/2017

Battle of Fort Necessity

The Battle of Fort Necessity was fought during the French-Indian war on July 3rd 1754,

one day before Independence Day. It was one of the first battles of the war with George

Washington appearing as a significant leader.

The battle took place in Pennsylvania at the Fort Necessity as the second major battle in

the war. It occurred after the Battle of Jumonville Glen, where Washington led his troop to attack

a French fort. The surprise attack was successful, however a survivor escaped to Fort Duquense

and told the army of what had happened. Washington and his troops fortified the Great Meadows

camp in case of a French counterattack. On June 9th, Washington received 100 more troops from

the Virginia Regiment, only to find out that the commander leading them had died. Washington

was now the commander of his company of 300 soldiers. Leading up to July 3rd, Washington

fortified the camp with what little supplies he had left. On that day, the French began their attack,

starting from the woods nearby. This did not affect the Washingtons men as they 600 yards

away. Washington alerted his men to fire only when the French were close enough. Rain made it

difficult for Washington, as his troops were situated within a trench. His resources such as

gunpowder became too wet to use.

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The battle went one from eleven oclock in the morning to eight oclock at night. At that

time, a parley was requested by the French. At first, Washington refused to meet as he did not

want the French to know of his fort and companys poor condition. He did eventually send out

Captain Vanbraam, who could speak French. Vanbraam brought over a French commander and a

proposal was made. Captain Vanbraam could not perfectly translate it so Washington was

screwed over. By signing the proposal, he admitted to assassinating a commander at the Battle of

Jumonville Glen. The proposal also gave the English artillery and fort to the French.

Washingtons company marched out triumphantly, even though they were defeated. Only

three soldiers were killed on the French side while 31 died in Washingtons company. The

French destroyed Washingtons cannons and fortress. While it was considered a loss for the

colonials, the war was not over yet. Washington returned to Virginia, only to be humiliated by

the higher ups. At the time, Washington was only 21 and had not seen much battle, let alone

command one. This led to Washingtons resignation as a commander, although he did become a

volunteer later on.

The Battle of Fort Necessity was a small battle in comparison to others throughout

history. Only a few hundred were injured, killed or captured by the opposing sides. The battle

only happened because of Washingtons first attack on the French at Jumonville Glen. This led

to a counterattack by the French, and a loss for Washington. The rainy weather did not help him

at all, as the trenches filled up and the gunpowder was unusable. After defeat, a proposal was

signed and Washington marched back to Virginia. The fort was burnt down along with the

artillery, and Washington quit as a commander. While the defeat for Washington was

humiliating to say the least, it did not stop him from becoming a respected leader with more

military victories and his actions as the first United States president.
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Works Cited

Lowdermilk, Will H., and Edward Braddock. 72 - 81. History of Cumberland:

(Maryland) from the Time of the Indian Town, Caiuctucuc, in 1728, up to the Present

Day, Embracing an Account of Washington's First Campaign, and Battle of Fort

Necessity, Together with a History of Braddock's Expedition. Baltimore: Regional Pub.,

1971. N. pag. Print. 21 July 2017.

Ellis, Joseph J. George Washington: His Excellency. London: Folo, 2008. Web. 21 July

2017.<https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=2Y9Rko9sT3kC&oi=fnd&pg=PR

9&dq=george+washington+fort+necessity&ots=aLHdRW8Qck&sig=zTEHtQkFBAXFL

zk4baEaLR7wCEA#v=onepage&q=george%20washington%20fort%20necessity&f=fals

e>.

Farhatullah, Rai. "Seven Years War." (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 22 July 2017.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/46008289/Seven_Years_War_1754_-

_1763.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1500862931&

Signature=kRpfbpF3IHcNSbQLdJWn6HM3ues%3D&response-content-

disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DSeven_Years_War_1754_1763.pdf

Harrington, J. C. "Fort Necessity-Scene of George Washington's First Battle." (1954): 25-27.

Web. 23 July 2017.