Photo:
Fort Necessity nps.gov
Fort Necessity,
located in modern-day Farmington, PA, was the site of
the first actual military engagementof the French and
Indian War.
George Washington
ordered the fort's construction in 1754, after his forces
engaged a French scouting party while marching toward
Fort Duquesne. Washington ordered an attack on the party,
which resulted in the deaths of at least 10 French soldiers
and the capture of 21 more. Washington then withdrew to
Great Meadows, a large natural clearing that he made his
base camp. At Great Meadows, Fort Necessity was hastily
built and reinforced in anticipation of a possible French
counterattack. Word of the attack soon reached French
military forces in the region. On July 3, 1754, 600 French
troops led by Louis Coulon de Villiers, along with 100
Indians ambushed the fort. Washington, who was badly outnumbered,
accepted a truce that would allow he and his soldiers
to withdraw from the fort peacefully. The French then
occupied the fort and soon burned it to the ground. The
battle at Fort Necessity marked the only time that George
Washington ever surrendered in his military career.
