A struggle between England and France for control of North America was likely, but George Washington’s actions at the direction of Virginia governor Robert Dinwiddie clearly brought the crisis to a head. The British and Dinwiddie wanted to prevent any French move into the Ohio River valley and sent the twenty-one-year old militia major, George Washington, to request the French to stop building forts in the area. When they refused, Dinwiddie authorized Washington and a Virginia militia force to forcibly remove the French from Fort Duquesne (present day Pittsburgh). After a brief encounter with a small French detachment, Washington hurriedly finished the seven-foot-high stockade that he called Fort Necessity. On 3 July 1754 a 1,000-man French and Indian army attacked the fort and killed or wounded nearly a third of the Anglo-Virginia forces. Washington surrrendered and was allowed to return to Virginia with his ragged army intact. Both sides reinforced their forces in the area, leading to General Braddock’s defeat in 1755 (Washington was with Braddock), and a declaration of war in 1756.
Further Reading
Fred Anderson, The Crucible of War: the Seven Years’ War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766.
This Vignette Provided By
Ronald Heinemann and John Kolp
