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A group of Virginia businessmen decided
to launch a commercial enterprise to explore and settle
the Ohio Valley. After French claim and occupation of
the Mississippi/Ohio territories in 1749-1754, they
decided to take military action and raised a force of
300 men under a young office named George Washington.
Washington launched his expedition into the territory in
1754 and proceeded to the French post of Fort Le Boeuf.
Washington and the Virginians were decisively defeated
by the French and sent retreating back across the
Appalachian Mountains.
The Governor of Virginia, Robert
Dinwiddle began sending repeated requests to Britain for
help and after incessant pressure from the colonies
Britain dispatched General Edward Braddock in 1755 to
take control of the Ohio from the French. In the
meantime the French had reinforced the Valley with 3,000
regular troops under the command of Baron Dieskau.
Braddock, with Washington on his staff set out to
capture Fort Duquesne and force the French out.
Braddock's attack was a stunning defeat and the English
once again stumbled back to their colonies to regroup.
Although France and England were still at peace in
Europe, these battles ignited the greatest war the world
had ever seen and in 1756 the Seven Years War started in
earnest.
Fort Cumberland, 18 July, 1755
Honored Madam
As I doubt not that you
have heard of our defeat, and perhaps, had it
represented in a worse light, if possible, than it
deserves, I have taken the earliest opportunity to give
you some account of the engagement as it happened,
within 10 miles of the French fort, on Wednesday the
ninth instant.
We
marched to that place, without any considerable loss,
having only now and then a straggler picked up by the
French and scouting Indians. When we came there, we
were attacked by a party of French and Indians, whose
number, I am persuaded, did not exceed 300 men; while
ours consisted of about one thousand three hundred well
armed troops, chiefly regular soldiers, who were struck
was such panic, that they behaved with more cowardice
then it is possible to conceive. The officers behave
gallantly, in order to encourage their men, for which
they suffered greatly, there being near 60 killed and
wounded; a large portion of the number we had.
The
Virginia troops show did good deal of bravery, and were
not nearly all killed; for I believe, out of three
companies that were there, scarcely 30 men are left
alive… In short, the dastardly behavior of those they
call regulars exposed all others, that were inclined to
do their duty, to almost certain death; and, at last, in
despite of all the efforts of the officers to the
contrary, they ran, as sheep pursued by dogs, and it was
impossible to rally them…
George Washington -
letter to his mother
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