90
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Chapter 6
time, young Washington was under
England’s rule.
In November, Washington and his small
group began their trip to a French fort
locatednearmodern-dayErie. Itwas a long,
hard trip. There were no roads in the
wilderness. Rain, ice, or snow fell almost
every day of the trip. Finally, after 45 days
of travel,Washingtondelivered themessage
to the French. After the French commander
read the letter, he wrote his own message
forWashington to take back to the Virginia
governor. He stated that the Ohio River
Valley belonged to the French and they
wouldnot leave!
Washington andhismenhurried back to
the governor in Williamsburg, Virginia.
However, bad weather slowed their travel.
Finally, on January 16, 1754, Washington
handed the governor the French message.
The round trip tooknearly threemonths, or
90 days. Today, this round trip would take
less than 2 days by car!
The Frenchmessage alarmed theVirginia
governor. In 1754, he ordered a group of
men to build a settlement at the place
where the three rivers meet. He thought a
settlement would keep the area under
England’s control. Guess what? He was
wrong! The French sent soldiers to the area.
They captured the English settlement. They
built a fort called
FortDuquesne
.Canyou
predict how cause and effect will lead to
other events in this story?
In 1754, young Washington and his
soldiers were ordered to this region to take
back the land. They had more than one
enemy to defeat. The French moved into
the Ohio River Valley by waterforms. The
English had to build crude roads through
thick forests and over mountain ridges in
the Laurel Highlands. (See how geography
again plays a role in this story.)
The English had wagons to haul their
supplies. Every foot of the way was a huge
struggle. Washington’s men had chopped
the first road into modern-day western
Pennsylvania. After the crude road was
built, Washington’s troops set up camp in
an open field known as the
Great
Meadows
. A meadow is a large, natural
field clear of trees. Theywereabout 40miles
from the French fort.
A Native American chief, who liked the
English, brought news that the Frenchmight
be planning to attack Washington’s troops.
Washington decided to attack first. Led by
the chief, Washington’s 40 troops marched
all night in a pouring rain. In the morning
they surprised the French. The fight lasted15
minutes. One French soldier escaped to Fort
Duquesnewithnews of the fight.
A Strange Name for
aWar
T
his one small fight (cause) started
the war known as the
French and
IndianWar
(effect). The name for
The English built Fort Pitt where Fort
Duquesne had stood. The French had set
fire to Fort Duquesne and fled.
