The Fort Necessity Campaign (continued)
The Marquis Duquesne, Governor General of
Canada, 175255. Public Archives of Canada.
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WASHINGTON'S MISSION TO FORT LE BOEUF. The French
continued their activities. The new Governor General of Canada, the
Marquis Duquesne, sent out an expedition of 1,000 men to build a series
of three forts in this region. Forts Presque Isle (near the present city
of Erie) and Le Boeuf (in present Waterford) were built in the early
summer of 1753. By the time they were completed, however, sickness and
the lateness of the season prevented the construction of the third fort.
The English trading post at Venango at the junction of French Creek and
the Allegheny River (where Franklin is now located) was seized and
occupied. Leaving a force to garrison the new posts, the French command
returned to Canada for the winter.
News of these developments startled the middle
colonies, who were nearest to the zones of friction, and especially
alarmed Lt. Gov. Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia. He immediately sent a
solemn warning to Legardeur de Saint Pierre, commandant at Fort Le
Boeuf, accusing the French of trespassing on the domain of His Majesty,
and stating "It is so notoriously known that the Lands on the Ohio River
to the West of the Colony of Virginia belong properly to the Crown of
Great Britain." Learning of Dinwiddie's letter, Canada's Governor
General Duquesne countered "His claims on the 'Belle Riviere' are a real
chimera, for it belongs to us incontestably. Moreover, the King wants
it, and that is enough to march ahead." It was clear that the issues
were beyond the stage of peaceful settlement.
Robert Dinwiddie, Lieutenant Governor of
Virginia. From Douglas
Freeman, George Washington, Vol. I. Courtesy Charles Scribner's Sons.
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On October 31, 1753, Governor Dinwiddie appointed one
of his adjutants, Maj. George Washington, then 21, to warn the French to
withdraw from the Ohio. With Christopher Gist as guide and the Dutch
adventurer Jacob Van Braam as interpreter, Washington's party of eight
men began the journey through the hazardous frontier country. In the
face of winter storms, the little band of men reached the forks of the
Ohio (now the site of Pittsburgh) and thence down that river about 17
miles to the Indian village of Logstown. After parleys here with the
Indians, Washington continued his journey northward. At Venango, where
Celoron had recently dispossessed the Englishman, John Frazier, of his
trading post, Washington was received by Capt. Philippe Joincare, the
commandant. Joincare referred him to Saint Pierre, the commandant at
Fort Le Boeuf. Continuing his march, Washington was now accompanied by
the Half King (Tanachariston), a friendly chief of the Senecas, known in
this region as the Mingoes, one of the six Iroquois Nations.
The envoy was received at Le Boeuf with marked
politeness by the French authorities. In reply to Dinwiddie's demand
that the French withdraw, the commandant, Legardeur de Saint Pierre,
informed Washington that he would hold possession of the Ohio country
for France until he received other orders from his superior, the Marquis
Duquesne. Meanwhile, the French endeavored to win over the Half King and
his Indians. While he accepted a gun and other presents from the French,
the Half King nevertheless remained loyal to the English.
Washington returned homeward, after several exciting
and dangerous experiences on the way, and delivered the French reply to
Dinwiddie at Williamsburg. His mission, however, was not wholly a
failure. The young major had taken advantage of the opportunity to learn
something of the delicate art of Indian relations, and had gained a
firsthand knowledge of French military strength.
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