Fort Necessity is a National Battlefield in the Laurel Mountains near where I grew up. It was a key site in the French and Indian War. George Washington got clobbered there. He was overrun by the French when the Indians abandoned him and he had to sign a surrender agreement in which he admits to killing Jumonville, a French general, in an ambush. (A place called Jumonville is preserved too.)
He was young and had no real idea what he was doing. So we forgive him. Matt is a big Washington fan so we stopped to look around.
The French and Indian War, a war in which France and England fought over the domination of America, much to the Indians dismay and frustration, is long forgotten but it was pretty important. Without it, we'd all be speaking French right now. They call it the Seven Years War and it was the first global war, stretching all the way to India.
The Fort is also along Route 40, the first National Road, something that Washington envisioned as a way to connect settlers to the coast for trade. It did get built over a series of years and still exists today as a scenic highway in the backroads of Pennsylvania and Maryland. Its a nice drive if you have the time.
After our history lesson, we drove home to Maryland. We missed the cats.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment