Little Meadows, Maryland
Encyclopedia
Little Meadows is located at the foot of Meadow Mountain in western Maryland
. It was a common stopping point for British troops during the French and Indian War
and was frequented by George Washington
.
After a failed attempt to ask the French to leave the Ohio territory in 1753, Governor Robert Dinwiddie
sent Lieutenant Colonel George Washington of the new Virginia Regiment
to drive out the French. Starting out from Wills Creek
(now Cumberland, Maryland
), the expedition stopped at Little Meadows in early May 1754 to make camp. Washington wrote Dinwiddie on May 9, commenting on the local terrain impeding their progress. Washington and his men moved on to ambush French forces and construct Fort Necessity, where they were eventually defeated
and forced to return to Cumberland. The ambush and subsequent engagement proved to be a major spark of the French and Indian War
, and the larger, worldwide, Seven Years War.
On the 10th of June, 1755 British and American forces left Fort Cumberland
, heading west. On the 16th they arrived at Little Meadows, where Sir John St. Clair had made a temporary camp. General Braddock
, the overall British commander, was unaccustomed to frontier warfare and so asked Washington for advice, who made preparations to march on Fort Duquesne
. While in camp the famous Captain Jack and his forest rangers, men who dressed in leather and cloth and operated as Indians offered their services to Braddock for intelligence and harassing enemy Indians. Braddock detested unconventional warfare and rebuffed their offer. On the 19th of June, Washington and 1,200 troops moved out, accompanied by their Indian allies, towards Fort Duquesne. General Braddock could not abandon the tactics of Europe, making slow progress on their march, only 12 miles in 4 days. As Washington put it, “instead of pushing on with vigor, without regarding a little rough road, they were halting to level every mole hill, and to erect bridges over every brook.” Nine miles from Fort Duquesne, French and Indian forces attacked, eventually defeating the British and mortally wounding Braddock in what came to be known as the Battle of the Monongahela.
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. It was a common stopping point for British troops during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
and was frequented by George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
.
George Washington and Little Meadows
Robert Dinwiddie
Robert Dinwiddie was a British colonial administrator who served as lieutenant governor of colonial Virginia from 1751 to 1758, first under Governor Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle, and then, from July 1756 to January 1758, as deputy for John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun...
sent Lieutenant Colonel George Washington of the new Virginia Regiment
Virginia Regiment
The Virginia Regiment was formed in 1754 by Virginia's Royal Governor Robert Dinwiddie, initially as an all volunteer militia corps, and he promoted George Washington, the future first president of the United States of America, to its command upon the death of Colonel Joshua Fry...
to drive out the French. Starting out from Wills Creek
Wills Creek
Wills Creek is the name of several streams in the United States:*Wills Creek , in Pennsylvania and Maryland*Wills Creek , a tributary of the Muskingum River...
(now Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
), the expedition stopped at Little Meadows in early May 1754 to make camp. Washington wrote Dinwiddie on May 9, commenting on the local terrain impeding their progress. Washington and his men moved on to ambush French forces and construct Fort Necessity, where they were eventually defeated
Battle of the Great Meadows
The Battle of Fort Necessity, or the Battle of the Great Meadows took place on July 3, 1754 in what is now the mountaintop hamlet of Farmington in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The engagement was one of the first battles of the French and Indian War and George Washington's only military surrender...
and forced to return to Cumberland. The ambush and subsequent engagement proved to be a major spark of the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, and the larger, worldwide, Seven Years War.
Fort Cumberland (Maryland)
thumb|380px|Fort Cumberland, 1755 Fort Cumberland was an 18th century frontier fort at the current site of Cumberland, Maryland, USA...
, heading west. On the 16th they arrived at Little Meadows, where Sir John St. Clair had made a temporary camp. General Braddock
Edward Braddock
General Edward Braddock was a British soldier and commander-in-chief for the 13 colonies during the actions at the start of the French and Indian War...
, the overall British commander, was unaccustomed to frontier warfare and so asked Washington for advice, who made preparations to march on Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
. While in camp the famous Captain Jack and his forest rangers, men who dressed in leather and cloth and operated as Indians offered their services to Braddock for intelligence and harassing enemy Indians. Braddock detested unconventional warfare and rebuffed their offer. On the 19th of June, Washington and 1,200 troops moved out, accompanied by their Indian allies, towards Fort Duquesne. General Braddock could not abandon the tactics of Europe, making slow progress on their march, only 12 miles in 4 days. As Washington put it, “instead of pushing on with vigor, without regarding a little rough road, they were halting to level every mole hill, and to erect bridges over every brook.” Nine miles from Fort Duquesne, French and Indian forces attacked, eventually defeating the British and mortally wounding Braddock in what came to be known as the Battle of the Monongahela.