Battle of Jumonville Glen

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Battle of Jumonville Glen
Part of the Seven Years' War French and Indian War
Date May 28, 1754 Location Near present-day Uniontown, Pennsylvania Result Decisive British victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Great Britain	Kingdom of France
Commanders
George Washington	Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville #
Strength
40
Casualties and losses
1 killed, 2-3 wounded	10 killed, 21 captured

v • d • e Seven Years' War in North America: The French and Indian War Jumonville Glen – Great Meadows – Fort Beauséjour – Monongahela – Lake George - Fort Bull - Fort Oswego - Kittanning – Fort William Henry – Bloody Creek - Louisbourg - German Flatts - Fort Carillon – Fort Frontenac - Fort Duquesne – Fort Ligonier – Ticonderoga – La Belle-Famille - Fort Niagara – Beauport – Quebec – Sainte-Foy – Restigouche - Thousand Islands – Signal Hill

The Battle of Jumonville Glen, also known as the Jumonville affair, was a battle of the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War) fought on May 28, 1754 near what is present-day Uniontown in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Along with the Battle of the Great Meadows (or Battle of Fort Necessity), it is considered the opening shots of the French and Indian War which would spread to Europe and become the Seven Years' War.

Contents 1 Prelude 2 Battle 3 Aftermath 4 References

[edit] Prelude

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[edit] Battle

On the morning of May 28, 1754, 22-year-old Virginia militia officer Lieutenant Colonel George Washington and the 40 soldiers he commanded attacked the French militia led by Ensign Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville. The British claimed the French discovered their approach and opened fire on them, while the French claimed the British ambushed their encampment. In either event, the battle lasted little more than 15 minutes and was a complete British victory. Ten French soldiers were killed and 21, including Jumonville, who was wounded, were captured.

[edit] Aftermath

According to the NPS.Gov national park service website of the Fort Necessity Battlefield, Jumonville was killed at the battlefield, and the remaining prisoners were sent back to Williamsburg. Yet according to the History.com, Jumonville is murdered along with almost all of the captured frenchmen, by the senacas. The young frenchman's murder incited a strong french response, and Washington would build his makeshift 'Fort Necessity" for defense from Jumonville's half-brother's command. Washington would surrender on July 4th, and sign a confession - in french, which he could not read - to Jumonville's assassination. This is an intriguing paradox.

It was in reference to the battle at Jumonville Glen that Washington, in a letter to his older brother, made a statement that would later become famous: "I heard the bullets whistle, and, believe me there is something charming in the sound."

A portion of the battlefield is preserved as a unit of Fort Necessity National Battlefield.

[edit] References

• Anderson, Fred 2000. Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766.
• Jennings, Francis. Empire of Fortune: Crowns, Colonies, and Tribes in the Seven Years War in America. New York: Norton, 1988. ISBN 0-393-30640-2.

v • d • e Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War 1754 Battle of Jumonville Glen · Battle of the Great Meadows · Fort Necessity 1755 Braddock expedition · Battle of the Monongahela 1756 Kittanning Expedition 1758 Battle of Fort Duquesne · Battle of Fort Ligonier