When Did George Washington Fight His First Military Battle?: And Other Questions about the French and Indian War

by Francesca Davis DiPiazza

Overview

When George Washington was twenty-two years old, he served as an officer in the British colonial army. He helped Great Britain in its struggle against France for control of North America. Both armies had set up forts and had formed alliances with the Native Americans, but until 1754, there had not been any battles. Everything changed when British soldiers ambushed the French at Fort Necessity on July 3. Within days, the French fought back, brutally attacking the British. Like the other colonists, Washington knew that a war had begun. But who would lead the British soldiers? How long would the war last? And why do we call these battles the French and Indian War?

Discover the facts about French and Indian War, and learn how it changed American history forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761374923
Publisher:	Lerner Classroom
Publication date:	01/28/2011
Series:	Six Questions of American History Series
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	6.89(w) x 8.96(h) x 0.18(d)
Lexile:	790L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

1 Ready to Explode 6

2 Braddock's March 16

3 Furs for Princes 22

4 Over the Rivers and Through the Woods 26

5 On and on and on 32

Primary Source: George Washington's Letter to His Mother 40

Tell Your Story about the French and Indian War 41

Timeline 42

Source Notes 44

Selected Bibliography 45

Further Reading and Websites 46

Index 48

Editorial Reviews

In 1754 George Washington was an officer in the Virginia militia serving the King of England. As a subject of the British Crown, Washington was a loyal combatant working against the interests of the French. As his first test as a military leader, Washington was charged with taking a French frontier fort and establishing an English presence on the western frontier of the Thirteen Colonies. As Francesca Dipiazza points out in this illustrated chapter of the "Six Questions of American History" series, that initial test yielded mixed results. Initially successful, Washington's force was later defeated by French reinforcements. This frontier episode was one of many minor clashes between the interests of France and England that resulted in the French and Indian War. It is that larger conflict, and Washington's role in it, that makes up the content of this slim volume. While Washington's participation in the French and Indian War was meaningful, he really did play a relatively minor role. However, as Dipiazza points out in this informative little book, the war itself markedly changed the course of history. The eventual British victory stripped France of Canada and any claims it might have upon the eastern portion of North America. This change led to the marked increase in British colonial possessions while also planting seeds of independence and disagreement between the English and their colonial subjects. As the author notes in this well-structured introductory work, both Washington and the colonials at large came out of the French and Indian War changed in terms of their view of Mother England. Reviewer: Greg M. Romaneck

Children's Literature - Greg M. Romaneck