Narrator: Rival claims to the Ohio Valley ignited in 1753 when 2,000 French troops began erecting forts along the river. Impressed with the show of force, and angered by the advancing Virginia settlements, Shawnees cut off trade with the British and joined the French.

"This colony has always been happy and in firm peace with the Indians 'til lately. The French have, by threats and promises, seduced some of the Indians from the British interest and with great injustice invaded his majesty's lands. This is the miserable situation of this colony at present." —Robert Dinwiddie

Virginia Governor Robert Dinwiddie, a former Scottish merchant, sent troops to secure a fort at the forks of the Ohio, the strategic center of the Ohio Valley.

150 militiamen were led by Major George Washington and Captain Andrew Lewis. En route, Washington learned that French troops had beat him to the forks and built Fort Duquesne there, but he chose to continue on.

Near the Monongahela River, Washington defeated a small French patrol then built a crude defense, Fort Necessity, in preparation for the main attack he knew would come.

On July 3rd, a force of several hundred Indians and French troops assaulted the fort. Greatly outnumbered, Washington surrendered.

The French let Washington go after he promised to stay away from the Ohio for a year. One of Washington's guides, an Iroquois, said later that the French acted like cowards in the engagement and the English like fools.