Battle of Jumonville Glen

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 Western 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 the Europe and become the Seven Years' War.

On the morning of May 28, 1754, young 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.

Photo of the battle site in 2007.

After the battle, Washington lost control of his troops and they massacred their prisoners, killing all but one of the wounded. The wounded French commander Jumonville told Washington he had been sent as a peaceful emissary on behalf of Louis XV. The response from Washington's Indian ally, Seneca chief Tanaghrisson, was to cleave open Ensign Jumonville's skull with his hatchet saying, "Vous n'êtes pas mort encore mon père!" ("You are not dead yet my father!") He then washed his hands in the Frenchman's braincase. Tanaghrisson's act is considered a carefully calculated outrage to ignite war.

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.

See also

• Jumonville
• Joseph Coulon de Jumonville
• Fort Necessity
• Battle of the Great Meadows

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.