gaging the respective Colonies themselves in the contest. The enterprising and military spirit of the English Colonies, which had been evinced so early as 1745 by the capture of Louisburgh-an enterprise which had been projected and completed by the Governour and legislature of Massachusetts, without the sanction of the Mother Country, or the cooperation of her sister colonies-while it gave to the Ministers high ideas of the value of their Colonies, served, at the same time, to inflame their desire of reducing them to resistless obedience, and of extending the limits of their American possessions. That the Americans might be more heartily engaged in this war of conquest, an association was formed in London, embracing a number of the Colonists, particularly of the planters of Virginia, under the title of the Ohio Company. To this Company a grant was made, in the year 1750, of six hundred thousand acres of land, on the rivers Ohio and Mississippi. Whether the British or the French King had the best right to this land, or whether either had a right at all, were questions of no importance in the view of Ministers. All agreed, that the poor natives-those who were born upon the soil, whose inheritance was derived from the common Creator of it and them-had enjoyed the unmolested possession long enough. To say nothing then of the rights of either of the contending powers, it is certain that, at this time, France was in the actual possession of all the country north and south of this grant; and this interposition of an enemy in her road of communication from one extremity of her American territory to the other, was naturally looked upon as a hostile encroachment. The French Governour at first contented himself with remonstrating against this intrusion, as it was

called; but finding the British persist in their design of forming a trading settlement, he at length gave orders for the erection of fortifications on the Ohio, and authorized the seizure of every British subject who should be found trading on that river. As the greater part of these traders belonged to the Colony of Virginia, it was to her they looked for protection against these outrages, and looked not in vain. At this early period, 1753, Washington, though then but a mere stripling, was found ready to offer his services in behalf of his countrymen. They were accepted by Dinwiddie, then Governour of Virginia, and Washington was despatched to the French commandant,-with instructions to remonstrate against the violence of his proceedings, and to make such observations of the state of the country and disposition of its natives, as might in any manner tend to promote the British interests. And let it not be said, that this was an easy task which the young patriot had undertaken to perform. The distance was more than four hundred miles, and a greater part of the route lay through a wilderness uninhabited, or inhabited only by hostile savages. Much of the road, even at the present day, is impassable for horses; and it may be easily conceived that at that time, required more than common zeal and courage to encounter the difficulties and dangers of travelling so far on foot. Washington, however, was ready not only to brave the dangers of the road, but the severities of the season; for it was on the 15th of November, that he commenced his journey, accompanied only by a single companion. The French commander then held his head quarters at a fort on the river Le Bœuf, a branch of the Alleghany, some distance aboye its confluence with the Mononga

hela. This spot attracted the military eye of our young ambassadour; and its being afterwards selected as thè site of Fort Duquesne, proved the correctness of his views. He found Monsieur de St. Pierre not at all inclined to listen to the remonstrances of Governour Dinwiddie-he persisted in denying the right of the British King to any part of the territory on the Ohio, and declared he should continue to seize every trader who claimed his privilege under the grant of that monarch.

Though Washington had not gained the object of his embassy, the information which he had acquired of the country, the address with which he conciliated the Indians, and the steady perseverance which had been manifested in the whole execution of his task, gained him the approbation and thanks of his countrymen. His advice with regard to the erection of a fortification at the confluence of the Monongahela and Alleghany rivers, was adopted, and measures were forthwith taken to carry it into effect. But while the Virginians were engaged in this work, a small party of the French surprised and drove them off; and the French commander, seeing at once the advantages to be gained by holding this spot, set to work and soon completed a regular fortification. These proceedings, so soon following the answer of the French commander to Governour Dinwiddie's letter, induced the Legislature of Virginia to raise a small force for the protection of their frontier, and to maintain the right of his Britannick Majesty to the lands granted to the Ohio company. The command of this force, consisting of only three hundred men, was given to Colonel Fry, who died soon after their first skirmish at the Great Meadows, and Washington, his lieutenent colonel,

succeeded to the command. Thus far the Colony of Virginia stood single in her resistance to the claims and encroachments of the French; and what she had done, had been upon the sole authority of the Provincial Assembly, without the orders or instructions of the Mother Country. But the Parliament of Great Britain no sooner heard of these transactions, than they determined to make a vigorous stand in support of the Ohio Company; and for this purpose sent instructions to all the Colonies to oppose the French by force of arms, in all encroachments upon what they persisted in calling British territory. In pursuance of these instructions, New York and South Carolina each sent a small body of men to join Colonel Washington at the Great Meadows. Finding himself now at the head of about four hundred men, Washington determined upon attempting to drive the French from their entrenchments at Fort Duquesne. With this view he hastily constructed a small Fort at the Great Meadows, appropriately called Fort Necessity, in which he left a small guard for the protection of his munitions, and marched with the main body towards the fork of the Monongahela. But he was deterred from pursuing his purpose, by receiving information from some of the friendly Indians on the road, that Fort Duquesne had recently received strong reinforcements, and that the French were then marching in a considerable body to attack the English settlements. In this dilemma, Washington consulted his officers, who unanimously advised a retreat to the Great Meadows. They had scarcely effected this, when Monsieur de Villier the French commandant, marched upon them with a force of nearly three times their number, and attacked their little Fort. Weak and

untenable as it was, Washington maintained his post against the continued shock of the assailants, from an early hour in the morning until night, twice refusing to listen to the terms of capitulation offered by the French commander, and consenting to yield only on condition of being permitted to march out of the garrison with the honours of war, to retain his arms, and to return unmolested to Virginia. Upon his return home. Washington received a vote of thanks from the legislature for his brave conduct; but seeing no steps adopted to renew the contest, he resigned his command, and the regiment was reduced to independent companies.

The British Ministry having once seen what it was in the power of their Colonies to perform, and never losing sight of their first grand object to drive their French neighbours from the Continent, now proposed an union of the Colonies, under pretence of rendering them better able to repress French encroachments, but in reality with far different intentions. With this view, it was proposed, that the Governours and leading members of the Provincial Assemblies should hold a general meeting, which was accordingly convened at Albany, on the Hudson, in the year 1754. The result of their deliberations, however, was not altogether such as had been hoped for by the Ministry. The members were unanimously of opinion, that it might be in their power to defend themselves from the French, without any assistance from Great Britain; but the plan which they proposed for this purpose was not at all relished by his Majesty's Government. It was their opinion, that "a grand council should be formed of members to be chosen by the Provincial Assem blies, which council, together with a Governour to be appointed by the Crown, should be authorised to make