|
|
 RiverQuestion of the Monthfor December 2007
Question:
Washington's Landing on the Allegheny River is named for a very famous American who passed through in December of 1753. What happened to George Washington at this location? Photo: Former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy and friend reenacting this episode in 2003, on the 250th anniversary of Washington's "incident"
Answer:Present day Western Pennsylvania was contested land in the 1750s. The British, French, Pennsylvanians and Virginians all had a vested interest in the land and rivers of this region. They also were in competition for the loyalty of local Indians. In 1749, France claimed the Ohio River valley by burying lead plates along the Allegheny River. The French expanded their hold on the river valley by building a series of forts along the Allegheny River in 1753 and 1754. Governor Robert Dinwiddie viewed this as a French invasion of British territory. He sent George Washington, a 21-year old major in the Virginia militia, with a letter for the Commander of the French forces in the West. In it he claimed the Ohio River valley for the British and ordered the withdrawal of the French military. Washington left Williamsburg on October 31, 1753. His companion for the journey was Christopher Gist, an experienced frontier guide. Washington and Gist, accompanied by some Indians, arrived at the French Fort LeBoeuf, near present day Waterford, PA, on December 11, 1753. They departed five days later with the French response to Dinwiddie’s commands. Ultimately, France did not back down from its claim, therefore accelerating the path toward the French and Indian war. On the return journey, treacherous traveling conditions prompted Washington and Gist to leave their horses and the rest of their party to travel a more direct route on foot. They reached the shores of the Allegheny River near present day Lawrenceville during the last days of December 1753. They built a makeshift raft and attempted a river crossing the next day. Partway across the river, their raft became jammed in ice and Washington fell into the icy water. He managed to grab onto the raft and, with Gist, made it to a nearby island. They were able to light a fire and survive the long, cold night. Gist suffered from frostbite on some fingers and toes, but Washington experienced no ill effects from the wet and cold. The next morning, the river had frozen over sufficiently, allowing them to finish their crossing on foot across the ice. Washington finished his arduous 900-mile journey when he returned to Williamsburg on January 16, 1754. This life-threatening event in young George Washington’s life and career was memorialized in 1987, when Herr’s Island, the island many believe to be the site of Washington and Gist’s freezing night, was re-named Washington’s Landing.
Sources:
<< Back to RiverQuest Homepage
|
