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Episode 3 - The Jumonville Affair: The Spark is Lit
314 Plays6 months ago
British and French forces in the Ohio Country finally come to a violent encounter. What happened on May 28th, 1754? How did French diplomat and officer Jumonville die? Did Washington himself fire the first shots of a world war? Tune in as we cross the point of no return and what is considered the beginning of the French and Indian War.
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Transcript
Introduction and Topic Overview
00:00:10
Speaker
Welcome back to Tales from the French and Indian War. I am your host, Jackson, and alongside me is, of course... I'm your co-host, Matt.
00:00:21
Speaker
And today we are talking about a fascinating topic, the Jumonville Affair. Now, some of you may have heard of it. Probably many of you have not, because who cares about the French and Indian War?
00:00:35
Speaker
But we do, so we are very excited. Listeners of this podcast. Yeah. Yes. Now we know all of you are on the edge of your seats, ready to hear about the spark that started global war.
Tensions and Military Movements
00:00:49
Speaker
We spent the last couple episodes talking about the the situation beforehand and the escalating of tensions, but this is when it all comes to a head in a dramatic moment that will decide over the course of the next few years, the fate of all of North America.
00:01:06
Speaker
Are you ready to discuss this? Matthew. I'm so ready. We've only taken three episodes. Well, i guess two and and a half episodes of or lead up to this. So I think the listeners are ready.
00:01:20
Speaker
Yes, I think they've been teased with enough ah conflict that it's about time the conflict actually occurs between the French and the British people. So for a summary of where we left off with the last episode, we had the French moving down from their forts to ah seize the forks of the Ohio River and build a fort there.
00:01:42
Speaker
The British technically got there first, but with a small undersupply and very hungry force. French arrived with at least 500, probably maybe even up to a thousand, French, Canadians, and Indians.
00:01:58
Speaker
They politely asked the British to leave and then began demolishing the fort that the British were struggling to create, and they began building Fort Duquesne. Now, Washington, in the meantime, he had been gathering some Virginian militia and was heading up north from Virginia to reinforce that British fort, which is now no longer existing.
00:02:21
Speaker
So he is still up on his way. The French have just... kicked out the British and started building Fort Duquesne. And it looks like the French are now the masters of the Ohio country.
00:02:32
Speaker
But as we will discuss today, that is not at all the end of the story. Anything else to add on the catch up, the summary from what we were previously talking about, Matt, before we jump into the rest No, not really. And I think that, you know, there was a lot of, a lot of, uh, anger brewing within the colonies at this time, because as we had mentioned before in the last episode, a lot of the British settlers had a significant financial interest in the, uh, Virginia, Ohio company. And, um,
00:03:05
Speaker
the French gaining land in that area meant significant financial losses for them. So while, while the French did have the manpower advantage in the Ohio Valley, it's important to remember that the British had both the, the advantage with ah
Economic Interests and Orders
00:03:21
Speaker
monetary means. Not only they have more finances ah and the French on the continent, but they also had more, more settlers and more people, more manpower in the colonies. So we'll see that kind of come to fruition this episode as well.
00:03:35
Speaker
Yep. Yep. Absolutely. Very important to remember the big financial interest for the British at this point. So Washington now, he is on his way. He learns from the British that have been kicked out of the Forks of the Ohio. They meet up back up and he learns that the French have kicked them out.
00:03:56
Speaker
Now, Washington's orders from Virginia Governor Robert Dinwiddie, Include, quote, acting on the defensive, but in case any attempts are made to obstruct the works or interrupt our settlements by any persons whatsoever, you are to restrain all such offenders and in case of resistance to make prisoners of or kill and destroy them, end quote.
00:04:19
Speaker
So, I mean, it's an important part, act on the defensive, but... Technically, his condition for violent force has already been fulfilled in Washington's eyes, in case any attempts are made to obstruct the works.
00:04:34
Speaker
That is, that the British fort that had just been beginning its construction when the French came. if Since of that is fulfilled in Washington's eyes, he can restrain all such offenders. And in case of resistance, and of course there will be because...
00:04:49
Speaker
yeah if you ask the french to leave this time they're they're not going to just be like okay yeah sure in case of resistance you can make prisoners and kill or destroy them so say i love how this letter is written um you know starting off by saying that act on the defensive so he's kind of covering himself there by saying oh you know Washington was sent on a defensive mission.
00:05:14
Speaker
If any, if any hostilities erupts, it was on the other side. It wasn't on, it wasn't on our side because we were acting defensively, but then going out like through the letter, noticed that he doesn't ever mention the French. He doesn't mention any other specific group in the area, but he does know where he's sending Washington. So in The way it reads that in case any attempts are made to obstruct the works or interrupt our settlements by in-persons whatsoever, you're to restrain all such offenders.
00:05:45
Speaker
In the case of resistance, make prisoners kill or destroy them. So in a way, he's covering himself there as well by not only giving Washington the ability to act aggressively against any invaders, but um he also isn't specifically naming.
00:05:59
Speaker
and another group so he could he could claim that he's talking about you know ah bandits or um yeah or native american tribes or anything of that nature it's a very it's very well written it's like plausible deniability but it's also like who else in that area is actually going to possibly disrupt the progress if not the french even though they're not specifically named here exactly Yeah, ah the author Fred Anderson, who wrote Crucible of War, the first French and Indian War history book that I had read just a couple years ago, he noted that these instructions, which actually, surprisingly, i learned, were given without the knowledge of the
Washington's Strategic Moves
00:06:43
Speaker
British government.
00:06:43
Speaker
So this isn't coming from the king and the the House of Lords and all that. This is coming just from the Virginia government, and that's the highest level that these instructions are coming from. But he says that they were essentially an invitation to start a war, ah the way they were worded, and especially given to a 20 or, yeah think he was 20 or 22 years old at this point, kind young militia commander.
00:07:10
Speaker
So Washington, he decides to carry on towards the Forks of the Ohio after he runs into the the remnants of the, well not the remnants, the the people who were building the fort previously got kicked out.
00:07:22
Speaker
William Trent's group of militiamen and traders. So he follows Nima Cullen's path, which is a main Indian trail throughout the region of like Western Virginia, some of what is now West Virginia, Maryland, and then Pennsylvania.
00:07:39
Speaker
And he starts building a not a ah real road but he's clearing trees wide enough he's clearing enough of a road out so that the british can more easily move troops supplies cannons especially so it's slow going but they are making their mark on the area that will allow for a future british movement to head up right into the ohio country correct me if i'm ron jackson but were braddock's roads already in existence by this point because i know that yeah
00:08:11
Speaker
Yeah. So next year in 1755, Braddock is going to follow the same road that Washington is making, expand it, and then push it further. So yes, this is going to be a well-worn path. It already was an Indian trail and now it is becoming a A highway to the Ohio country, essentially. That's interesting because I know Braddock's roads were kind of what allowed, so I mean, not to spoil anything, but substantial British settlement in the Ohio country.
00:08:39
Speaker
And it's it's interesting to know that George Washington paved the way for that in this trip. yep Because to the British colonist's eyes, this is the most direct way to get to the Ohio country. you know We think of now, like modern-day Pittsburgh, it's in the same state of Pennsylvania as Philadelphia, even though it's a pretty large state.
00:08:57
Speaker
But going from eastern PA to Pittsburgh at this time, even though Pittsburgh didn't exist, is a very rough trail going through lots of mountains. And it's just it's not the most...
00:09:11
Speaker
sensible way to go and there's no great rivers going east to west that people can travel by so going up from virginia through the cumberland gap into the ohio country is the most direct way for the british to go and so now they're expanding this this path into a road to bring wagons and cannons through If you've ever driven the p Turnpike, you would know that it is still not the most effective way to cross the state of Pennsylvania.
00:09:39
Speaker
I avoid it just on the cost alone. Yeah, we just took a trip out to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. and and You don't go all the way through and South. You go like by Pittsburgh and then down through the Coverland Gap and take that route. so i think so Even today, it's still a highway.
00:09:59
Speaker
It holds true. Yeah. So this is happening in April and early May.
French Reconnaissance and Encounters
00:10:05
Speaker
By early May, Washington and his about, he's got about 150 or 200 militiamen with him who are the militiamen with him.
00:10:13
Speaker
Maybe they've had some experience in King George's war, but a lot of them probably not. Maybe they've only fired ah a musket a few times. They're mostly there to just to get paid.
00:10:24
Speaker
to build a road, and then hopefully they will be getting some land grants in the Ohio country upon the completion of their service. So they're pretty green all around.
00:10:36
Speaker
But he and his militiamen start meeting some English traders coming from the opposite direction. As the French are consolidating their position and kicking out English traders, more and more of them are just getting out of there.
00:10:49
Speaker
They don't want to know what's going to come next now that Fort Duquesne is in construction and the French are are there to stay, and especially trying to curry favor with the Ohio Country natives.
00:11:02
Speaker
So on May 23rd, 1754, the commander of Fort Duquesne, he was the guy who replaced Jacques Lagardeur de Saint-Pierre, who we talked about in the last episode and who met Washington.
00:11:17
Speaker
The guy who replaces him, Claude Pierre Pecody de Contrecoeur, or we will just call Contrecoeur. He learns of this expedition by Washington heading northwards.
00:11:28
Speaker
And he dispatches Joseph Coulon de sieur de Joumanville. And we will just call him Joumanville. It's kind of like ah titan using a title to name someone like, you know, the Duke of Cumberland could just be called Cumberland or the Lord of Halifax can just be called Halifax rather than his actual name. So we'll just call him Joumonville.
00:11:50
Speaker
Fun fact, Matt, I am distantly related to him by an extremely weak connection, just like Paul Marin and Jacques Legardeur. He is my first cousin, 10 times removed, was his great aunt.
00:12:06
Speaker
Oh, wow. Okay. Technically not blood related, but there is a very weak familial connection there. I think this is going to be a running theme in the show to see how many of these notable French players at Jackson is related to. I saw this in the show notes and I was like, you have to be kidding me. but So yes, you can rest assured that every notable French Canadian member or personality in this war, I will try to find some kind of connection distantly. You all share a common ancestor. Yeah.
00:12:42
Speaker
Probably. So Jumonville is tasked by Contraker with about 35 soldiers to gauge Washington's forces strength and numbers and then to tell them to depart the Ohio country.
00:12:56
Speaker
ah Because Contraker doesn't know exactly, he doesn't know how many people are with Washington, if it's a massive invasion force or just people making a road up there. he doesn't He doesn't know the kind of threat he's facing. He just knows there is an English force approaching.
00:13:13
Speaker
um He tells Jumonville that before making the summons, the summons to tell him to depart, you know, the the copy of the orders that he has with him, to send him a good pair of legs in order to inform us about what you have learned on the day you expect to make the summons.
00:13:30
Speaker
He was also forbidden from making attacks unless provoked. So kind of similar orders in some way to Washington where You know, you're not going to be making the first move.
00:13:42
Speaker
You're not attacking unless you're provoked. So somewhat similar there.
00:13:48
Speaker
All in all, kind of ironically, his instructions are pretty similar to George Washington's in 1753. when Washington went up to the French forts and told them politely to leave and they refused.
00:14:00
Speaker
He kind of has the same same mission because it's not just telling your opponent to leave the area, but it's also trying to gauge their strength. You know, Washington, when he was at Fort Leboeuf, he paced out the fort, he took its measurements, he wrote down in his journal, like how many cannon the fort had and all of that stuff.
00:14:20
Speaker
So this is a pretty similar bit of orders that Washington had, you know, diplomatic mission with a side of intelligence gathering and a little spying. So on May the day after Joumanville is sent out, Washington passes through the Great Meadows.
00:14:38
Speaker
He notes that this place would be a charming location for an encounter. It is, you know, an Southwestern Pennsylvania at this time, which is mostly just forested. This is, you know, a meadow, an open area, reminiscent and more comfortable to a lot of Europeans and European descended people of, you know, a clear place where an engagement could happen. And you know what's going on. It's not the chaos of wilderness warfare.
00:15:04
Speaker
I do remember just from my research into this. So while it wasn't open meadow, it wasn't strategically the best place for a battle. Is that correct?
00:15:14
Speaker
Because I believe that there's some highlands around the area that don't play well with the fort. Yes. So it Washington and his analysis of the area is a little naive and we will go into that in a ah bit more detail a little bit later this episode. But yes, it's, it's a meadow area, but it's not huge, like miles and miles of meadows. It's still surrounded by woods and there are some heights around it as well.
00:15:44
Speaker
Yeah, so they'll camp there. The Indians, Tenegrison and Skarawady, these are the two half kings, quote unquote, of Logstown and the Ohio Country Indians, the two Indians that the Iroquois League put in place to kind of rule over the Delaware and Shawnee and keep them in line and keep them acting in the Iroquois' interests.
00:16:05
Speaker
These two Indians will join Washington at his camp and bring along some Iroquois warriors. They're kind of curious what the British are will do. they They saw the British get kicked out of the forks of the Ohio.
00:16:16
Speaker
Now here come more British. You know, what's going to happen? Remember, these two Indians are both pro-British, especially Tanigrisen. He was described by one Frenchman as more English than the English.
00:16:28
Speaker
humorously enough. So he will start building his camp there and begin placing the beginnings of a ah crude fort. Crude is an understatement. yeah Yes.
00:16:43
Speaker
More on that later. So Washington will then receive some reports that Jumonville's force is headed his way. And of course, you know, as is typical in this era with very limited information and in a time of conflict,
00:16:57
Speaker
You know, he doesn't know exactly how many are with him. He doesn't know exactly what Joumanville is doing. There's some wild rumors that are spread that Joumanville's troops are have orders to just kill every Englishman or traitor that they come across all the way, all along the Mononghala River.
00:17:14
Speaker
So he's unsure of their purpose. Very wary. On May 27th, This is one day before the Jumonville affair.
The Surprise Attack and Its Aftermath
00:17:23
Speaker
On May 27th, one of Tenegrison's scouts, they known as Silverheels, he finds the location of Jumonville's camps and he reports it to the British.
00:17:35
Speaker
ah In the book I have, The French and Indian War in Western Pennsylvania, the author Robert Dunkerley writes that there was no doubt in Washington's mind about the intentions of the French or about his own intentions.
00:17:48
Speaker
He approached the French camp with the intention to attack, not scout or parley. That's some French propaganda there. It's a local author, so probably not French prop propaganda. But, I mean, we'll see by what what unfolds that it's more closer to the truth.
00:18:07
Speaker
So Washington will take forty about 40 men with him, and he marches through the night in the pouring rain pretty much the whole night, links up with Tanigresen, ah just not just a few miles away from the French camp.
00:18:20
Speaker
He is going to have about 20 men approach the camp from the west. 20 men with Washington will approach from the south and the east, and then some of the Iroquois natives will approach from the north at about 7 or 8 a.m. on May 28th.
00:18:40
Speaker
While the French are just waking up, having some breakfast, the English will launch an attack. So we will discuss this in a lot of detail, but here's just the the very basic summary of events.
00:18:54
Speaker
The English will fire two volleys. The French, caught by surprise, will get one weak volley off and return. There are 13 dead, 21 taken prisoner on the French side, with only one dead on the Virginian side.
00:19:10
Speaker
Jumonville, he is wounded during the fight and attempts to stop the firing and read his diplomatic summons. Before he is able to, he is killed.
00:19:22
Speaker
And that is what, I'll stop the very short summary of what just happens there. So Matt, what is so interesting about this little affair, this this little skirmish, and what are we going to spend the next few minutes talking about in relation to it?
00:19:38
Speaker
Yeah, so I think the most interesting part here is that the only idea of what, of What happened that we have to go off of is the personal accounts of the two men or or eyewitnesses to the event um that, as we have said before, are both partisan in a way. you know we We have British accounts and we have French accounts of what happened.
00:20:03
Speaker
but there is no clear answer. um So what we're going to do is read through each side's account of the event. And then afterwards, Jackson, i will kind of deduce what what the intent of each side might have been and what may have actually happened.
00:20:19
Speaker
Of course, you know, we're just guessing in a way because really no one will ever know. but um Usually, and you've probably heard this said before, if there's two extreme sides to an event, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
00:20:32
Speaker
ah So we can discuss what that what that might be. Yeah, so Matt, do you want to start by reading George Washington's account from a letter afterwards, just the day afterwards, that he wrote back to Robert Dinwiddie?
00:20:46
Speaker
And then I will read Contraker's version from one of the survivors of the attack. Yes, so this letter was written to Dinwiddie on May 29th, the day after the attack.
00:20:58
Speaker
ah And then in quotes from George Washington's letter, About nine o'clock the same night, I received an express from the half-king, who was encamped with several of his people about six miles off, that he had seen the tract of two Frenchmen crossing the road and believed the whole body were lying not far off, as he had an account of that number passing mr Gist,
00:21:20
Speaker
I set out with 40 men before 10. It was from that time till near sunrise before we reached the Indians camp. Having marched small path and heavy rain and that in a night as dark as it is possible to conceive, we were frequently tumbling over one another and often so lost that 15 or 20 minutes search would not find the path again.
00:21:41
Speaker
When we came to the half king, I counseled with him and he got his assent to go hand in hand and strike the French. Accordingly himself, scaral how do you say his name that's scarawati scarawati and a few other indians set out with us and when we came to the place where the tracks were the half king sent two indians to follow their track and discovered their lodgement when they did about half a mile from the road in a very obscure place surrounded with rocks i thereupon in conjunction with the half king in monotu cha is that right jackson
00:22:16
Speaker
Yeah, that's the other name that Skarawadi was often known by. Manatutha or something. Manatutha, okay. Formed a disposition to attack them on all sides, which we accordingly did.
00:22:27
Speaker
After an engagement of about 15 minutes, we killed 10, wounded one, and took 21 prisoners. Amongst those that were killed was Monsieur de Jumanville, the commander.
00:22:37
Speaker
Principal officers taken as Monsieur Drulong and Monsieur La Forque. was i help how about that So that is actually not bad on your side because Washington is the one who misspelled it and made them really weird to pronounce.
00:22:52
Speaker
So it's Drillon and La Force, but because of Washington's spelling, ah they're not that really well done. Gotcha. Okay. ah so Principal Officer Segez-Major Dulong and Major LeFourc, who your honor has often heard me speak of as a bold, and enterprising man and a person of great subtlety and cunning with these who are two cadets. These officers pretend they were coming on an embassy.
00:23:19
Speaker
But the absurdity of this pretext is too glaring, as your honor will see by the instructions and summons enclosed. Their instructions were to... Reconitoire? The country? Reconnoiter. Reconnoiter. Yeah, that's an interesting one. That actually comes from the French verb reconnaître.
00:23:36
Speaker
Ah, reconnoiter the country, roads, creeks, and cross to the Potomac, which they were about to do. These enterprising men were purposefully choose out to get intelligence, which they were to send back by some brisk dispatches with mention of the day that they were sent to serve the summons, which could be through no other view than to get sufficient reinforcements to fall upon us immediately after.
00:24:02
Speaker
And if you wondered why some of the words I just said were a little off or didn't make too much sense, as Jackson said before, this is coming straight from Washington's letter.
00:24:12
Speaker
um And I think he spelled some words wrong. Yes, honestly, you did a great job navigating the like abbreviations and slight misspellings of English, let alone French. So that was, that was, that was good.
00:24:25
Speaker
There's a lot of, uh, yeah, there's a lot of slang in here for someone that I think we would think though, that speaks proper English. Um, and I, maybe that was just the hastily w written letter that he did the day after. Cause I can imagine he was probably pretty i'm writing that Yeah.
00:24:42
Speaker
Because, uh, that what just occurred was he very momentous event. So before I say, before we get into the French account, so just like to summarize,
00:24:52
Speaker
ah kind of what Washington's saying in this is that ah even though the French were saying that they were on a ah mission of peace, he finds that absurd, um not only because of the amount of men they had with them, but also ah the fact that how far they had been spread out to kind of ah not only the French presence in the area with Fort Duquesne, but he he saw this as an offensive mission by the French rather than
00:25:23
Speaker
anything else. And I think the fact that there he had 35 men where Washington had 40 also didn't help at all because they were comparable size forces, um which makes it look to him even more like it was an offensive action.
00:25:36
Speaker
Yeah. You can, this, this letter definitely gives you a look into his mind and how he views things and probably also how he justifies his actions in retrospect as well.
00:25:47
Speaker
Yeah. And i it's interesting that the one notable thing before we move on to the French account, one notable thing about his summary of the events is how, you know, terse and brisk his description of the actual fighting was and the death of Zoumanville.
00:26:07
Speaker
You would think it was just super straightforward. Nothing of interest happened. You know, he said... I thereupon, in conjunction with the half-king and Skarawadi, formed a disposition to attack them on all sides, which we accordingly did.
00:26:19
Speaker
And after engagement of about 15 minutes, we killed 10, wounded one, and took 21 prisoners. Amongst those were killed was Monsieur de Jumonville, the commander. So, you know, very straightforward.
00:26:31
Speaker
Jumonville got killed. That was that. But now I will read through Contraker's version. So this is the the version that Contraker draws up to send back to Governor General Duquesne.
00:26:45
Speaker
So he says, yes, he's writing to Duquesne on June
Conflicting Battle Accounts
00:26:49
Speaker
2nd, 1754. So just a few days after this happened. I expected Monsieur de Joumonville within four days.
00:26:57
Speaker
The Indians have just now informed me that the party is taken and defeated. They were eight in number, one whereof was Monsieur de Joumonville. One of that party, Monceau by name, a Canadian, made his escape, and tells us that they had built themselves cabins in a low bottom where they sheltered themselves as it rained hard.
00:27:17
Speaker
About seven o'clock the next morning, they saw themselves surrounded by the English on one side and the Indians on the other. The English gave them two volleys, but the Indians did not fire. Monsieur de Joumonville, by his interpreter, told them to desist, that he had something to tell them, upon which they ceased firing.
00:27:34
Speaker
Then Monsieur de Joumonville ordered the summons, which I had sent them to retire, to be read. the aforesaid monceau saw all our frenchmen coming up close to monsieur de jumonville whilst they were reading the summons so that they were all in platoons between the english and the indians during which time said monceau made the best of his way to us partly by land through the woods and partly along the river monongahela in a small canoe That is all, sir, i could learn from said Monceau.
00:28:02
Speaker
The misfortune is that our people were surprised. The English had encircled them and came upon them unseen. The Indians who were present when the thing was done say that Monsieur de Joumonville was killed by a musket shot in the head whilst they were reading the summons.
00:28:18
Speaker
and that the English would afterwards have killed all our men had not the Indians who were present by rushing in between them and the English prevented their design. That is the end of the account there. So we can already see some pretty clear differences.
00:28:32
Speaker
For one, we have in the in the French version that Jumanville was in the middle of reading the diplomatic summons that he was given to to say to the English, and he was shot dead by the English in the middle of of reading it.
00:28:48
Speaker
And the English, according to this report and what has been said by the Indians who came later to Fort Duquesne, that the English were about to kill all of the French if it were not for the Indians who protected them and prevented their design.
00:29:05
Speaker
So we see big difference here. One, we have kind of a clear killing, a murder of Jouinville while he is reading the summons and you know the fighting has ah stopped.
00:29:17
Speaker
Or in Washington's account, it was just like, well, he died in the fighting and that was that. And these we see a clear difference. So... Yeah, I think Washington, he doesn't even really mention the summons other than... being an absurdity.
00:29:35
Speaker
Yeah, his letter reads that he got the instructions from the officers that were taken as prisoner. It doesn't mention that he... heard it read by Jim and Phil or that Jim and Phil even attempted to read it.
00:29:48
Speaker
Right. Yep. Yeah. So now we we got two very contradictory accounts. That's why I read the brief summary before we got into this discussion, because don't know, there are some things that are in common and we'll discuss some other sources as well, but ah yes, now the the task is there to reconcile these accounts. And one other thing I want to add,
00:30:09
Speaker
Another fun twist to the events, when Robert Dinwiddie was reporting this skirmish to the Board of Trade in June 18th, 1754, he summarizes it as, "...this little skirmish was by the half-king and their Indians.
00:30:27
Speaker
We were as auxiliaries to them, as my our orders to the commander of our forces were to be on the defensive." So and that is really interesting because, you know, we have the French account saying that the English were, you know, like so like bloodthirsty. They were going to kill all the French if the Indians hadn't helped them. And then Robert Dinwiddie, when writing to the Board of Trade back in in England, he's like, oh, it was the Indians doing this. And we were just kind of there as auxiliaries. But, you know, I made sure that we were run on the defensive as per my orders.
00:30:58
Speaker
So he kind of pushes the responsibility onto the Ohio Iroquois Indians. So now we have some very different accounts here. So yeah Matt, what, what happened?
00:31:11
Speaker
What do you think? What do you think? I know the answer to that one. um So I just want to point out to another inconsistency that I noticed just while we were reading these is the,
00:31:24
Speaker
differing numbers of the French that were involved. And I believe that Jackson, I, I I'm getting this from contract or his version.
00:31:35
Speaker
Um, but he says that there were eight in number. ah Yeah. So I don't, I don't know what he's referring to in that line. Cause I mean, he's the one who sent out Jumanville. He knew there was like 30, 35 troops in that. So I don't, when it says they were eight in number one, where of was Mr. Jumanville.
00:31:52
Speaker
I don't maybe maybe it could be the kill those killed because the British reported 10 killed and then he was saying you know the party was taken and defeated they were eight in number one where of was Monsieur de Joumanville or maybe that is weird because he's the guy who sent them out so he would know how many troops he sent out so I'm thinking it's either casualties or maybe like officers or something I'm not certain though that's yeah i don't really what he's referring to or blatant lie to or a blatant lie to try to make it seem more like a diplomatic mission if you have less people involved no i'm just kidding that hey it anything's on the table you know ah so you will see especially these people are reporting to their superiors they're going to make the other side look as guilty and as bad as possible and their side look as blameless and you know just as reasonable as possible so that a blatant lie is on the table who knows
00:32:47
Speaker
So I guess, so to start off with, if you, I think we need to look at the intentions of both sides of this encounter. What was Washington's intention when he left Fort Necessity? What was Jumanville's intention with the letter?
00:33:02
Speaker
I think we know from the instructions that Jumanville was given, because that is a firsthand account of the instructions that Jumanville's and supposed intent for being there was to do similar to what Washington's first trip the Ohio Valley was, as you mentioned, Jackson, you know, kind of tell the British to get out, not come back because this is French land, not in a hostile manner.
00:33:23
Speaker
Washington's intentions, I think, from reading these sources and some other some other books was that, you know, Washington was motivated, I think, plainly by fear here. And not only fear as in she He was afraid of the French forces in the area. I think it was fear of one being outmaneuvered by the French since he was such a young commander and hadn't really faced significant military action before. And then also fear of a lack of intelligence because he knew a French force was set out.
00:33:56
Speaker
And as we mentioned before, there was it was like a very insane fog of war at this time. You didn't have... ah reliable intelligence. And he's now no satellite photos of enemy forces.
00:34:10
Speaker
Yeah. So I think Washington was I think fear kind of motivated him to act first. And, you know, he wanted to get the drop on the French before they could get the drop on him. And I don't think he really cared what their intentions were. I think with a force the size of 35 men would have been enough to give him problems regardless of intention.
00:34:31
Speaker
So I think that, I think it's not, I don't think it's without a doubt that Washington set out in a more hostile attitude than what he, than what he claims. And I think like that's even, that's even reflected in his letter too, where he kind of just brushes off any notion that the French might've been acting peacefully when he, he mentions that, you know, the letter that they were given,
00:34:57
Speaker
was a falsity in that their real intention was to scout Washington and ah to send reinforcements to destroy them. So Washington already had a very negative view of what the French were doing in that area, ah very pessimistic view, if you will. Do you think any part of Washington's decision and his his feelings at this time was driven by the desire for glory? You know, the the thought of a swift military victory, his first military battle where he is involved and where he is leading.
00:35:30
Speaker
Do you think that played any role in his decision? I don't think so, just because... Well, I mean, I guess there could have been an aspect of that, right? Because like I said, he is a young 20-year-old man.
00:35:45
Speaker
Getting military glory and fame at this time was huge. And that could kind of set you on a path towards military leadership for the rest of your life if you are able to obtain something like that at this age.
00:35:57
Speaker
But... At the same time, too, he didn't act recklessly, I would say. um He was very strategized in how he approached the French camp. And I don't think... It wasn't impulsive. you mean like It wasn't just a ah decision made in a split second. like He clearly planned this and then carried it out.
00:36:17
Speaker
Correct. And in the fact, too, he didn't take any of these actions the first time he was sent either. So I think that... this was something that arose more out of necessity. That's a good pun. Out of necessity than it was him trying to seek out conflict.
00:36:35
Speaker
But at the same time, I don't think he was afraid to get into conflict with the British. And if he could get the drop on them and beat them in a quote unquote fair battle, I think that would have been the most glory for him because you have to remember too, at this time, if he would have just slaughtered eight Frenchmen that were unarmed on a diplomatic mission,
00:36:54
Speaker
There would be no glory or honor in that type of ah of an affair. So I think he he thought the the French were on an offensive military action. So he wanted to be the first player to move their chess piece, so to speak.
00:37:09
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's a fair summary of his situation and what was on his mind. Yeah. Even though, you know, war has not been declared, there hasn't been any previous military actions directly between French and British.
00:37:25
Speaker
He is viewing himself, and it seems... truly that he is viewing himself as in a military situation and historians are interpreting his orders from Dinwiddie as a license to basically start a war or two to take military action at this point. So I would agree with your then and your assessment right there.
00:37:47
Speaker
Now one, ah yeah, the one interesting thing about the French party is that it is an odd number. So if it was like purely diplomatic but just have enough strength to survive in the wilderness and not be like ambushed by like a few natives or bandits or something you might think like okay maybe like 10 guys similar to washington when he went up to visit the french he had about like 10 or so people with him but then he's got 35 35 isn't a lot for engaging in
00:38:20
Speaker
like large military action, especially when Contraker doesn't even know how many troops are with Washington. He just knows there's a force. So sending 35 to just engage in offensive action seems little unlikely, very risky. Like you would want to send hundreds out if you're on a committed campaign.
00:38:42
Speaker
There is of course, maybe, i mean, we won't know, but maybe they were going to send word back to Conjure Kerr to bring down hundreds more to attack the ah British. There could be a universe where the French strike first here.
00:38:57
Speaker
That is possible as well. But, uh, Yeah, it's it's an interesting number of people chosen for this mission, where it's like a little bit big for a diplomatic party, but very small for like an offensive force.
00:39:14
Speaker
It's very interesting. In that fog of war, anything can happen, and you have to try to act decisively for the best advantage of your team. Now...
00:39:25
Speaker
One thing that we have to absolutely talk about before we move on to the immediate aftermath of this no coming back event is the more precisely hone in on Jumanville's death.
00:39:38
Speaker
So in the opening, very brief summary I gave, I just said he died. You know, he was the commander on the mission and he died in the skirmish. In Washington's account, he doesn't elaborate on that. He also just says he was one of those killed.
00:39:53
Speaker
In Contraker's account, He writes that as he was reading the summons after the firing had ceased, he was shot in the head by an English musket. But what actually ended up being the case from other sources that came out later and other research by historians, we actually know what most likely happened to Jumonville when he died and what what what exactly killed him.
00:40:24
Speaker
So if you remember Tanigrisen, that Iroquois Indian, the half king over the Ohio country Indians, specifically the Delaware, very, very pro-English. He had kind of, we mentioned the last episode, was written about him in one of my books, that he had staked his reputation on the English. He is in a position of authority, you know mediating between the Iroquois interests and kind of ruling that out over the Ohio country Indians.
00:40:52
Speaker
He's throwing his lot in with the English, and now, and he so he just saw the English get kicked out of the forks of the Ohio, And his authority, if the French cement their rule in the Ohio country, is gone.
00:41:05
Speaker
You know, he's going to be out of there. So he's going to end up forcing the British's hand. So the details we said about the skirmish, the English attacking first, firering getting two volleys off where the French can barely manage one because they're taken by surprise.
00:41:20
Speaker
That is all true. In fact, actually, it's very likely that Washington himself... fired the first shots. There's an Indian testimony recorded that specifically mentions that, which is interesting.
00:41:33
Speaker
But in outside of these two accounts, what is not revealed is that as the skirmish was ending up, Jumanville was wounded, and he was indeed trying to pull out the summons and read from it.
00:41:47
Speaker
But Tanigrisen goes over to him and says to him in French, "'You are not dead yet, my father.' And then he takes his tomahawk.
00:41:58
Speaker
and smashes it into his head ritually washes his hands in the gore. I won't get into too much details. We'll lose monetization again.
00:42:11
Speaker
He is symbolically you know declaring his resistance to the French and murdering this injured prisoner of war in a very elaborate and way.
00:42:25
Speaker
way And we don't know how Washington reacted to this, if he was just horrified, he just had no reaction and he couldn't process what just happened. You know, he led his first mission.
00:42:37
Speaker
By his standards of success, as it's wrapping up, all of a sudden, one of his Indian allies just... takes a tomahawk to the head of the enemy commander. But at that point, there is no going back.
00:42:51
Speaker
And Washington now has to deal with the fallout from Tanigresen's actions because Tanigresen is going all in on the British. And historians think that he wanted to force the British's hand and bring this conflict to a head and have the British win so that he can maintain his authority in the Ohio country.
00:43:12
Speaker
So Joumanville was not killed by ah musket to the face while reading the summons from the English. He was actually killed by a tomahawk to the face from Tenegrison.
00:43:23
Speaker
You think it's interesting that the French account or the main French account that we had doesn't mention that. ah So the reason for that, well, actually, so here's my, here's my thought on that.
00:43:34
Speaker
The main source for what happened to the French came from Monceau, that Canadian who escaped. I think in his account or what was recorded of his account was that he went, he was going out to pee in the woods when the English attack started and then he saw it and ran off. So he wouldn't have been there for the end.
00:43:56
Speaker
and By the way, he had to run like run and boat like 60 miles to get back to Fort Duquesne, all while possibly pursued by antagonistic Iroquois-affiliated Indians.
00:44:08
Speaker
We don't know his first name, just Moso, but Pretty epic journey. The other thing at the end of Contraker's account says that some Indians came to Fort Duquesne and told them that, so yeah, I'll just read it here. The Indians who were present when the thing was done say that Monsieur de Joumanville was killed by a musket shot in the head while whilst they were reading the summons.
00:44:31
Speaker
So perhaps some of the Iroquois Indians involved who were blocking off the French escape I mean, obviously they want to represent themselves in the best light, just like the English and French want to represent themselves in the best light.
00:44:44
Speaker
So they want to give more culpability to the British. And with the Ohio country pretty firmly in French hands, they might want to kind of curry favor with the French and share this information, albeit slanted, more against the English Sure. I mean, and also that goes the other way to the French when writing this account.
00:45:08
Speaker
I think it was probably more in their interest to blame the English rather than the Native Americans, because if if they came out and said that, you know, the the Indians split open Juminville's head and wash their hands as blood and brains and stuff, not only would that cast a lot of blame,
00:45:29
Speaker
on the Indians rather than the English, you probably would alienate some of those tribes as well. Uh, that's a good point. Yeah. Like you said, they're trying to carry as much favor as possible. So the best thing they can do is say, Hey, the British are the devil. Like they, they shot a man when he was reading a peace offering.
00:45:46
Speaker
Um, and then you noble natives stepped in between to stop the killing. Uh, So good on you Don't join them because they're awful.
00:45:58
Speaker
um So yeah, that's an excellent point. There's so many motivations here that it's hard to, that's why it's always still really know what happens. It's hard to parse through all of these accounts and then also consider what they were trying to do.
00:46:12
Speaker
Yes, having accounts of the event is awesome, but yeah, that's it's certainly not without bias, and there's some interpretation that must be had, some context contextualization for sure. It's interesting, this the actual killing of Jumanville also shows how the Native Americans, even though technically...
00:46:33
Speaker
Washington was leading this village, the leading this attack. the The Native Americans were very much independent actors on their own. They weren't just, you know, like loyal soldiers under any side, just dutifully following orders.
00:46:47
Speaker
That's not how they operated. They were... they were very independent. They would pursue things in their own interests. They weren't ah going to willingly just serve like common soldiers for the French or British who would gladly sacrifice them instead of French or British lives.
00:47:00
Speaker
So we have the, it was the native scouts that found Jumonville's camp. The natives who informed Washington where it is, the natives who escorted them, the natives blocked off the escape to the North. And then a native is the one who took it upon himself to kill Jumanville.
00:47:16
Speaker
So there it's a, it displays a dynamic that we will see as we go through out this war, where sure one side or the other might have native Americans on their side, but it's not just like adding to your soldiers. It's a,
00:47:34
Speaker
An independent actor that can be unpredictable and sometimes their actions may not be what the commanding officer would condone or support and vice versa.
00:47:46
Speaker
Well, and then, yeah, just to add on to that too, the Native Americans didn't fight for the same reasons that European powers fought. And we'll see that come up.
00:47:57
Speaker
time and time again, where the natives that join each side are out for glory and plunder. They're not out for um expanding territorial boundaries or, I guess, strategic missions in a certain area. They they want to kill, and by doing so, they get plunder.
00:48:16
Speaker
and ah like And both sides will promise them plunder from fighting. um So, like here, Tana Greeson's resolution, if you will, to this battle was not unheard of in Native American culture. Like, I don't think the concept of surrender was really well looked upon.
00:48:35
Speaker
um It was kind of it was killer be killed. So I think... When you're fighting, you're out to kill the enemy, you're not out to have them surrender. And we'll see and later in this war that the natives get pretty ticked off when whatever side they're on allows the other side to surrender rather than butchering them.
00:48:54
Speaker
And that's not to say that the natives are cold blood killers, it's just that's how they viewed warfare. It was a much more violent affair rather than the gentlemanly warfare that was fought in in Europe at this time. And those sides don't mix well.
00:49:09
Speaker
So... Big clash of cultures, especially in military affairs during this war.
Site Visits and Reflections
00:49:16
Speaker
And that will cause a lot of issues, especially in some later episodes that we'll talk about.
00:49:22
Speaker
then Jackson, I understand you just went to ah the Jumanville Glen, it is now called, where this occurred? Yes, that is where it all took place. Yes, I did ah visit there. i have a it's very calm, pleasant place. I've got a recording here that I quickly made, and I can share it here.
00:49:43
Speaker
um
00:49:48
Speaker
i am here at Jumanville Glen, which... even today is still very secluded site, just like it would have been much more so in 1754. It is located just below the top of a mountain ridge here in southwestern Pennsylvania near Uniontown.
00:50:08
Speaker
It looks like an excellent spot to make a camp if one does not wish to be detected. On one side there are some pretty steep steep cliffs and large boulders that the French were camped underneath.
00:50:23
Speaker
On the other side the ground slowly tapers down and then rises back up. um It must have been they must have felt secure setting up camp here. However, it goes to show the the skills of the Native American scouts that they were able to locate this camp and lead Washington and his 40 men here to ambush and attack the French.
00:50:47
Speaker
The British forces surrounded the French prepared here. Washington came up from the south with about 20 men.
00:50:59
Speaker
It's fairly even ground from where the French would have camped, but there is a little ridge that I'm seeing. ah So perhaps they were on top of those rocks about maybe 70 yards away, perhaps.
00:51:11
Speaker
One of his captains, Captain Adam Stephen, he and his about 20 men were perched above these cliffs and firing directly down into the French camp.
00:51:24
Speaker
and then Tanagarisen Skarawadi and about ten Iroquois warriors were in the north cutting off French escape. It's a very quiet and peaceful site today although the events that happened here were quite brutal.
00:51:47
Speaker
All right, Jackson. Yeah. Thanks for, thanks for sharing that. That was, yeah, that's pretty cool. On the ground reporting from 1754. If only you were there when this occurred.
00:51:58
Speaker
As we've just discussed, Matt, I don't think I'd want to be there. I think it was pretty terrible place to be. That's correct. That's correct. um Yeah, no, I think it's what's fascinating about you getting a chance to go there and seeing the terrain for yourself.
00:52:14
Speaker
I think it kind of came across in your recording, but even though the French probably felt secure where they were camped, it seems like there were a lot of heights surrounding the area that...
00:52:26
Speaker
the British used their advantage. And then also I remember from some of our earlier show notes, we were talking about kind of the positions of the ah the British around the camp. ah The natives cut off their escape route to the north.
00:52:40
Speaker
Is that correct? Yes. ah To the north was like a little bit more level ground from, as for as far as I could see, there was the the steep cliffs to the west and then like a small little valley rising back up to the east, but the, and the south as well. And the north was, was a little bit more flatter. I can see how that could be a natural escape point for the French there.
00:53:05
Speaker
Gotcha. Yeah. Yeah. It's really, it's really interesting to hear and maybe being such a, a local area for you is, uh, is awesome that all these battlefields are kind of in your backyard.
00:53:17
Speaker
Yeah. And that's one of the big things that got me interested in the French and Indian war was moving to the Pittsburgh area and then realizing, Oh, Hey, there's a bunch of local history here, all wrapped up in the French and Indian war and all these massively important sites.
00:53:32
Speaker
I'll let me go check them out and read about them. Well, yeah. Awesome. Thanks for sharing. Uh, I, did you also visit Fort necessity? Yes, on the same day. They're only about six, seven miles away from each other. So if you visit one, you really ought to visit the other.
00:53:47
Speaker
i looked up i will talk about this too with Fort Necessity, but I looked up some pictures of that battlefield park now. And Fort Necessity is obviously it's a reconstruction, right? like i Yes, reconstruction. They found like the original burnt-down nubs of the palisade e'er the the palisade in a some archaeology, and they found some like the beams that made up the breastworks. but i mean the Well, not to spoil it, but it was completely destroyed. So yes, it is a reconstruction.
00:54:21
Speaker
Okay, yeah. I was thinking when I saw these pictures that if you did not have any background knowledge about French and Indian War or about Fort Necessity in particular, you would probably be very disappointed if you went to Fort Necessity as a huge fort. oh this is going to be so cool. And then you you get there and you probably had the same reaction that some of the French soldiers did when they first saw the fort.
00:54:44
Speaker
so Yeah, so let's let's talk just real briefly about... Fort Necessity, as we've already been mentioning it, just to give the listeners an idea. And then we'll close the episode with a very ironic and foreshadowing quote.
00:55:00
Speaker
sure So immediately after this, Washington returns back to his camp at the Great Meadows. They have been you know building their camp there, and then they will build a fort, a very simple fort. you know It's not like a Certainly not like a European fort or fortress. And even in the new world, it's very, very crude. There's a reason, obviously, that it got the name Fort Necessity.
00:55:23
Speaker
You know, whether it was Washington who named it or someone else on his his team made the the observation that it was built out of necessity. But it is ah simply just a wooden palisade. So like wooden beams or logs or, you know, like planks kind of sticking straight up vertically in ah in a circle.
00:55:43
Speaker
And then in the middle is a storeroom where they would supply like gunpowder and rum and lock it up tight. so Obviously, access to that needs to be very carefully guarded.
00:55:54
Speaker
On the outside, around the fort, At this point, right after the Jumonville affair, I don't know if they yet had any trenches or breastworks, but the fort itself, very simple, just a circle palisade with a small storeroom in the middle.
00:56:11
Speaker
And as Washington kind of processes what... has just happened, the what the fallout of the Jumanville affair will be.
00:56:22
Speaker
He's going to kind of stand his ground in the Great Meadows in Fort Necessity. He's he's kind to he's not just going to sit there for the next month or two, but he's expecting the French are probably going to find out about this.
00:56:36
Speaker
Something's going to happen, so he's going to build his fort. And he writes on June 3rd to Robert Dinwiddie, that we have just finished a small palisaded fort in which my small numbers, I shall not fear the attack of 500 men.
00:56:52
Speaker
So he's very confident ah that he can handle whatever fallout is coming from the death of the French diplomat and soldier, Jumonville. Do have anything to add, Matt, before we close this episode and we discuss the ramifications and the battle of Fort Necessity next time?
00:57:13
Speaker
Uh, no. And I think as we have, we've kind of alluded to Fort Necessity was not a complex structure. And some of that is because Washington had never constructed a fort before, or even been in charge of laying the plans for one. So it's a very, very basic structure. i think it, it does offer protection and I don't think it's a ah horrible fortification in its own right, but we'll see that that net Washington's his naive nature does also come back to to bite him on this one as well
00:57:50
Speaker
Yes, we will see. So stay tuned, listeners, for our next episode. Not sure exactly when it will come out, but it will be a good one. The first more larger scale battle of the war.
00:58:05
Speaker
And again, these two sides are not at war, so this is getting very spicy. But ah yes, we will be going over the Battle of Fort Necessity on July 1754. seventeen fifty four And there is a ah very interesting July 4th anniversary that will happen in this war that we'll bring up.
00:58:26
Speaker
This episode should come out by July 4th. So we will ah be covering some July 4th related events, but in 1754, not 1776. So stay tuned and thank you for tuning in to the Jumanville Affair. Yep. See you guys next time.