The next stop on our trip, after Jumonville Glen, was Fort Necessity. As I mentioned earlier, it is just down the street from the other two monuments of the first French and Indian War campaign. This is the largest of the three spots and will need the most time. It includes a nice museum showing the history and a recreation of the fort raised by George Washington on the site of the original engagement. There is also a kid park to keep the little ones engaged while you enjoy yourself. I no longer have the knees to climb on a jungle Jim, so I opted to leave that section unused….
Straight from parking your car, you walk into the museum itself. The museum includes a decent collection of articles, including weapons and uniforms. There is a lot of narrative content to put things in perspective, with a small film to boot! All these things put the site in perspective and connect it to the larger conflict that followed.
Once you go through the museum, you can climb in the kid park or just walk to the historical site with the fort. As mentioned earlier, we did that latter… The path takes you through the French and Indian high ground positions, onto the clearing and to the fort itself.
It is pretty obvious, that one could not have chosen the location for this defense in a worse possible place, as all the ground around the fort is higher and overlooks the post. It definitely gives an appreciation of the men holding the defenses and why they Washington surrendered the location for the terms offered.
It is probably the high point of the three stops and best done last to put a bow on everything. If you are interested in this period, Fort Necessity, along with Braddocks tomb and Jumonville Glen is a visit worth taking.
- Manteuffel