Archaeologists Identify French and Indian War Battlefield

LIGONIER, PENNSYLVANIA—On November 12, 1758, George Washington, then a colonel in the British army, faced imminent peril. Years later, he wrote that his life was in as “much jeopardy as it ever had been before or since.” Washington was pursuing a contingent of French troops near Fort Ligonier in western Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War when fog and darkness caused confusion, which led to a brutal exchange of friendly fire between Washington’s own soldiers and fellow British troops under Col. George Mercer. Playing hero, Washington risked his own life by galloping through thick crossfire to stop the shooting and call for a ceasefire. However, dozens were injured or killed in the accidental encounter. According to a report in The Tribune-Review, historians and archaeologists have long searched for the exact spot where this event took place, but have only recently identified it. A team led by Juniata College archaeologist Jonathan Burns found eighteenth-century uniform buttons, bullets, and buckles, allowing them to pinpoint the location—about two miles from the fort—where the skirmish likely occurred. “We found it. I’m confident that we’ve got it,” Burns said. “It’s not every day you get to announce a heretofore undiscovered Washington battlefield.” For more on the archaeology of the French and Indian War, go to "Letter from Lake George: Exploring the Great Warpath."