Fort Necessity National Battlefield

In 1754, George Washington led 40 men on a hike through the dark and rain to Jumonville Glen where rumor had it a group of French were camped out. The debate continues about who fired that first shot, but at the end of the 15-minute skirmish, 17 French were dead, including their commanding officer, Jumonville. 21 French captives were taken to Wills Creek, VA (today's Cumberland, MD) and Washington and the rest of the Virginia regiment waited for the French retaliation by fortifying their camp at the Great Meadow.

Join us at 7 AM at the glen for a guided walk through the events of the Jumonville Glen skirmish and the events that led to the battle at Fort Necessity! 

Join park staff and volunteers on the anniversary of the battle at Fort Necessity. We will have our daily programs, with the addition of artillery in the historic weapons demonstrations. For the 3:00 PM program, we will also include the reading of the names of the soldiers who died July 3, 1754.

Join us on Saturday AND Sunday for ranger programs, weapons demonstrations, and representations of the three cultures that met in 1754 and started a world war.

We will have people representing the British, Native and French groups that started the French and Indian War. We will have small arms and artillery demonstrations at 11 AM, 1 PM, and 3 PM.

The Fort Necessity Visitor Center will be open BOTH days from 9 AM to 5 PM, and the trails, battlefield and reconstructed fort are open sunrise to sunset!

Join National Park Service Ranger Brian Reedy from Fort Necessity National Battlefield on Saturday, June 6th at 6:30 PM for a 45-minute presentation on the archeology at Jumonville Glen iin 2023. The talk will be at the Addison United Methodist Church, at the corner of Main Street and Old Tannery Lane.

Juneteenth honors the official end of slavery on June 19, 1865. Union troops traveled far and wide to share the news, including coming through the Great Meadow. Join staff on the battlefield to learn more about this momentus event! Encampment will occur Friday, June 19th and Saturday, June 20th.

Guided walks from the Visitor Center to the fort will be offered at 10:30 am, 12:30 pm, and 2:30 pm, immediately followed by 19th century percussian cap musket demonstrations at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm.

The Visitor Center will be open both days from 9 am to 5 pm, and the grounds and battlefield will be open sunrise to sunset.

July 3, 1754, George Washington will have his first military encounter and the only surrender of his entire career here at Fort Necessity. Join us on the 272nd anniversary of that battle, as well as kicking off the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaratioin.

Our Anniversary Encampment will be July 3rd, 4th, and 5th! We will have small arms flintlock musket and artillery demonstrations at 11 AM, 1 PM, and 3 PM EACH DAY. Park rangers will be talking about the French and Indian War, as well as the Revolutionary War, and give examples how lessons 22 year old George Washington learned during the battle of Fort Necessity led him to become a successful general and the first American President.

The Visitor Center will be open 9 AM to 5 PM all three days, with the trails, battlefield grounds and reconstructed fort open sunrise to sunset. 

Join us in honoring veterans from the French and Indian War through World War 2 with a weapons timeline. Event will be Saturday & Sunday, November 7th and 8th. 

We will have displays showing how things changed or stayed the same through the years, and will be doing small arms and artillery demonstrations BOTH days at 11 AM, 1 PM, and 3 PM. Small arms demos will include flintlock and percussion cap muskets.