A New Perspective on an Old War
June 23, 2005 | Read Time: 2 minutes
By Brennen Jensen
Photograph by John Tichy
In the French and Indian War, Britain and its American colonies battled France and numerous American Indian nations over the future of European expansion in the New World. The war gave a young George Washington his first taste of battle, set the stage for the American Revolution, and was dubbed “the first world war” by Winston Churchill. Yet the significance of the conflict is not widely understood by many Americans.
A philanthropic effort in Pittsburgh hopes to change that. French and Indian War 250, a nonprofit group, was formed four years ago to draw attention to the 250th anniversary of the war — which ran from 1754 to 1760. As part of its mission, the charity hopes to increase the number of people who visit some 120 public and private historic sites related to the conflict — battlefields, forts, museums — spread across 20 states.
With some $29-million in funds, including grants from the Heinz Endowments and the Richard King Mellon Foundation, as well as state and federal money, the nonprofit group has created an array of marketing and educational materials. Among them: a war-site driving guide, new road signs, a Web site, and a complete educational curriculum that elementary and secondary schools can use to teach students about the conflict.
The group has also helped pay for a documentary series, The War That Made America, by Pittsburgh public television station WQED, which is scheduled for broadcast next year.
In addition, French and Indian War 250 has organized a traveling exhibit, the centerpiece of which is a manuscript the charity purchased, which was written by George Washington describing his experiences as a young officer in the Virginia regiment during the war.
“How we chose our national loyalties and developed a sense of country and patriotism are important stories, and this war is a good way of getting at these topics,” says the nonprofit group’s director, Laura Fisher. “We saw the war’s anniversary as a great opportunity to connect individual historic sites in a coherent way to increase the understanding of a big story.”
Here, actors fire period muskets as part of an annual re-enactment of one of the war’s battles, fought at Fort Ticonderoga, in New York. This year’s re-enactment is scheduled for June 25 and 26.
