The Fort Edwards Foundation of Capon Bridge, West Virginia
 Col. George Washington was known to be a great traveler. Few men could equal his riding abilities and keep up with him on horseback. During the French and Indian War he covered a great deal of the backcountry. During the winter of 1753-54 at the bequest of Gov. Dinwiddie he made a very arduous trip from Williamsburg to Fort LeBoeuf to deliver a letter to the French. The letter demanded that the French leave the area that Great Britian claimed. Of course, the French refused because they had actually explored the area. The report that Washington gave Gov. Dinwiddie was eventually published in Europe and made George Washington very famous. There was a map printed in London with that report. Note: Washington did not travel as far as the French Fort Presque Isle; he met the French commander at LeBoeuf. While he was commanding the troops at Fort Cumberland, Col. Washington had an argument with a Captain from Maryland who had a British Army commission. In order to resolve the dispute of who was the ranking office, Washington traveled to Philadelphia to meet the British commander in chief. This was Washington's first trip to what was one of the largest cities in North American at the time.
Col. Washington spent a great deal of time in Williamsburg, the capitol of the colony of Virginia conferring with Gov. Dinwiddie, his superior officer, and with memebers of the House of Burgesses. Washington also spent time in Alexandria, the major port of Virginia and the city nearest to Mount Vernon. |
