The Battle of Jumonville Glen & The Seven Years War

The Battle of Jumonville Glen reads like “The Comedy of Errors” as written by Quentin Jerome Tarantino.  George Washington, then a young militiaman in the service of Britain, was sent to a fort near present-day Pittsburg that was held by French-Canadians.  Washington succeeded in surprising a French force under the command of Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville, surrounding them in a small ravine.  But then Jumonville was killed, and nobody really knows why.  Either Washington randomly ordered an attack, or somebody accidentally fired their weapon, creating chaos.  Other sources claim that the two sides were negotiating when a Native American leader, reportedly Jumonville’s bastard, ritually killed the Frenchman with his tomahawk. 

The real problems began after the French forces in the fort, led by Jumonville’s brother, found out about the incident.  Washington, desperately trying to retreat to safety, became surrounded and agreed to surrender.  The two sides had agreed terms, but the surrender document was written in French, which Washington was unable to read.  Wanting an amicable resolution, he pretended he could read it and signed the treaty.  Unbeknownst to him, Jumonville’s brother had included a statement to the effect that the British troops had “assassinated” a French ambassador.  It was a huge insult to France, and it seemed to show great hubris on the Americans’ part, since they had brazenly admitted to the diplomatic “assassination” in writing.  This foolish miscommunication started a global war - The Seven Years War. 

Some of the lessons we can learn here is how important communication is, how important it is to be able to read the documents we sign and read them thoroughly, and why is important to be humble and admit our inadequacy in any matter before it becomes a serious error.