Re-enactors bring history to life at Jumonville
Fog drifts through the mountain, making the woods damp and cool in the early morning as the French begin to awaken at their encampment. Unseen, the English approach the camp from two sides – the rocks overhead and the woods to the left. Lt. Col. George Washington, 22, leads the Virginia Militia, accompanied by Indians.
Suddenly, a shot is fired and cries are heard. “To arms! To arms!’ a command is given in French.
The French pick up their weapons and firing begins in earnest. The woods are filled with gunfire and smoke. Men are dropping.
Ensign Joseph Coulon, Sieur de Jumonville, the French commander, can be heard asking for a ceasefire.
The fighting continues for a while. When it stops, Washington and his men enter the camp to take charge as one French soldier escapes into the woods.
Suddenly, however, the Half-King approaches a wounded Jumonville and shouts in French, “You are not yet dead, my father!’ and kills him.
As the scene concludes, the figures remain frozen in time.
Two-hundred and fifty years to the day that a skirmish between the English and French took place at Jumonville Glen in present-day North Union Township, it happened again.
The Braddock Road Preservation Association held an early morning re-enactment Friday with French, English and Indian forces to commemorate the May 28, 1754, anniversary of this skirmish that led to the start of the French and Indian War.
“Until then, the French and English were at peace. They were policing their borders,’ said Bruce Egli of Swissvale, who is vice president of the association and directed Friday’s re-enactment.
The first battle of the war would take place weeks later on July 3, 1754, at nearby Fort Necessity. Before the war ended in 1763, there would be fighting around the world.
But Friday, the focus of events was on the Jumonville skirmish. The re-enactment lasted about 10 minutes with about 100 people watching in silence on the line of the forest. Professional filmmaker Robert Matzen of Bethel Park and a member of the association’s board of directors filmed the event for the association.
Before the re-enactment, Dr. Walter Powell, association president who is from Gettysburg, said, “What we’ll see is an event that unfolds as close as we can get it to what happened on May 28, 1754.’
Egli scripted the drama, which took place without narration, but credited the re-enactors for making his work easier.
“We wanted to give people a sense of the moment,’ he said.
The weather also cooperated, giving a cool, moist feel to the setting. Powell said it did rain the night before Washington and his men trekked through the forest. The woods also enhanced the story.
This re-enactment took place near the actual site of the skirmish, but on the grounds of Jumonville, the United Methodist training camp where the Braddock Road Preservation Association is headquartered. The actual site of the skirmish took place on adjacent ground now owned by the National Park Service, which is part of Fort Necessity National Battlefield.
In honor of the anniversary, the association held a special seminar Thursday and Friday that included speakers such as Christian Cameron, author of “Washington and Caesar,’ Canadian author Christopher Moore, Dr. David Bell of Johns Hopkins University and the traveling exhibit “George Washington Remembers: Reflections on the French and Indian War,’ a manuscript in Washington’s own handwriting that is being shown throughout the anniversary at French and Indian War sites.
The seminar also featured this re-enactment as well as a special presentation that was scheduled to take place at Jumonville Glen – the actual skirmish site – Friday afternoon. Powell said about 150 people participated in the seminar, including 21 home-schoolers and 26 re-enactors.
The number of re-enactors, said Powell, was smaller than the group of men who were actually at the skirmish.
“Washington had nearly 50 men, including Indians, and the French had 33 men,’ explained Powell.
Friday’s participants included members of Compagnie LeBoeuf of Edinboro, Compagnie Franche De Captaine Dumas of Pittsburgh, The Virginia Regiment of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Trent’s Company of Virginia Militia from Canonsburg and two independent Indian re-enactors: Joe Merenda of Ligonier and Tom Vecchio of Shaler, who portrayed the Half-King.
The re-enactors said they felt privileged to participate in this historic re-enactment.
“When I was approached to do Half-King, I was extremely honored,’ said Vecchio.
Bryan Cunning of Washington, who played Washington, said, “I was very thankful Bruce gave me the chance to do this.’
“It’s very profound,’ said Greg Henning of Edinboro, who played Jumonville, said of being at the site. “This is where it started.’