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Party planned at Fort Necessity this weekend

By The 2 min read

Fort Necessity National Battlefield in Farmington will host an Indian war party encampment on Saturday and Sunday. The camp will be open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. This will be the first time a war party encampment has been held at the national park. Volunteer re-enactors from across the region will represent a 1756 Indian raiding party. These raiding parties were composed of a wide range of French allies, including not only the Shawnees and Delawares, but also the Ottawas, Miamis and Potawatomis. The French allied Indians were attacking the settlers in this area following the orders of the French Gov. Vaudreuil who wrote, “… best to multiply as much as circumstances permit’ the raiding “parties of Indian (sent) into the English Colonies …(for) nothing is more calculated to disgust the people.’

The military goal of the French and Indian War parties was to harass the colonists to such a degree as to make them want to move back East and no longer try to establish communities of British colonies west of the Alleghenies.

The warriors will encamp at the edge of the Great Meadows in the area where the French and Indians fought from during the battle in 1754. Authentic shelters and demonstrations of important woods skills will be presented to visitors.

Visitors are encouraged to explore the camp and re-enactors welcome inquiries of those early years. Historic weapons demonstrations including musket and swivel gun firing will take place both days at noon, 2 and 4 p.m. at the benches near the reconstructed fort.

Visitors are encouraged to stop in at the new Interpretive and Education Center as well as attend a tour of the Mount Washington Tavern undergoing interior restoration. Tours of the restoration will be given throughout the day.

General admission for the park is $5 per adult and children 15 and younger are admitted free.

The fee is collected at the park’s visitor’s center and is valid for seven days.

For more information on this and other programs at Fort Necessity, call 724-329-5512 or visit the park’s Web site at www.gov/fone.

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