Fort Necessity hosts historian on anniversary
FARMINGTON — The Friends of Fort Necessity and the National Park Service will again host Christian E. Fearer who will present a special evening program Saturday marking the 257th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Necessity.
The program will begin at 7?p.m. in the Visitor Center of Fort Necessity National Battlefield.
?In a talk titled “Loose, Idle, Ungovernable: The Men and Boys Who Followed Washington West and Began a War,” Fearer will explore the lives and experiences of the first men to ever follow George Washington in battle. The date of this program is special as July 2 marks the anniversary of the eve of the battle which was fought at the Great Meadows on July 3, 1754.
When Washington marched west in 1754 to drive the French from the forks of the Ohio, he did not go alone; along with him marched the soldiers of the First Virginia Regiment, his first command. Unfortunately, these men did not leave accounts in which they reflected on their experiences, their
motivations for enlisting, or their feelings and fears in battle.
But that does not mean their stories have entirely been lost forever, as they left traces in scattered records that allow at least some of their experiences to be recreated.
Fearer’s presentation will move beyond the central figure of George Washington and take those attending into the trenches with the common soldier. In the end, they will encounter people very much like themselves.
A native of southwestern Pennsylvania, Fearer is a senior historian at U.S. Special Operations Command, located in Tampa, Fla., and has served as the historian for U. S. Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan.
A scholar of war and society, Fearer has previously worked for the National Park Service at Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Richmond National Battlefield Park and Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Skagway, Alaska.
The lectures for the Friends of Fort Necessity are open to the public and free of charge.
For further information, call Fort Necessity at 724-329-5805.
Fort Necessity is located 11 miles of Uniontown on U.S. 40, the National Road.