You say you want a revolution? [TV Series on French&Indian War Alert]

The Arlington Advocate ^ | January 12, 2006 | Jennifer Mann

[Pharmboy]

This gets all of this list's interests: the RevWar, colonial history and Gen. Washington. Although I do not like to help out PBS, this series is a must see...next Wednesday night is the start.

[Pharmboy]

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[Ditto]

I'll be watching.

I'd also highly recommend a visit to the Heinz Regional History Center in Pittsburgh where a special exhibit Clash of Empires: The French & Indian War will remain on display through April. It was done in conjunction with the Smithsonian to mark the 250 Anniversary of the War which began in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Some of the displays are amazing including original letters written by the young George Washington.

[ladtx]

"If things had gone differently - if the French had won - this would have been a very different continent," he said.

True, we'd all be speaking German.--:o)

[Pharmboy]

LOL!!

[Pharmboy]

Thanks, Ditto. I will make that trip--an exhibit I definitely want to see.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

Find it strange they had to train civil/revolution reenactors for the F&I parts, there is an entire subculture of F&I living history participates.

http://www.fort-ticonderoga.org/reenactors/grand_encampment.htm

http://r.webring.com/hub?ring=thefrenchindianw%5C%22

http://www.uwgb.edu/wisfrench/PHOTOS/HERITAGE/REENACT.HTM

http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/By_Time_Period/18th_Century/Military_History/Seven_Years__War__1756_1763_/Living_History/

Above are just a few from Google hit.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=french+and+indian+war+reenactors&spell=1

[Pharmboy]

Good point...they probably did not look that hard. This helps makes the argument that the F&I is truly below the radar.

[SoothingDave]

This gets all of this list's interests: the RevWar, colonial history and Gen. Washington.

But what about Pontiac's Rebellion?

The F&I war is interesting because Washington basically instigated it, setting into motion the war whose debts would lead to the onerous taxation that led to the American Revolution which led to Washington being the first President. >[? SD>{?

[Hemingway's Ghost]

According to the filmmaker, the French and Indian War, for which the British also played a major role, set the stage for many tensions between the colonial settlers and Britain - and that strain ultimately resulted in the run up to the Revolutionary War.

Sure was, because England had the nerve to make us pay for protecting us. Damn Stamp Act.

Thanks for the heads-up, Pharmboy. I'll be watching this.

[confederacy of dunces]

Wow, something worth watching on TV. Thanks for the heads up.

BTW, I don't think you're "helping" PBS unless you give'em money.

[silverleaf]

Thanks for the heads-up.

[Pharmboy]

Yep...you got that right. A few other interesting tidbits that I've picked up along the way:

--During the F&I War, the Crown's headquarters was NYC. When the war ended, the Crown left in 1763, causing a major economic depression in NYC. That's why the New Yorkers were so up in arms about the Stamp Act and the Stamp Act Congress was held there.

--Washington felt slighted by not gaining a commission in the regular British army and traveled to Boston in 1758 to complain to Gen. Shirley in person. It is said that he gained a lifelong enmity for the Brits because of this.

[Red Boots]

I'll tune in for this, though I'm a litle worried about the PBS part.

A great book on the French and Indian wars is A Few Acres of Snow: The Saga of the French and Indian Wars by Robert Lecki. It tells it like it was, without the revisionism that taints so many history books today.

It'd probably be a great counterpoint to read while watchingthe PBS series.

[Ditto]

You'll really enjoy it. Here's one of the items on display -- the original surrender document from Fort Necessity, signed by the 22 year old George Washington.

Let me know when you are visiting. Perhaps we can meet up there.

[Pharmboy]

Will do...would like to drive out in the spring and visit Braddock's grave, Jumonville Glen, etc.

[Ditto]

Will do...would like to drive out in the spring and visit Braddock's grave, Jumonville Glen, etc.

Nice spots and beautful country side. The have recently redone the visitors center at Fort Necessity (only a mile or two from Braddock's Grave) but I haven't had the opportunity to vist as yet. According to the web site the Heinz exhibit is scheduled through April 15, 2006 when it will move to Canada for a while and then on to The Smithsonian in DC.

[neverdem]

The result is a rich tale of history that also delves deeply into character portrayal - one of which is George Washington, who Stange laughingly described as "a bumbling, over-ambitious 22-year-old" militiaman at the time, who unwittingly started the war with an ambush on an encampment of French soldiers.

How about assault or attack?

ambush wait in hiding to attack
the act of concealing yourself and lying in wait to attack by surprise
still-hunt: hunt (quarry) by stalking and ambushing wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

An ambush is a long established military tactic in which an ambushing force uses concealment to attack an enemy that passes its position. Ambushers strike from concealed positions such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops. The tactic is generally used to gather intelligence or to establish control over an area. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambush

[Pharmboy]

YEs...you are quite correct. It was NOT an ambush at all.

[Clemenza]

I remember visiting the Plains of Abraham in Quebec a few years back, and was disappointed with just how small the actual battle area was. There is a park that preserves some of the green, but most of the battle site has been developed over the past two centuries. The Brits built a fort on the site of the battle which is still there and worth visiting.

Probably the most brutal act of the Brits during the war was their forced expulsion of the French Acadians from the maritimes, when all who refused to leave were shot. I've talked to folks in Louisiana who STILL harbor bitterness towards the Brits to this day.