Battle of the Monongahela

And it was at the Monongahela where people began to believe that George Washington was destined for great things.

Several years later, according to Dr. Craik, Washington encountered a Native American chief who remembered seeing him at the Battle of the Monongahela.

By this time, Washington had retired from the military and was a farmer with a family and two adopted children.

That chief told Washington that he had ordered his men to shoot at him but were stunned when none of their bullets hit their target.

Because of this, the chief was convinced that a great spirit was protecting Washington and told him that, and I quote, he will become the chief of nations and a people yet unborn will hail him as the father of a mighty empire.

He told Washington this just a few years before the American Revolution.

Now, the Battle of the Monongahela was a milestone in George Washington's life story.

That hot July day, however, would leave him with memories that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Serving in this capacity, a young George Washington found himself at the center of some of the most important moments of the French and Indian War.

At Fort Necessity and the Battle of Monongahela, Washington served alongside British soldiers as a colonial officer, and despite surviving numerous close calls with death and leading his troops valiantly, he was never made an official offer for a commission in the British Army.

More than a decade after the end of the French and Indian War, Washington was serving as a representative of Virginia at the Second Continental Congress.

When it came time for the Congress to decide who would lead this new united army, Washington was a natural choice.