During the French and Indian War, George Washington, at age 21, made many mistakes leading the militia while learning to make alliances with local Indians and struggling to curb his temper. What he learned from his mistakes were skills he later used to lead the Continental Army.

"George Washington Remembers makes this very personal and little-known document available for the first time and offers a glimpse of Washington in a self-reflective mood - a side of the man seldom seen in his other writings.

When Washington set the world on fire... George Washington has frequently been criticized for his first military campaign, which sparked the French and Indian War. This backwoods campaign between British and French colonials eventually grew into the Seven Years' War, a global conflict between these European empires. In 1754 Washington was an ambitious yet inexperienced young officer, eager to carry out his orders and mission on behalf of Virginia and the British king. While his campaign failed to meet its objectives, Washington experienced his first taste of military command, dealing with situations that ultimately proved beyond his control, and learned lessons that made him into the man who led the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War. Historian Scott Patchan delves deep into Washington's correspondence to tell the story of his training as an officer.

An account of his first official mission, made as emissary from the Governor of Virginia to the commandant of the French forces on the Ohio, October, 1753-January, 1754.

In 1786, George Washington wrote a rare autobiographical account of his service in the French and Indian War. In these eleven pages, Washington relates the compelling narrative of his experiences during the war, including a striking account of the friendly-fire incident at Fort Ligonier in 1758 that ". . . involved the life of GW in as much jeopardy as it had ever been before or since. . . . " George Washington Remembers presents for the first time in print this extraordinary account that offers a very personal glimpse of a self-reflective leader seldom seen in Washington's other writings. The reproduction is accompanied by an annotated transcription of the piece and original essays that place the work in the context of the French and Indian War and Washington's life. Lavishly illustrated, this remarkable book is essential for all interested in George Washington and our nation's founding period.

On July 9, 1755, British and colonial troops under the command of General Edward Braddock suffered a crushing defeat to French and Native American enemy forces in Ohio Country. Known as the Battle of the Monongahela, the loss altered the trajectory of the Seven Years' War in America, escalating the fighting and shifting the balance of power. An unprecedented rout of a modern and powerful British army by a predominantly Indian force, Monongahela shocked the colonial world--and also planted the first seeds of an independent American consciousness. The culmination of a failed attempt to capture Fort Duquesne from the French, Braddock's Defeat was a pivotal moment in American and world history. While the defeat is often blamed on blundering and arrogance on the part of General Braddock--who was wounded in battle and died the next day--David Preston's gripping new work argues that such a claim diminishes the victory that Indian and French forces won by their superior discipline and leadership. In fact, the French Canadian officer Captain Beaujeu had greater tactical skill, reconnaissance, and execution, and his Indian allies were the most effective and disciplined troops on the field. Preston also explores the long shadow cast by Braddock's Defeat over the 18th century and the American Revolution two decades later. The campaign had been an awakening to empire for many British Americans, spawning ideas of American identity and anticipating many of the political and social divisions that would erupt with the outbreak of the Revolution. Braddock's Defeat was the defining generational experience for many British and American officers, including Thomas Gage, Horatio Gates, and perhaps most significantly, George Washington. A rich battle history driven by a gripping narrative and an abundance of new evidence,Braddock's Defeat presents the fullest account yet of this defining moment in early American history.