37/43 This alarmed the governor of Virginia, who sent Washington to bid the French leave the Allegheny valley. When they refused, troops were sent to build a fort on the site of what is now Pittsburg; but these men, under Trent and Ward, were driven away, as were also the reinforcements under Washington (1764). Braddock (with Washington) was next sent against the French, who had built Fort Duquesne. He was surprised by the Indians (July 9, 1755), defeated, and killed. The "French and Indian War" thus opened was fought with varying success till 1760, when the British held Quebec, Montreal, Fort Duquesne, and all the other French strongholds in America. |