he name of Fort
Duquesne. That done, they set out to meet Washington, who was descending
the Monongahela.

OPENING OF THE WAR.

The meeting between these forces brought on the first fight of the
French and Indian War. It was the advance party of each which met, and
it is said that the first musket was fired by Washington himself. The
French had enlisted a number of Indians, but Washington killed or
captured nearly all of them as well as the whites. The main body of the
French, however, was so much more powerful than his own, that Washington
moved back a few miles and built a fortification which he named Fort
Necessity. There, after a brisk fight, he was compelled to surrender,
July 4, 1754, on the promise that he and his men should be allowed to
return to Virginia. That province was so well pleased with his work that
he acted as its leading officer throughout the remainder of the war.

A peculiarity of the French and Indian War must be noted. For two years
it was entirely an American war, not extending to Europe until 1756. For
the first time the English colonies acted together. They saw the value
of the territory in dispute and were ready to make common cause for its
possession. England was inclined to let them do the best they could
without help from her. She advised that they form some plan for united
action. In accordance with this suggestion, a meeting was held at Albany
in 1754, composed of delegates from Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York,
and the New England colonies. Benjamin Franklin, the great philosopher,
proposed the "Albany plan of Union," which was agreed upon.

When this was submitted to the king, he saw too much of American
independence in it, and promptly rejected it, while the colonies did the
same on the ground that it gave the king too much power. There was much
significance in this action.

EXPULSION OF THE CANADIANS.

It was now so evident that war must soon come that England and France
began sending troops to America. At the same time, the respective
governments continued to profess--diplomatically--their strong
friendship for each other. In June, 1755, a force consisting of British
regulars and colonial troops sailed from Boston and captured the few
remaining French forts in Nova Scotia. The inhabitants were gathered
together in their churches, placed on ships, and then distributed
southward among the English colonies. This act has been often denounced
as one unworthy of the British peo