Warriors Weekend at Fort Necessity National Battlefield

Date: August 11, 2010
Contact: Brian Reedy, 724-329-5512

FARMINGTON – The National Park Service will host an “Indian War Party” encampment at Fort Necessity National Battlefield on Saturday, August 28, and Sunday, August 29. The camp will be open to visitors from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. both days.

Re-enactment groups will represent a Lenape war party allied with the French and a Cherokee war party allied with the British. The military goal of the French and Indian War parties was to harass the colonists to such a degree as to make them want to move back east and no longer try to establish communities of British colonies west of the Alleghenies. These parties conducted raids along the Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia frontiers during the 1750’s. The involvement of different native groups in the French and Indian War will be discussed. Re-enactors welcome inquiries concerning those early years.

A sixty minute walking tour of the camp will be offered four times each day with instructional stops. Participants will be treated like young colonial officers learning how to participate with a raiding party. They will learn about native women, trail signs, handling captives, camping, food/cooking, battle tactics, and weapons. The program also includes a hand-on test of the visitors’ new skills. These programs will begin at the fur trade tent near the visitor center at 9:30, 11:00, 1:30 and 3:00. The tour includes about 900 yards of walking and goes through the campsite and onto the Braddock Road. Visitors are encouraged to wear sturdy shoes and bring water. There is no additional charge for this program; however tour size will be limited. Access to the camps will be restricted during the tours. Re-enactors portraying Lenape and Cherokee war parties operating in Western Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War in 1757 will be camped at Fort Necessity National Battlefield. Woodland fighting tactics, weapons, trail cooking, and travel techniques will be demonstrated. Each Indian nation’s involvement in the war will be discussed.   

General admission for the park is $5.00 per adult. Children 15 and under are free of charge. The fee is collected at the park’s Visitor Center and is valid for seven days. Annual passes are available for $15.00. For more information on this and other programs at Fort Necessity, please call [phone] or visit the park’s web site at www.nps.gov/fone.