Washington had expected to be attacked after retiring from Jumonville.

Tanacharison attempts to convince the Delaware, Shawnee and the Seneca to join the Virginians at Great Meadows.

With about one hundred and fifty Virginians at Great Meadows, they had begun to construct a fort, which had been completed on June 3.

The fort, which Washington names Fort Necessity, is a circular stockade made of seven-foot-high (two point one meters) upright logs covered with bark and skins built around a little hut that contains ammunition and provisions.

The rest of the Virginia Regiment arrived at Great Meadows on June 9.

One hundred British regulars under the command of James Mackay arrive a few days later, but instead of making camp with the Virginians they camp separately outside the fort.

Washington has heard that there are five hundred poorly-supplied French troops at Fort Duquesne, and thus he had led the three hundred Virginians out of Great Meadows on June 16 to widen the road for those who would follow to an advanced position at Red Stone Creek.

Washington meets on June 18 with Tanacharison, who tells him that he has been unable to convince the other chiefs to assist Washington and says that he will also be unable to help the Virginians.

Although Washington has lost native support, making his troops more vulnerable to attack, he continues to widen the road towards Red Stone Creek.

After a council of war on June 28, Washington orders the withdrawal to Great Meadows.

This same day, six hundred French and one hundred natives leave Fort Duquesne led by Louis Coulon de Villiers, the older brother of the slain Jumonville.

The Virginians have to abandon most of their supplies in order to keep ahead of the French/Canadian force.

The Virginia Regiment reaches Fort Necessity on July 1.

The provision hut is depleted, and there as little shelter from the heavy rain that starts to fall on the second.

With the rain, the trenches that Washington had ordered to be dug have turned into streams.

Washington realizes that he will have to defend against a frontal assault and also realizes that it will be difficult because the woods are less than one hundred yards away, within musket range, making it possible for a besieging attacker to pick off the defenders.

To improve the defense, Washington orders his men to cut trees down and to make them into makeshift breastworks.

As the British work, Coulon approaches Fort Necessity using the road the Virginians have built.

He had arrived at Jumonville's Glen early on the morning of July 3.

Horrified to find several scalped French bodies, he had immediately ordered them to be buried.

Coulon comes within sight of Fort Necessity by 11:00 am.

At this time, the Virginians are digging a trench in the mud.

The pickets fire their muskets and fall back to the fort, whereupon three columns of Canadian soldiers and natives advance downhill towards the fort.

However, Coulon has miscalculated the location of the fort and has advanced with the fort at his right.

As Coulon halts and redeploys his troops, Washington begins to prepare for an attack.

Coulon moves his troops into the woods, within easy musket range of the fort.

Washington knows he has to dislodge the Canadians and natives from this position, and orders an assault with his entire force across the open field.

Seeing the assault coming, Coulon orders his soldiers, led by natives, to charge directly at Washington's line.

Washington orders the men to hold their ground and fire a volley.

Mackay's regulars obey Washington's command, and supported by two swivel cannons, they inflict several casualties on the oncoming natives.

The Virginians, however, flee back to the fort, leaving Washington and the British regulars greatly outnumbered.

Washington orders a retreat back to the fort.

Coulon reforms his troops in the woods.

The Canadians spread out around the clearing and keep up heavy fire on Fort Necessity.

Washington orders his troops to return fire, but they aim too high, inflicting few casualties, and the swivel cannons fare no better.

To add to the garrison's troubles, heavy rain begins to fall in the afternoon, and Washington's troops are unable to continue the firefight because their gunpowder is wet.

Coulon, who does not know when British reinforcements might arrive, sends an officer under a white flag to negotiate.

Washington does not allow the Canadian officer into or near the fort, but sends two of his own men, including his translator Jacob Van Braam, to negotiate.

As negotiations begin, the Virginians, against Washington's orders, break into the fort's liquor supply and get drunk.

Coulon tells Van Braam that all he wants is the surrender of the garrison, and the Virginians can go back to Virginia.

He warns, however, that if they do not surrender now, the natives might storm the fort and scalp the entire garrison.

Van Braam brings this message to Washington, who agrees to these basic terms.

One of Louis Coulon de Villiers' aides then writes down Coulon's surrender terms and gives them to Van Braam, who in turn gives them to Washington.

Washington, who cannot read French, has Van Braam translate it for him, and in the document it says that Jumonville had been "assassinated".

However, Van Braam may have skipped over this word; otherwise Washington would have likely sent it back to Coulon and asked that the word be removed.

Both Washington and Mackay sign the surrender document.

Washington and his troops abandon Fort Necessity on July 4.

The garrison marches away with drums beating and flags flying, but the natives and the French begin to loot the garrison's baggage on their way out.

Washington, who fears a bloodbath, does not try to stop the looting.

The natives will continue to steal from the soldiers until July 5.

The expedition progresses slowly because Braddock considers making a road to Fort Duquesne a priority in order to effectively supply the position he expects to capture and hold at the Forks of the Ohio, and because of a shortage of healthy draft animals.

In some cases, the column is only able to progress at a rate of two miles (about three kilometers) a day, creating Braddock's Road—an important legacy of the march—as they go.

To speed movement, Braddock splits his men into a "flying column" of about thirteen hundred men under his direct command, and, lagging far behind, a supply column of eight hundred men with most of the baggage, commanded by Colonel Thomas Dunbar.

They pass the ruins of Fort Necessity along the way, where the French and Canadians had defeated Washington the previous summer.

Small French and native war bands skirmish with Braddock's men during the march.

By sunset, the surviving British and colonial forces are fleeing back down the road they had built.

Braddock dies of his wounds during the long retreat, on July 13, and is buried within the Fort Necessity parklands.

Of the approximately thirteen hundred men Braddock had led into battle, four hundred and fifty-six have been killed and four hundred and twenty-two wounded.

Commissioned officers are prime targets and suffered greatly: out of eighty-six officers, twenty-six were killed and thirty-seven wounded.

Of the fifty or so women that have accompanied the British column as maids and cooks, only four survive.

The French and Canadians report eight killed and four wounded; their native allies lose fifteen killed and twelve wounded.

Colonel Dunbar, with the reserves and rear supply units, takes command when the survivors reach his position.

He orders the destruction of supplies and cannon before withdrawing, burning about one hundred and fifty wagons on the spot.

Ironically, at this point the defeated, demoralized and disorganized British forces still outnumber their opponents.

The French and natives do not pursue and are engaged with looting and scalping.

The French commander Dumas realizes the British are utterly defeated, but he does not have enough of a force to continue organized pursuit.