"The right wing, where I stood, was exposed to and received all the enemy's fire ... I heard the bullets whistle, and, believe me, there is something charming in the sound."

Letter to his brother, John A. Washington | Friday, May 31, 1754


Editorial Notes

Written in the letter's postscript, here 22-year-old George Washington boasted to his brother about his experience during the opening battle of the French & Indian War.  On 28 May Washington and his men defeated a French force on the Pennsylvania frontier.  The death of the French leader Joseph Coulon de Villiers, Sieur de Jumonville, during the skirmish led to the 3 July French retaliatory attack on Fort Necessity. 

Letter to John Augustine Washington | Friday, May 31, 1754


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