From Surveyor to Patriot: The Story of George Washington & Fort Loudoun

Introduction

Everyone knows about George Washington and the Revolutionary War. His early career as a surveyor is well documented, as is his role in the French & Indian War, so what does Fort Loudoun’s story contribute to the field of Colonial history?  

It’s local history, and local history matters.  

George Washington’s formative years in Winchester are part of the Revolutionary War story. 

The big stories have been shared with the world, but there are really rich stories that live in small cultural institutions, like the FIWF. This story is a fresh take on a well-known time in American history. Fort Loudoun is a vehicle that  allows us to touch on so much history as we travel the timeline to the Revolutionary War.  

This digital exhibit centralizes the research and organizes it in a way that you can easily follow Washington’s journey from a young surveyor to America’s leading Patriot, focusing on the pivotal years he spent growing and maturing in Winchester, Virginia. Our goal in creating this digital exhibit and using digital humanities tools is to make historical research available and traceable to a wide audience. In doing so, we hope that our local story intersects with another story so that the research and story may continue.

Fort Loudoun

On the hill of North Loudoun Street in downtown Winchester stood Fort Loudoun, the site of Colonel George Washington’s regimental headquarters during the French & Indian War. In August 1755, the Virginia House of Burgesses approved the construction of a chain of forts under the command of Colonel Washington to include a strong fort to defend the colony’s frontier. As Colonel of the Virginia Regiment, Washington was responsible for protecting the frontier from incursions by the French and their American Indian allies, so he drew plans for Fort Loudoun and supervised its construction beginning in 1756. The fort ultimately became  Washington’s command center and the largest of all Virginia forts.  

Fort Loudoun was an impressive structure that had four bastions, barracks for 450 men, and a 103-foot well that took nearly 2 years to mine through solid limestone rock. This historical well is the only structure of the fort that remains today. The Fort Loudoun Historic Site is owned by the French and Indian War Foundation (FIWF) and is registered with the National Register of Historic Places (No. 13000650) as well as the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (138-5089). 

The Road to a Revolution

The American Revolution is about more than a series of battles and the notable group of patriots that you read about in history books. The ripples of war affected everyone, everywhere in Colonial America. To truly understand what led the country to war, we must look at the years leading up to the revolution.  

Although George Washington is arguably one of the most thoroughly researched individuals in American history, his story in Winchester, Virginia isn’t as widely known or shared. He spent the better part of a decade living in the Winchester area, between 1748-58. His experience as a surveyor and Colonel of the Virginia Regiment shaped him as a young man. The story of George Washington and Fort Loudoun provides an opportunity for us to take a lesser-known piece of history and scaffold it into greater historical context. It’s a fresh look at pre-revolutionary Colonial America and the events that led up to the American Revolutionary War. 

The Many Roles of Young George Washington

The story of George Washington and Fort Loudoun covers a lot of history, so this digital exhibit takes you on a journey from Washington’s early years as a surveyor in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia through his rise to military and political fame in the American Revolutionary War. The following sections take you on a journey, starting in 1748 and continuing to the American Revolution.

It’s a lot of history to cover, so let’s get to it!

The Surveyor: Washington’s Early Years	– The Shenandoah Valley – A Journal of My Journey Over the Mountains began Fryday the 11th. of March 1748 – The Art of Surveying – Surveyor Tools and Products  – What exactly is surveying?
From Major to Colonel: Washington’s Rise to Military Fame	– The French & Indian War – The Ohio River Valley & The Message that Changed Everything – The French, The British, & The Concept of Discovery – Jumonville Glen – But why did it start? – The First World War – Fort Necessity in a Nutshell – Braddock’s Defeat at the Battle of the Monongahela
Planning Fort Loudoun	– Mounting Tensions, Attacks, and Virginia’s Unprotected Frontier – The Design – Why did Washington choose Winchester?
Building Fort Loudoun	– Glossary of Fortification Architecture – Virtual Tour of Fort Loudoun
The Diplomat: Washington & American Indians	– His Relationships with American Indians – The Early Years: 1732 to 1753 – The French & Indian War Era: 1753 to 1759 – Washington’s Quiet Years: 1759 to 1775 – American Indians of the Northern Shenandoah Valley – Shawnee in the Shenandoah Valley – Catawba & Cherokee: Allies of Fort Loudoun
Washington: The Making of a Leader	– Washington’s Resignation in 1758 – Election of George Washington to Virginia House of Burgesses 1758  – Frustrations & Struggles – Winter 1757-58: Illness
The American Revolution	– Washington between Wars – American Indians during the Revolution Era: 1775 to 1782 – Fort Loudoun’s Prisoners of War – Fort Loudoun’s Final Years
Learning Activities	George Washington, Surveying, and Colonial Maps Course: Virginia Studies  Grades: 4-5 George Washington | Winchester, Virginia | The French & Indian War Course: United States History to 1865 Grades: 5-6 George Washington | Winchester, Virginia | The French & Indian War Course: Virginia & United States History Grades: 9-12

To view a presentation regarding this online exhibit, please visit From Surveyor to Patriot – The Story of George Washington & Fort Loudoun.

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1. Peale, C. W. (2019, February 15). Portrait of George Washington. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page ↩︎
2. Fry, J., Jefferson, P. & Jefferys, T. (1755) A map of the most inhabited part of Virginia containing the whole province of Maryland with part of Pensilvania, New Jersey and North Carolina. [London, Thos. Jefferys] [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/74693166/. ↩︎
3. (1756) George Washington Papers, Series 4, General Correspondence: George Washington, Diagrams of Frontier Forts. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/mgw442497/. ↩︎