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Though George Washington later gained fame as a war hero, he cut his teeth during the French and Indian War—and, like most newcomers, he failed miserably. It was his difficult experience during the French and Indian, some argue, that helped to make him the general he eventually became. Interestingly enough, though, even Washington's early failures have come to take on a heroic cast in American history. After Washington's great success in the Revolutionary War, Fort Necessity came to stand as a metaphor for the rugged colonial spirit. That metaphor persists even today, although historians have proven that the fort was little more than a few logs lashed together to surround Washington's hapless army.

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Popular pages: The French and Indian War (1754-1763)

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