Washington's First War: The Great War for Empire on the American Frontier

The George Washington Hotel, Winchester, Virginia
February 14-15, 2025

Friday (February 14th):  Tours of Fort Frederick and Winchester (Time to be announced)

7 PM at the Shenandoah Valley Civil War Museum:

David Preston -- Washington's Leadership in the Braddock and Forbes Expeditions

David Preston explores George Washington's military leadership during the disastrous Braddock Expedition of 1755 and his contributions to British victory in the Forbes Expedition of 1758.

Saturday (February 15th): Conference (Registration required and space is limited. $50 for Members, $60 for Non-Members)

John Maass -- The French and Indian War in America: An Overview

The Seven Years’ War was a world-wide conflict over empires and power. Its American theater was called the French and Indian War and raged from 1754 to 1763. John Maass provides an over of the wide-ranging contest in Britain’s continental colonies, Canada, and the lands across the Appalachian Mountains between colonists and Native Americans.

Scott Patchan: Governor Dinwiddie and Colonel Washington: Setting the World Afire

George Washington is frequently said to have played key role in igniting the French and Indian War in the backcountry of the America colonies in 1754. Young Colonel Washington led the Virginia Regiment into the “Ohio Country” in the spring of 1754 with specific orders from Virginia Lt. Gov. Robert Dinwiddie to secure this vital region for the colony and Crown. Scott Patchan explores this tense time on the frontier, including the rocky relationship between Washington and Dinwiddie.

Timothy Shannon -- French and Indian Cruelty: Captivity and Redemption in the Seven Years’ War

In this Native American-focused presentation, Professor Timothy Shannon discusses the reemergence of the Indian captivity narrative in Anglo-American literature during the era of the Seven Years’ War.  Using the story of Peter Williamson in particular, he examines how captivity narratives blurred the lines between fact and fiction and shaped their readers’ perceptions of North American warfare.

James Mullins -- Arming the Old Dominion: Provincial Arms of the French and Indian War

The colony of Virginia fielded a diverse group of arms from many sources during the French and Indian War. With an unequaled expertise in the war’s material culture, Jim Mullins presentation features striking images of the various types and origins of Virginia's small arms during the French and Indian War through primary documents and artifacts.

Glenn Williams -- Lord Dunmore’s War: Last Indian Conflict of the Colonial Era, 1774

Glenn Williams explains the causes and conduct of the last Indian War before the start of the American War for Independence. Set during what some would call the "Quiet Time," many historians pay it little attention or misinterpret its historical significance. However, John Murray, fourth Earl of Dunmore, the last royal governor of Virginia, led the colony's soldiers "in his majesty's service" in a defensive war that culminated in a successful offensive military expedition.

James Dubik -- George Washington and the Interwar Years

How did the post-war years following the victory of Great Britian and its colonial allies shape George Washington as a leader, commander, burgess, and agricultural businessman?  Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. James M. Dubik looks at Washington’s varied experiences leading up to the Revolutionary War as a school of leadership for the young Virginia provincial.

Author Biographies:

David Preston is the General Mark W. Clark Distinguished Professor of History at The Citadel, where he teaches officer candidates on early American history and U.S. military history.  He is the author of several books, most notably Braddock's Defeat: The Battle of the Monongahela and the Road to Revolution which received the 2015 Gilder Lehrman Prize in Military History and several other awards. 

John R. Maass, Ph.D., is a historian at the National Museum of the United States Army, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. A former Army officer, he is the author of The Battle of Guilford Courthouse: A Most Desperate Engagement; The Road to Yorktown: Jefferson, Lafayette and the British Invasion of Virginia; The French & Indian War in North Carolina: The Spreading Flames of War; and most recently, From Trenton to Yorktown: Turning Points of the Revolutionary War.

Scott C. Patchan is a graduate of James Madison University, and author of eight books including his most recent, George Washington in the French and Indian War. Scott is a regular leader of historical programs in the American Civil War, French and Indian War, and Revolutionary War. He is also involved in battlefield preservation and interpretation with the Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation.

Timothy Shannon, Ph.D., is a professor of History at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he teaches early American, Native American, and British history.  His books include Indian Captive, Indian King: Peter Williamson in America and Britain and The Seven Years’ War in North America: A Brief History with Documents.

A native of Southwest Virginia, Jim Mullins worked for over twelve years at the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg and is a published author, illustrator, exhibit designer, and lecturer.  His publications include of Of Sorts for Provincials: American Weapons of the French and Indian War, as well as numerous articles on 18th century firearms, the colonial frontier, and related material culture. 

James M. Dubik is a retired U.S. Army general with over 37 years of active service, including service as an infantryman, paratrooper, and ranger.  He received a Ph.D. in philosophy from the Johns Hopkins University, and is the author of Just War Reconsidered:  Strategy, Ethics, and Theory. He is a member of the Army Ranger Hall of Fame and a distinguished member of the U.S. Army 75th Ranger Regiment.

Glenn F. Williams, Ph.D., is a retired Army officer. He recently retired from federal civilian service as a Senior Historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History, at Fort McNair, DC. He is the author of Year of the Hangman: George Washington's Campaign Against the Iroquois, and Dunmore's War: The Last Conflict of America's Colonial Era.