Major Washington's Pittsburgh
and the Mission to Fort Le Boeuf

During the winter of 1753, George Washington accepted the first, and potentially most dangerous, mission of his life—he was twenty-one. The resulting tale is one of international intrigue and heartbreaking disappointment that set the stage for the French and Indian War and forever changed Washington’s destiny. The untried major faced a daunting task and was twice nearly killed, first by a treacherous guide and later as he tried to cross the icy Allegheny River.

Using firsthand accounts, including the journals of George Washington himself, historian Brady Crytzer reconstructs the complex world of eighteenth-century Pittsburgh, the native peoples who inhabited it and the empires desperate to control it. The book weaves the modern city through its pages, evolving from what it was at the time of Washington's mission. Through trial and triumph, a man was defined, and a legend was born.

Paperback, 6" x 9", 128 pages, over 40 images, artwork by John Buxton, $21.99