This information led at once to military measures for the defense of the Ohio, and the command of Captain Trent pushed forward.
The French were promptly warned of the arrival of Trent’s troops, and were not long idle.
On April 17, when the fort was still uncompleted, Ensign Ward suddenly found himself surrounded by a force of one thousand men, French and Indians, under the command of Captain Contrecoeur, with eighteen pieces of artillery.
By Chevalier Le Mercier, captain of the artillery of Canada, Contrecoeur sent a summons to the commanding officer of the English to surrender, informing him that he, Contrecoeur, “was come out into this place, charged with orders from his General to request him (the English commander) to retreat peaceably, with his troops from off the lands of the French king, and not to return, or else he would find himself obliged to fulfill his duty, and compel him to it.” “I hope,” continued Contrecoeur, in his summons, “that you will not defer one instant, and that you will not force me to the last extremity. In that case, sir, you may be persuaded that I will give orders that there shall be no damage done by my detachment.”
The friendly Half King, who was present, advised Ward to reply that he was not an officer of rank with power to answer the demand, and to request delay until he could send for his superior officer.
Contrecoeur refused to parley, and demanded immediate surrender.
Having less than forty men in a half finished stockade, Ward was unable to resist the force opposed to him, and therefore prudently yielded to the demand without further hesitation.
He was allowed to withdraw his men and take his tools with him, and on the morning of April 18, he left the position and started on his return to Virginia.
This affair was one of the initial events of the French and Indian War, an epoch-making struggle.
The French took possession of the half-finished fort and completed it, naming it Fort Duquesne, in honor of Marquis Du Quesne, then Governor General of Canada.