THE LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
Important Artifacts Join Fort Ligonier's Permanent Collection

WQED Multimedia is producing a four-part documentary that will bring to life the French and Indian War, a fascinating yet little-understood conflict. Produced and filmed locally, the production is an important, regional economic-development project. "The War That Made America" is planned for broadcast on Wednesdays Jan. 18 and 25, 9-11 p.m.

Fort Ligonier was an important stronghold during George Washington's service in the French and Indian War, but now, more than 200 years later, the fort will house an impressive collection of artifacts related to the life of our founding father. In April, a pair of 18th-century French steel-mounted saddle pistols, which France's Marquis de Lafayette presented to George Washington in 1778, were unveiled at the Fort Ligonier Museum.

These exceptional saddle pistols, with exquisite gold and silver inlays and carved and engraved rococo embellishments, are said to be among the most important pair of firearms in American history. The pistols will be on view at Fort Ligonier as part of the new, permanent George Washington Collection exhibit, which will also feature an extremely rare handwritten autobiographical manuscript in which Washington recalls his dangerous years on the Pennsylvania frontier as a young man in the French and Indian War.

The two important artifacts were purchased in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the French and Indian War and the critical role that Washington played in the history of the region and the nation. "Both of these artifacts are part of our nation's historical legacy that have now been purchased from private collections on behalf of the public," says Laura Fisher, director of French and Indian War 250 Inc., a consortium of historic sites and museums. This consortium is spearheading public and private investment in conjunction with French and Indian War commemoration to preserve and interpret historic places and artifacts from this critical period in the nation's Colonial history. "Their installation at Fort Ligonier is only part of the investment during this commemorative period to significantly enhance the collections and the visitor experience at key historical destinations in Western Pennsylvania," Fisher adds.

Summer travel plans? Find out what's going on in Western Pennsylvania at the newly updated site for the French and Indian War. Use it to explore the largest concentration of French and Indian War sites anywhere in the nation, right in your own backyard.

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