POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — Tu-Endie-Wei State Park, in the Mason County town of Point Pleasant, is the first of three parks hosting a living history program that will highlight the 250th Anniversary of the French and Indian War of 1758. Doug Wood and Trails, Inc. will present a day of 18th century history on March 29 at this educational state park along the Ohio River.

Highlights during this event will include raids, led by Cherokee commanders Mankiller Ostenaco and Great Warrior Oconostota, which took place along the Ohio River in the vicinity of Fort Duquesne. The public will interact with costumed history interpreters, learning about the alliance between the colony of Virginia and the Cherokees to oust the French from the Ohio Valley.

The March 29 event begins at 10 a.m. with a warrior camp living history demonstration, followed by an 11 a.m. program on prisoners and their fates. Warrior camp demonstrations will also take place at noon and 2 p.m. A hike to emphasize the long distance traveled and communication techniques used by the warriors will take place between 2 and 3 p.m. This hike will also highlight local landmarks and their significance to the war.

Late afternoon events include an overview of the French and Indian War, complete with images, maps and audio visual presentations, at the Fort Randolph Terrace (next door to the park) from 3 – 4 p.m. The day will conclude with a West Virginia Humanities Council, History Alive! presentation on Cherokee Commander Outacite Ostenaco titled  ”I Have Now Made a Path to Virginia.”

Portrayals include a French captive; a Delaware captive; a Shawnee captive; and a Virginia captive of the Shawnees, returning to Virginia with the Cherokee war gang; a Virginia soldier embedded with the Cherokee war gang; Cherokee warriors; and a Cherokee war woman.

The three parks in this history series are Tu-Endie-Wei State Park (the former Point Pleasant State Park) on March 29, Blennerhassett Island State Park on June 29, and Tomlinson Run State Park on August 30. 

A program schedule for this and other events can be found online at www.wvstateparks.com , or by calling 1-800-CALL WVA.

For directions to Tu-Endie-Wei State Park, visit www.tu-endie-weistatepark.com, or call 304-675-0869. This event is free and open to the public.

Two hundred fifty years ago, Cherokee war gangs traveled the Ohio River War Road, terrorizing the French and their allied American Indians. “The Point was truly an important location in the French and Indian War,” states Doug Wood. Wood is known for his historic portrayal of Ostenaco, a Cherokee war captain, in the West Virginia Humanities Council program, History Alive!.  “War party after war party of Cherokees and Catawbas assisted Virginia in defending its western frontier. Indeed, the Cherokees in particular carried on an offensive war against the French over a 1,300 mile front, including the portion of the Ohio River along present-day West Virginia’s border.” Wood and other re-enactors honor Cherokee ancestors by telling the story of Cherokee warrior efforts during the French & Indian War.

In 1754, the first shots were fired in the bloody seven-year brawl, known today as the French and Indian War. The war embroiled several North American nations in a struggle for control of the eastern third of the continent. In the summer of 1755, English General Edward Braddock alienated Ohio Valley Iroquois, Delaware, and Shawnee allies and reaped a sounding defeat to a numerically inferior army of Indians and Frenchmen near the forks of Ohio River.

This loss unleashed the fury of French and Amerindian warriors against the English colonists in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. The colonies requested assistance from southern Amerindians, traditional enemies of the northerners, and the response from the Cherokees was swift and strong. Mankiller Ostenaco led 130 warriors against the Shawnees in the winter of 1756. The Cherokee campaign failed with the addition of a slow-moving, hunger-ridden, infighting Virginian army. However, a strong friendship between Mankiller Ostenaco and Mr. Andrew Lewis ensured the steady support the colonies needed from the Cherokees.

Ostenaco recruited warriors, led war parties, and conducted diplomatic missions. His efforts ensured that the colonies' defensive war was complemented by effective offensive maneuvers carried to the very gates of the enemy's Ohio Valley strongholds. The Cherokee offensive campaign paved the way for the Reverend Post's peace mission to the Ohio Valley Indians, which led to the relatively unopposed march of General Forbes' army to the ruins of Fort Duquesne (present-day Pittsburgh) late in 1758.