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Friday, May 23, 2003

By Marylynne Pitz, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Young George Washington was touchy and quick-tempered but brave and ambitious. By age 23, Washington had been rebuffed by the French while serving as Virginia's ambassador in Pennsylvania, experienced defeat at Fort Necessity and survived three hours of murderous fighting during the routing of Maj. Gen. Edward Braddock and his troops on the Monongahela River in July 1755.

No wonder he was not eager to return to Pennsylvania to battle cunning Indians allied with wily Frenchmen.

But when Virginia leaders offered him the rank of colonel and command of the First Virginia Regiment, Washington agreed because he hoped to win an officer's commission in the British Army. That dream never materialized but Washington learned leadership from British Maj. Gen. John Forbes and his Swiss deputy, Col. Henry Bouquet.

Washington's early military career during the French and Indian War (1754-1763) is chronicled in a new film co-produced by Robert and Mary Matzen, whose production company, Paladin Communications, is in Bethel Park.

"George Washington's First War: The Battles for Fort Duquesne," premiered Wednesday in Oakland at Soldiers and Sailors National Military Museum & Memorial.

The film is timely because the 250th anniversary of the war, which began in 1754, arrives next year. Many of the conflict's major battles were fought in Western Pennsylvania.

About 1,000 people, including re-enactors in full regalia, Mayor Tom Murphy and State Rep. Jim Maher, R-Upper St. Clair, watched the 83-minute film. Maher praised the Matzens for their "grit and determination" in making the film. Dave Crawley of KDKA-TV served as master of ceremonies.

Like documentaries popularized by PBS filmmaker Ken Burns, the film uses maps, re-enactments, scenes painted by artists who know the period and knowledgeable historians who comment on the British and French efforts to control and colonize North America.

Shot on a budget of $225,000, the documentary was produced with funding from Pittsburgh Filmmakers. The Matzens, both of whom have 40-hour-a-week day jobs, worked 18-hour days for a year and a half to write, shoot and produce the film. The couple also spent nearly $50,000 of their own money on the project.

Overall, the film is a pleasure to watch, because it explains clearly why the British ultimately wrested control of Fort Duquesne and North America from the French.

The British built roads while the French relied on rivers, which made travel impossible if they dried up in summer or froze in winter. Midway through the war, the French began running out of supplies, and many Indian warriors, seeing that their allies were going to lose, switched sides and joined the British.

Actor Michael Rotthaar narrates, and his stentorian voice suits the historic events but occasionally verges on the melodramatic. Excellent music from the period, such as "George Washington's March," is provided by Chuck Krepley.

The film begins with scenes of Braddock's fallen soldiers at the Battle of Monongahela. Washington, leading a group of poorly trained, equipped and disciplined men, tries vainly to protect the frontier as French and Indian raiding parties terrorize settlers in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.

This particular chapter of the conflict, known as the "petite guerre" or "little war" is dramatized effectively with scenes of Indians setting fire to settlements, but the film would not have suffered if a few minutes of this footage had been cut.

Viewers are also educated about Indians' practice of taking settlers and adopting them into their tribes to replace fallen warriors.

A teenaged girl, Mary Jemison, is kidnapped during the petite guerre and spends the rest of her life with Seneca Indians after her parents are killed. Excerpts read from Jemison's journal give viewers an idea of how people's lives were altered forever during the war.

The Matzens did an excellent job of dramatizing two especially bad moments in the war -- a friendly fire incident at Fort Ligonier where 12 men were killed and 26 wounded, and the slaughter of Major James Grant's men outside Fort Duquesne on Sept. 14, 1758.

As Major Grant, Daniel Butchko, a re-enactor from Ligonier, is well cast. So is Bryan Cunning, who plays young George Washington. For anyone who loves local history, this is 83 minutes of film worth watching.

Details about the film are available at www.paladincom.com. The film can be purchased from Paladin Communications by dialing toll-free at 1-866-831-4840. A DVD version of the film costs $25, and a VHS version sells for $20. Local organizations interested in showing the film may contact Lynn Reno at 412-367-2927 to schedule a free screening.