Young Washington

In 1743, after the death of his father Augustine Washington, George Washington meets his older half-brother Lawrence. Because of his father's death, Washington is not given a formal education. Lawrence tutors his half-brother in land surveying. In 1753 Williamsburg, Virginia, George is denied commission into the British Army due to his colonial background. Thanks to Lawrence's recommendation, lieutenant governor Robert Dinwiddie signs George into the Virginia Militia, where he is assigned to travel to the Ohio Country to deliver a message to the French demanding they leave. Before he departs, George arrives uninvited at Thomas Fairfax's plantation Belvoir. There, Washington meets Sally Cary, Thomas Gage, and surveyor Christopher Gist.

Along the Ohio Country, Washington and Gist meet Mingo warriors led by Haudenosaunee leader "Half-King" Tanacharison. Gist saves Washington's life when he pulls him from the freezing Allegheny River after they have fallen off a makeshift raft. They deliver the message to Joseph Jumonville, who refuses to leave. Since the French have refused to leave, Dinwiddie promotes Washington as major to lead the Virginia Regiment, where they are joined by Tanacharison's warriors. Tanacharison seeks vengeance against the French for his father's murder. Despite George's warnings, Tanacharison and his warriors attack the French, and during the battle, Jumonville is killed.

Back in Williamsburg, Dinwiddie condemns Washington for escalating a war with the French. Meanwhile, Washington learns Sally has been engaged to his rival George William Fairfax. At Fort Necessity, Washington is given the rank of colonel, following Joshua Fry's death, and joins British soldiers under the command of James Mackay. On July 3, 1754, French forces led by Louis Coulon de Villiers (brother of Joseph Jumonville) force the garrison to retreat, and during the assault on the fort, Gist is killed. As the French have won a decisive victory, Washington is forced to surrender and unwittingly signs a document admitting responsibility for assassinating Joseph Jumonville. The French set fire to Fort Necessity.

Demoralized, and after Lawrence's death from tuberculosis, Washington resigns from the Virginia Regiment. His mother, Mary Ball Washington renews her son's belief that he is protected by Providence and to learn from his failure. In 1755, George decides to re-enlist into the regiment, led by British General Edward Braddock. Serving as an aide-de-camp, George joins the Braddock Expedition to retake Fort Duquesne, though he falls ill with dysentery.

On July 9, 1755, Braddock's forces are ambushed by French and Canadian troops under Captain Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu. During the battle, George wakes up and joins the British forces; thinking that Braddock has called for a retreat, he goes to help his men of Virginia. Washington finds Braddock, who has been shot and is dying, and is told that he did not call for a retreat and that he must rally the remaining men. Washington finds the men of Virginia and rallies the army to form a rear guard, allowing the British to retreat safely. On the battlefield, George sustains four bullet holes in his coat, one bullet hole in his hat, and two horses shot down from beneath him. Although the British have lost the battle, George's courage under fire contributes to his reputation that he was protected by Providence. In August 1755, Dinwiddie, impressed by his valor, appoints George as colonel and commander of the Virginia Regiment.