A pivotal moment in American history involved an assassination attempt where a key figure narrowly escaped death in western Pennsylvania – and it wasn’t Donald J. Trump.
At just 21 years old, George Washington held the rank of major in the British Army when it happened.
The year was 1753.
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The United States as a nation was not yet established—Washington was making his way from Virginia to western Pennsylvania.
His mission? To avert war.
A monument located in Evans City, Pennsylvania, commemorates the assassination attempt on George Washington in December 1753. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Washington “was en route to Fort Le Boeuf, situated near Erie,” stated Jack Cohen, president of Butler County Tourism and board member of the 1753 George Washington Trail, in a recent phone discussion with Fox News Digital.
At the fort, he was set to confer with French troops “in hopes to prevent the French and Indian War,” Cohen explained.
He was charged with delivering a message to the French from Virginia Governor Robert Dinwiddie, demanding their withdrawal from the region.
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However, the French rejected the notion of departing – and a widespread conflict erupted approximately six months after Washington’s visit to Fort Le Boeuf.
Before this escalation, on December 27, 1753, Washington and his guide, a surveyor named Christopher Gist, were navigating the Venango Indian Trail on their way back to Virginia when they decided to rest for the night at Connoquenessing Creek in Pennsylvania, according to Cohen.
The assassination attempt on Washington is artistically depicted in this 2007 painting titled “The First Shot,” currently displayed in the Butler County Courthouse. (Deac Mong)
This portrait of George Washington, created by Constable-Hamilton in 1794, depicts him as he later became the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
During their stay, they developed a friendship with an “Indian guide” who promised to assist them in navigating the wilderness.
Unbeknownst to them, however, the “Indian guide” was in league with the French troops, who were not pleased by Washington’s presence.
The man “loaded his musket and fired at Washington, just missing him.”
According to Cohen, the man “loaded his musket and shot at Washington and narrowly missed him,” describing the eerie assassination attempt.
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“They were about to pursue him when Gist suggested, ‘Let him go.’ They relented and continued on their journey the following morning.”
Nearly 300 years later, the chilling ordeal faced by Washington is memorialized by two markers in what is now Evans City, Pennsylvania – located not far from the Butler Farm Show venue where Trump also narrowly avoided death recently.
Evans City, where founding father George Washington nearly lost his life, is roughly six miles from the Butler Farm Show location, where former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt on July 13, 2024. (Deac Mong; Google Earth; AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The site of Washington’s targeted assassination attempt indicates the gunman was “less than 15 paces away” from him when the shot was fired.
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Presently, Cohen and his fellow board members are advocating for the historical route taken by Washington to be designated as a National Historic Trail by the National Parks Service.
There are ongoing initiatives to have the route traversed by Washington in 1753 established as a National Historic Trail by the National Parks Service. Pictured is part of the trail. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“It deserves national recognition, given that George Washington was nearly assassinated here,” he expressed to Fox News Digital.
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“This event took place right in Butler County.”
An overview of the trail on which George Washington evaded an assassination attempt in present-day Evans City, Pennsylvania on July 26, 2024. This site is approximately six miles from the Butler Farm Show, where Trump survived an assassination attempt. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
In present-day Evans City, Pennsylvania, George Washington—who later became the first president of the United States—avoided an assassination attempt at the young age of 21. This site is roughly six miles from the Butler Farm Show. The above photograph was captured on July 26, 2024. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Just over 270 years after Washington’s brush with death, on July 13, 2024—around six miles from the spot of his near-fatal encounter—former President Trump was also spared when a bullet grazed his right ear.
Jack Cohen noted the striking parallels between the two incidents.
Former President Donald Trump sustained a gunshot wound to his right ear from a would-be attacker in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (Alex Brandon)
The attempt on Washington’s life bore an uncanny resemblance to the ordeal faced by Trump, Cohen remarked in conversation with Fox News Digital, highlighting the chilling similarities between the two events.
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“Isn’t it fascinating?” Cohen exclaimed.
