You may think you know some of the history of the French and Indian War and even of Fort Ligonier, but it's what's been found just 2 miles away from the fort that is shedding new light on the global conflict and George Washington.

At Fort Ligonier on Friday, excitement was in the air as it unveiled a new exhibit and talked about the ongoing archaeological work surrounding what is called George Washington's "friendly fire incident," which happened near the fort on Nov. 12, 1758.

Matt Gault, the director of education at Fort Ligonier, says that Washington wrote in his later years that this incident was the most dangerous of his military career.

"The friendly fire incident is two groups of Virginians who mistake each other in the woods," Gault said. "And Washington with his troops and Colonel George Mercer and his, when they collide, they don't realize it's friendly fire. And then whenever they finally do, Washington writes that he moves down the line, knocking muskets out of the way, yelling for a cease-fire."

It would be the last major military engagement Washington would have before the American Revolution. In all, some 40 soldiers were killed or went missing. Washington would resign his commission in the militia not long after this, and as time went on, this mishap of a battle was largely forgotten.

But just a few years ago, Dr. Jonathan Burns and a team of archaeologists and historians were able to accurately pinpoint the location of this historic incident on several acres of private property in Ligonier.

And with the landowner's permission, digging soon began and it continues to this day, with searchers finding bullets, buckles and buttons along with other items that are now on display at the new Friendly Fire Incident Exhibit at Fort Ligonier.

"This is extremely nationally significant," Dr. Burns said. "It's not only got a historic event, it's got a historic individual. It doesn't get any more significant than George Washington here in this county. And then the third aspect of significance that it hit was its potential to tell us more about history that we did not know through archaeology."

The exhibit is now open at the Fort Ligonier Museum. Tickets and more information can be found online.