In a rare meadow among the frontier forests, British soldiers began raising a small stockade in May 1754 after Lt. Col. George Washington and 40 Virginia militia had skirmished with a small French detachment nearby on May 28. Expecting revenge from a large French army, Washington decided to build a fort of necessity to defend his 130-man regiment. He chose a site in the field ahead, where his soldiers split oak logs in half and set them upright in a large circle about 53 feet across. Inside the stockade they built a 14-foot-square log storehouse, and outside they began digging trenches in the boggy ground. The fort was finished in five days. By mid-June, reinforcements increased the British force to almost 400, along with promises that more troops were coming. While waiting for further orders, Washington kept most of his men busy extending the British military road, and Virginia troops pushed it 13 miles beyond Fort Necessity. On June 28, Indian scouts reported that a French and Indian force was advancing south. Hoping to find supplies and reinforcements, the British retreated back over Chestnut Bridge to Fort Necessity from June 28 to 30. Leaving Fort Duquesne, 600 French and 100 Indians traveled up the Monongahela River from June 28 to 30, then marched along Redstone Creek and up the British military road to Fort Necessity from July 1 to 3.