WASHINGTON, DC.- “Clash of Empires: The British, French and Indian War, 1754-1763,” which opened in December 2006, has been extended to July 15 at the Smithsonian’s International Gallery. The exhibition explores the three-sided struggle for the possession of North America by the British, French and American Indians and its worldwide effects. The Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center organized this exhibition in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution and the Canadian War Museum/Museum of Civilization.

More than 250 years ago, a tense struggle between Britain, France and American Indian nations for control of North America exploded into the French and Indian War. “Clash of Empires” tells the story of the war that gave 22-year-old George Washington his first taste of military experience and set American colonists on the road to revolution.

“Clash of Empires” opened at the Heinz History Center in May 2005 before traveling to the Canadian War Museum/Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, where it closed in November 2006. The exhibit has won a number of national awards, including an award of merit from the American Association for State and Local History.

“Clash of Empires” features nearly 300 rare artifacts on loan from 63 lenders around the world, including nine life-like models that allow visitors to come face-to-face with history. These models represent the war’s most fascinating characters, including Seneca leader Tanaghrisson; an angry French officer burning his own flag; and a distraught young George Washington after he signed the Treaty of Fort Necessity.