FO RT DU QUE S NE
AN D
FO RT P ITT
E ARLY N A MES
OF
P I TT S BURG HS T RE E T S
F OU R T H E D I T I ON
P U BL I S HE D
D AU G HT E R S
O F T HE
BY
A M E R I C A N R E ! O LU T I O N
v
7
A LLE G HE NY C O U N T Y
RE
E D
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P E NN S Y L! A N I A
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WI TT I N G
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T b is li ttle s ke len
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S ep le m ber 1 8 98
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rom
B
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P a rk m a n
C r a ig
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eer His lo ry
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F o rt
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HR O N
C
17 5 3
—T h
.
F ren
e
b egi n
ch
O LO GY
to
b uil d
.
of fo rt s
c h a in
a
to
eu
fo rc e th e i r b oun da ri e s
—
c
m
W a s h i ngton v i s i t s F o rt L e B o e uf
D e e b e r 1 1 1 7 53
J anu a ry 17 5 4 — W a s h i ngton l a n d s on W a i n w r i ght s I s l an d
i n t h e A ll e gh e ny ri v e r —
R e comm e n ds th a t a fo rt b e
b u i lt a t t h e F o rk s of t h e O h i o
—
F o rk s of t h e
17 5 4
A fo rt b e gu n at t h e
F e b ru a ry 1 7
b y C a p t W i ll i a m T re nt
Ohi o
—
i
l
E n s i gn W ard w i th th i rty th re e m e n
s ur
A pr
1 6 17 54
p ri s e d h e re b y t h e F re nch an d s u rre n d e r s
J un e 17 5 4 — F o rt D u q u e s n e co m p l e t e d
M ay 2 8 17 5 4 —W a s h i ngton a tt a c k s Coulo n d e J umonv i ll e
at Gre at M e a d o w s
J uly 9 1 7 5 5 —B ra ddo c k s d e f e a t
A p ril 1 7 5 8 —
B ri g G e n
J ohn F o rbe s t ak e s co m m a n d
A u g u s t 17 5 8 —
F o r t B e d fo r d b u i lt
—
t
F o rt L i gon i e r b u i lt
O c o b e r 17 58
N o v e m b e r 2 4 1 7 5 8 —F o rt D u q u e s n e d e s t roy e d b y t h e re
t re at i ng F re nch
—
N ov
17 5 8
F o rb e s t ak e s p o s s e s s i on
embe r 25
Gen
A u g u s t 17 5 9
F o rt P i tt b e gun b y G en J ohn S t an w i x
M ay 17 6 3 —Con s p i ra cy of P ont i a c
J ul y 17 6 3 —F o r t P i tt b e s i e g e d b y I n di an s
17 6 4 —
Col He n ry B ou q u e t b u i l d s t h e R e dou b t
—
t
b
1
1
7
7
2
Oc o er 0
F o rt P i tt ab a n don e d b y t h e B ri t i s h
J a nu a ry 17 7 4 —D r J a m e s Conn e lly o ccu p i e s F o rt P i tt W i th
! i rg i n i a m i l i t i a an d ch a ng e s n a m e to F o rt D unmo re
J uly 1 7 7 6 —I n di a n conf e re nc e a t F o rt P i tt —P ont i a c an d
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G uy a s ut a
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—
B ri g
17 7 7
Han d t ak e s comm an d of t h e fo rt
—
17 7 8
G e n M c I n t o s h s ucc e e ds Han d
N ov e m b e r 17 8 1 —
G en
W i ll i a m I rv i n e t ak e s comm a n d
M ay 1 9 17 9 1 —M a! I s aa c C ra i g re p o rt s F o rt P i tt i n a
ru i nou s con d i t i o n —B u i l d s F o rt L a f a y e tt e
—
T h e h i s to ri c s i t e p u rch a s e d b y G e n
t
m
b
4
1
805
S ep e
er
J a m e s O Hara
—
M rs M ary E S ch e nl e y g ra n ddaught e r of
A p ri l 1 189 4
G en J a m e s O Hara p re s e nt s Col B ou q u e t s R e d ou b t
to t h e D aught e rs of t h e A m e ri c an R e volut i on of
A ll e gh e ny County P e nn sylv an i a
J un e 1 ,
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Gen
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F O R T D U Q U E SN E
C onfl i ct i n g Cl a i m s of
N o rt h
O
nc e a n d
A m e ri c a
F
ra
E n g l an d
in
.
m a p s of Br i t i sh Amer i c a in th e earl i er p art
of t he ei ght e enth c entury one s e es th e e ast
ern c o ast from Ma i n e t o Ge orgia g ashed w i th t en
or tw elve c ol or e d p at ches v ery difi er en t i n si z e and
sha p e and de fin ed m or e or l ess d i st i nctly by d i v i d
in g lin es which i n s om e c as es are p rol on ged west
ward un til th ey r e a ch th e Miss i ssip p i o r even cross
i t and stretch inde fin itely to w ards th e Pa c i fic
Th es e p at che s ar e th e B r i tish Provinc es and th e
w e s tern prolon gation of th eir b o un dary repr es ents
their s everal claims to vast int er i or tra cts founded
o n an cient grants but n ot ma de g o o d by o c cup ation
ii
5“
or vind i c ated b y an exertion o p ower
E a ch prov i nc e r ema in e d i n j e alous i s olation
b u sie d w ith its own work growin g in stren gth i n
th e ca p a city of s elf rul e in th e spir i t of in dep en d
en c e and stubb ornly resistin g all exerc i s e of
auth ority fr om w i th out
If th e English sp eakin g
p opul ation flowed w estward it w as i n ob e d i ence t o
n atur al l aws for th e K i n g did n ot a i d th e move
m ent an d th e royal Governor ha d n o authority t o
do so
Th e p ow er of th e c olonies was that of a
ri s i n g flo o d sl owly invadin g and c onquer i n g by the
unc ons c i ous forc e of it s own growing volume u nl e s s
m ean s b e foun d to hold it b a ck b y dams an d em
ban k m en t s w i th i n a p p o inte d l i mits
N
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6
In the French c ol onies it w as different Here th e
repre sentatives of th e cro w n w ere m en br ed i n the
atmo s ph ere o bro a d amb ition an d m asterful far
rea chin g enter p r i se Th ey stud i ed th e stron g and
w eak p oint s of the i r rivals and with a c autious
fore c ast and a dar i ng en ergy s et th ems elves t o
th e task o defe ating th em If th e En glish c olonies
w er e c omp aratively stron g i n numb ers th e s e num
b ers c ould n ot b e brought into a ction whil e if
French forc es w ere sm all th ey w ere vi gorou s ly
c ommande d and always re ady at a word It was
union c onfrontin g d i vi s ion en ergy c onfrontin g
ap athy an d military c entralization op p osed t o in
du st r ial dem o cra cy and o r a tim e th e advant a ge
w a s all o n o n e sid e
Y e t in v i ew o w h at Fran c e
h a d a chi eved o th e p atient gallantry of h er e x
l
r
r
e
s
o
th e z eal o h er missi on aries th e a dv
en
p
turons h ardiho o d o h er bush ran ger s reve al i ng t o
m ankind the ex i st enc e of this wilderness world
whil e h er rivals p lo dded at th e i r workshops the i r
farms th eir fisheries ; in v i ew of all th i s h er p re
tensions wer e mo derat e an d r e ason able c om p are d
to th ose of En glan d
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F o rk s
of
t he O
W
hio —
.
as
h i n g ton s
’
F i rs t ! i s i t
.
The Tre aty of U tre cht ha d de cide d th at th e
Iro quois o r Fiv e Nations were Br i tish subj e cts ;
ther efor e it was ins i ste d that all c oun tries c on
quere d b y th em b elonge d to the Br i t i sh crown Th e
rang e of the Iro quo i s war p arties was p ro d i g i ous
an d th e Engl i sh laid cl a i m to every m o un tain forest
and p ra i r i e wh er e an Iro quo i s ha d taken a s c alp
Th i s wo ul d give th em not only all b etw een th e
Alleghan ies an d th e Miss i ssi p p i but all b etween
Ott awa and Hur on l e aving noth in g t o Franc e b ut
th e p art now o c cu pi ed by th e Prov in c e of Queb ec
Th e Treaty of U tre cht in 1 7 1 3 and th at of A i x
la Cha p e ll e in 1 7 4 8 w er e su pp osed t o s ettl e th e dis
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b o un dar i es of th e Fr ench and En gl i sh p o s s es
s i ons in Am er i c a ; Fran c e h owever re p ent e d of h er
enforc ed c onc essions an d cla i med th e whol e Ameri
can c ontin ent a s h ers e x c e p t a n arrow stri p o sea
c o ast T o est ablish this b oundary it was resolve d
t o bu i ld a line of forts from C an ada to th e Mi s s is
si ppi followin g the Oh i o for th ey p erc eived th at
”
th e F orks of th e Ohio
so stran gely n e gle ct ed b y
the English form e d t o g eth er with N i a gara th e key
th e gre at West
o
Th i s chain o forts b e gan at N i a gara ; then an
o th er wa s built o s quare d l o gs at Pres q ue Isl e
n ow Er i e ! and a third c all ed Fort Le B o euf on
!
wh at is now c all e d Fren ch Gr eek Here the work
sto pp e d o r a tim e and L a gardeu r de St Pierr e
went i nt o w i nt er q uart ers w i th a sm all garrison
at Fort L e B o e uf
On the 1 1 t h o D e c emb er 1 7 5 3 Maj or Georg e
Wash i ngton W i th Chr i st oph er G i st as guide
Abraham Van Braam a s i nterpret er and s everal
i
w o o ds m en fi p res ent e d hims elf as a b ear er of a
l etter from Gov ern or D inwiddie of V i rginia to the
c omm ander of Fort Le B o euf He w as k i ndly re
ce i e d
In fa ct n o form o c ourt esy was o mitte d
dur in g th e thre e days o c cupie d by St Pi err e in
fram i n g h i s reply to Governo r D i nw i ddie s letter
This l etter ex p ressed aston i shment th at h i s !
St
P i erre s ! tro o p s sho ul d bu il d forts u p on lan ds so
notor i ously known t o b e th e p ro p erty of Gre at
Brita in and demande d the i r i mmediate and p e ac e
abl e dep artur e In his answer St Pi err e said he
h ad a cte d in a c c ordanc e w i th th e c ommands of his
gen eral th at he wo ul d forward Governor D in
w i dd i e s l ett er t o th e Mar q u i s Du q uesn e an d awa i t
h i s o rders
p ut e d
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The
f
t s
oodsm n
nd n T d
H n
n
u r ri n a n d
W i l liam
te T h un
he e w
e
w e re B a r a b y C
M a c G u ire , I
ia
ra
e rs ;
an d
e ry S te w a r
K i g, M o n o k a t o o ch a , J e s k a k a k e , W h i
; Ha
er
d the H
m s
n ns
Ja e
Je k i
d er an
name s
lf
o
n
unt
.
t
8
f
It was on his return j ourney th at Wash ington
twic e es cap ed death
First from the gun o a
Fren ch Indian ; th en in attem p t in g t o cross th e
Alle gheny which was fill ed with i c e o n a raft that
he an d his c omp anions h ad hastily c onstruct e d w i th
th e h elp of one h at chet b et w een th em
He was
thrown into the r i v er an d narro w ly es c ap e d dro w n
in g ; but Gist suc c e ede d i n dra ggin g him o u t of th e
water and the p arty lande d o n Wain right s Island
ab out opp osite th e foot o Thirty th i rd Stre et On
m akin g his rep ort Washington re commende d that
”
a fort b e built at th e Forks of th e Ohio
M en and m on ey were n e c essary to make go o d
Gov ernor D inwiddie s dem and th at th e French
eva cuate the t erritory th ey ha d appropriated ; th es e
h e foun d i t di ficul t to g et He dispatche d l etters
orders c o ur iers from N ew Jers ey to S outh Carol i na
asking aid
Massa chusetts an d N ew Y ork w ere
urged t o m ak e a feint a gainst Canada but a s the
l an d b el onge d e i th er to Pennsylvania o r V i rg inia
t h e oth er c olon i es did n ot c are to vote money t o
d efend th em
In Pennsylvania th e p la cid ob st i na cy o th e
Quakers w as mat ch e d b y the stolid obst i na cy o
th e German farmers ; notwithst andin g Pennsylvania
voted sixty thousand p ounds and rais ed twelve hun
dred m en at eighte en p enc e p er day All Dinw i ddie
c oul d muster el s e w h ere was the prom i s e of thr e e or
four hundr e d m en from North Carolina two c om
p anics from N ew Y ork an d on e from S outh Caro
lina with what re cru i ts h e c oul d gather in Vir gin i a
In ac c ordanc e with Wa s hington s r e c omm endation
C apt William Trent on c e an Indian trader of the
b etter class n ow a c ommissioned o fic er h a d b een
s ent w i th a c om p any of b a ckwo od s men t o build a
fort at th e Forks of th e Ohi o and i t was hop ed he
w o ul d fort ify hims elf s u ficiently t o hold th e p osi
tion Trent b e gan the fo rt but l eft it with forty
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9
m en un der Ens i gn War d and went b a ck t o j oin
Wash in gton
The r e cruits gathere d i n Virgin i a
w ere to b e c omm ande d by Joshua Fry with Wash
in gt o n as s e c on d i n c o mm and
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,
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F o rt
D u qu e s n e
—W
.
as
h i n g ton
at
F o rt
N e c e ss i ty
.
f
th e 1 7 th of A p r i l 1 7 54 Ward was sur p r i s e d
by th e a pp earanc e of a swarm o c an o es an d b at e au x
d escend in g th e Alle gheny c arryin g a c c ordin g t o
Ward ab out on e thousan d Fren chmen w h o l anded
p lante d th eir c ann on an d summ on ed th e Ensign to
surrender He p rom p tly c ompli ed an d was allowe d
to de p art with all his m en Th e Fren ch s o on de
m olis h e d the unfin i sh e d fort an d bu ilt in it s p la c e a
much lar ger and b ett er o n e c allin g it Fort D u
q u esn e in h on or o th e Mar q uis Duquesn e then
Governor of C anada
Washin gton w i th h i s deta chment of ra g ge d r e
cru it s
without t ents an d s c ar c ely arm e d was at
Will s Cr eek ab out on e hun dre d an d forty mil es
”
fro m th e Forks o the Oh i o
and h e was de e p ly
cha grine d wh en Ward j oin e d him an d r ep orte d the
loss o th e fort D inwidd i e th en order e d Washin g
t on to a dvanc e In order t o do so a ro a d must b e
cut for wa gons an d c ann on through a dens e forest ;
two m ount ain ranges must b e cr ossed and innu
m er ab le hills an d stre ams
T owards th e end of May
h e rea ch e d Gre at M eadows w i th o n e hundre d and
fifty m en Wh il e enc am p e d h er e Washington l earne d
that a deta chment of Fren ch ha d march e d fro m
the fort in order to atta ck him They met i n a ro cky
h o llow and a short fight en sue d Co ul on de Jum on
v i ll e th e c ommander was k i lled ; all th e French
w ere t ak en prisoners or kille d exc ept on e Canadian
This skirmi sh was the b e ginnin g o th e war Wash
in gt on then a dvanc e d as far as Christo p h er Gi s t s
s ettlem ent twelve or fourte en mil es o n th e oth er
On
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10
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side o th e Laurel R i dge He s o on h eard that stron g
reinforc ements had b een s ent t o Fort Du quesne an d
that an other deta chment was even th en on th e march
under Co ul on d e Vill i ers s o o n J un e 28t h h e b e gan
to retre at N o t havin g enough horse s th e m en ha d
to c arry the b a gga ge o n th eir b a cks and dra g nin e
swivels over miserabl e ro ads
Two days brought
them to Gre at Me adows and th ey ha d but o n e full
day t o stren gth en th e slight fortific ation they h ad
mad e th er e and which Washin gton name d Fort
Ne c essity
The fightin g b e gan at ab out 1 1 and laste d o r
nine hours ; th e English notwithstanding th eir half
starve d c ondition and th eir w ant o amm u nition
k e ep in g the i r ground a ga in st doubl e the i r numb er
Wh en darkn ess c am e a p arl ey was sounde d t o w hich
Washington at first p aid no attention but when th e
French re p eated th e p rop osal and r equeste d th at
an o fic er might b e sent h e c o u l d refus e no long er
Th ere were but two in Washington s c ommand who
c oul d understand Fren ch and on e of th e m was
w oun ded Capt Van B ra am a Dutchman a ct ed as
int erpreter
Th e articl es were signe d ab out mid
ni ght The Engl i sh tro o p s w ere to mar ch out with
drums b eatin g c arryin g w ith th em all th e i r pro p
Th e prisoners taken i n the Jumonvill e a fi air
er t y
wer e t o b e r ele ased Capt Van B raam and Maj or
Stob o to b e d etaine d as hosta ges for their s afe r e
turn t o Fort Duquesne
Th i s defe at was d i s astrous to th e English Th er e
was n ow not an English la g w avin g west of th e
All e gh an ies
V i ll i ers went b a ck exultant t o For t
Du quesne and Washin gt on b egan h i s wretch e d
march to Will s Cre ek N o horses n o c attl e most of
the b a ggage must b e l eft b ehind whil e th e s i ck an d
woun de d mu s t b e c arrie d ov er th e All e ghan ies on
th e b a cks of the i r weary half s tarve d c omra des An d
th i s was th e Fourth of Jul y 1 7 54
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11
Th e c ond i t i ons of th e surrender w er e never c ar
ri e d o u t Th e p r i son ers t ak en i n th e sk i rmish wi th
Ju m on ille wer e n ot returne d
Van Bra am and
Stob o wer e detaine d for s om e t i m e at Fort Duquesn e
th en s ent t o Qu eb e c where th ey were k e p t p ri s oners
fo r several ye ars Whil e a pris on er on p arole Maj or
Stob o m ad e go o d us e o his op p ortun i ties b y a c
qu ain t in g h i mself w i th th e n eighb orho o d ; afterwards
h e was ke p t i n cl os e c onfinem ent an d en dure d gre at
h ardsh ip s ; but in th e spr i ng o 1 7 5 9 h e suc c e ede d i n
m akin g his es c a p e i n th e m o st m i ra cul ous m anner
While Wolfe was b esie g in g Queb e c h e r eturn e d fro m
Halifax and it is said it w as h e who guide d the
troop s up th e n arrow wo o de d p ath t o th e Hei ghts o f
Abrah am Stran g e th at on e t ak en p r i soner in a f ar
distant prov i nc e in a skirmi s h wh i ch b e gan th e war
sh o ul d gu i de th e gallant Wolfe t o the v i ctory at
Queb ec wh i ch virtually close d th e war i n Am er i c a
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B rad doc k
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Noth in g of im p ortan c e was don e i n V i rgin i a and
Pennsylvan i a until th e arr i val o Bra ddo ck i n Feb
ru ary
1 7 55
b r i n gin g with h i m two re g i m ents
Gove rn or D i nw i ddi e hail e d his arr i val w i th j oy ho p
i n g th at h i s troubl es wo ul d n ow c ome t o an en d Of
Braddo ck Govern or D i n w i dd i e s S e cretary Sh i rl ey
wr ot e t o Governor Morr i s
We h av e a general
m ost j ud i ciously c hos en fo r b e i n g dis q ual i fie d fo r
”
th e s erv i c e h e is in i n alm ost every r es p e ct
Bra d
d o ck issue d a c all to th e pr ovin c i al gov ernors t o m e et
him i n c oun cil wh i ch was an swere d b y Dinw i ddie of
V i rg in i a D obb s of North Carolin a Sh ar p e of Mary
l and Morris o Pennsylvania D elan ey of New Y ork
and Shirley of Massa chusetts The r esult w as a p l an
t o att a ck th e Fr ench at fo u r p oints at onc e Bra d
d o ck was to a dvanc e on Fort Du q uesn e Fo rt
N i a gara was to b e re duc e d Crown Po i nt se iz ed an d
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12
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a b o dy o men from N e w Engl an d t o c a p ture B e au s e
j our and Arc a dia
We w ill follo w Bra ddo ck
In h i s c ase promp t
a ct i on w as o the utmo st imp ortanc e but this was
i mp oss i bl e as th e p e opl e refu s ed t o furni s h th e n e c es
sary supplie s Franklin w ho was Po stmaster Gen
eral in Pennsylvania w as visitin g B raddo ck s c am p
with h i s s o n wh en the rep ort o th e a gents sent to
c olle ct w a gons was b rought in
The numb er was
s o wholly inade quate th at Braddo ck storm ed say
in g th e exp edition was at an en d Frankl i n s aid it
was a pity h e h ad n o t l anded in Pennsylvani a w h ere
h e mi ght have foun d h or s es and w a gons more p len t i
ful Bra ddo ck b e gg e d him t o use his i nfluen c e t o
obtain th e ne c e s sary supply an d Franklin o n his r e
turn t o Pe n n sylvania issued an address to the farm
e rs
In about two weeks a suffic i ent number was
furnish e d an d at l ast th e m ar ch b e gan He r ea ched
Will s Cr e ek on May 1 0 1 7 5 5 wh ere fortifications
ha d b een ere ct e d b y the c ol onial tro ops and c alled
Fort Cumb erlan d Her e Bra ddo ck assemble d a forc e
numb erin g ab out twenty t w o hun dre d
Although
Braddo ck de s pis ed th e p rov in cial tro o p s an d th e
Indians he h onore d Col George Washington wh o
c ommande d the tro op s from Vir g inia by p la c in g
him on his sta
A m onth elaps e d b efor e this army was r eady t o
l eav e Fort Cumb erl a n d Thre e hun dre d ax em en led
th e way t h e lon g lon g train of p a ck horses w a gons
and c annon foll ow in g as b e s t th ey c o ul d alon g th e
n arrow tra ck over st u mps and ro cks and ro ots T h e
ro ad cut was but twelve feet wide so that th e l ine
o
march was s om etim e s fo ur mil es l ong an d th e
di ficult i es in the w ay wer e so gr e at th at it was im
p oss i bl e t o m ove more than thre e mil es a day
On th e 1 8t h o June th ey r ea ched Littl e Me adows
n ot thirty mile s from Fort Cumb erl and w h ere a re
p ort rea ch e d th em that five hundred regul ars were on
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13
their way t o r einforc e F ort Duquesn e Washingt on
a dvise d B raddo ck t o le ave th e h e avy b a gga g e and
p ress forward an d foll owi n g this a dvic e the next
day Jun e 1 9 t h th e a dvanc e c or p s of ab out twelve
h undred sold i ers with what artill ery was thought
i ndisp ensabl e thirty wa gons an d a numb er of p a ck
hors es b e gan i ts march ; but the delays were such
that it did n ot re a ch th e m outh of Turtl e Cre ek until
July 7 t h Th e dista n c e to Fort Du quesne by a di
r e ct rout e was ab out eight miles but th e way was
d i fic ul t an d p eril ous so Bra ddo ck cro s sed th e
Mon on gahela an d r e cro ss e d farther down at one
o clo ck
Wash i ngton des crib es the s cen e at th e ford with
a dmirat i on Th e mus i c th e b ann ers th e mount e d
o fic ers th e tro o p s o light c avalry the n aval det a ch
ment th e r e d c o ate d re gulars th e blue c o ated Vir
i
n
n
i
a
s the wa gons and tumb r i ls th e c ann on how i t
g
z ers and c o ehorns
th e tra i n of p a ck hors es an d th e
dr ov es of c attl e p assed in lon g p ro c ession through
th e r i p p l in g sh allows an d s low ly en t er e d th e for est
Fort Duquesn e was a stron g l i ttle fort c om p a ctly
bu i lt of l o gs clos e t o the p oint where th e w at ers o
th e Alle gheny an d Monon gah ela unite
Tw o sides
were p r ote cted by th ese wat ers and th e oth er two b y
ravelins a d i tch an d gla c i s and a c overe d way en
cl os ed by a massive sto ckad e Th e garrison c onsisted
of a few c om p ani es of re gulars and Canadians an d
e i ght hundre d Indian warriors un der th e c omman d
of C on t reoeu r The capta i ns under him were B eau
j eu Dumas and L ign eris
When th e s couts br ought the i nt elli genc e that th e
En glish were within si x l ea gues of th e fort th e
Fren ch i n gre at e x citement an d alarm de cide d to
mar ch at onc e and ambus c ade th em at th e ford Th e
Indians at first r efus e d to m ov e b ut B e auj eu dressed
as on e of th em fin ally persuaded them to m arch and
th ey file d o alon g the forest trail th at l e d t o the ford
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14
f
three hundre d re gulars an d C anadians
o
—
th e Monon gahela s i x hun dred Indian s an d ab out
Th ey did not
rea ch th e ford in t i me to m ake th e atta ck th ere
.
.
B ra dd oc k
’
D e f e at
s
.
Braddo ck a dvan c ed c arefully through th e d ense
and silent forest wh en suddenly this s il enc e w as
broken by the war who o p of th e sava g es o who m
n o t on e was vi s ibl e
Ga ge s c olumn whe el ed delib
e rat ely into l in e and fire d ; an d at first th e En gli s h
se emed t o c arry everythin g b efor e them
o r th e
C ana dian s wer e s e iz ed by a p anic an d fle d ; but th e
s c arlet c oats of th e En glish furn i sh e d go o d targets
for th eir invisibl e enem i es
Th e Indians yell in g
th e i r war cries swarm ed in th e forest but were s o
c om p l etely hidden in gul lies an d ravines b ehind trees
and bushes and fallen trunks that only the trees
were struck b y th e voll ey aft er voll ey fired b y th e
English wh o at last broke ranks and huddl e d t o
gether i n a b e wi ldere d m a s s B oth m en and o fic ers
were i gnorant o th i s m od e o warfar e
Th e Vir
gin ian s alone w er e e qual t o the emergen cy an d might
hav e h el d th e enemy in ch e ck b ut wh en Braddo ck
foun d them hid ing b ehind tr e es and bush es as th e
In dians h e b e c am e s o furious at this seeming w ant
of c oura ge an d dis ciplin e th at he ordere d them with
oaths t o j o i n the line even b eatin g th em with h i s
sword th ey r e p lyin g t o his thr e ats an d c omm an ds
th at they woul d fight i th ey c oul d see any on e t o
fight with Th e gr oun d was strewn w i th th e dead
and dy ing m addene d h orses wer e pl un gin g ab out
th e ro ar of musketry an d c ann on an d ab ove all the
yells that c am e from th e thro ats of six hundred in
v i s i ble s ava ges form ed a cho as of angu i sh and terro r
i ndes crib abl e
Braddo ck s aw th at all was l ost an d ordere d a r e
tre at but ha d s c arcely don e s o wh en a bullet pierce d
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16
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sh ells were destroye d b arrel s o gunp owd er w ere
stave d and th e c ontents thrown into a brook and
p rovisi ons s c att er ed ab out throu gh th e woo ds an d
swamps wh i le th e enemy with n o th ou g ht o pur
suit ha d return e d t o Fort Duquesn e Braddo ck died
on
the 1 3th of July 1 7 55 and was burie d on th e
ro ad ; m en hors es and wa gons passing over the grave
of their de a d c ommander as th ey retreate d t o Fort
Cumb erlan d thus e fa cin g every tra c e of i t l e s t it
shoul d b e dis c overed b y th e In d i ans and the b ody
mut i lated Thus ende d th e attem p t to c apture Fort
Duquesn e an d for ab out thr e e ye ars whil e th e storm
of bl o o d and h avo c r a ge d elsewhere that p o int was
un d i sturb ed
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B ri g a di e r G e n e ra l
F o rb e s
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v
In th e m e ant i m e D i nwiddi e ha d gon e a n ew go
ern o r wa s in his pla ce
wh i l e i n th e p lans of Pitt
th e c a p tur e of Fort Du quesn e h eld an im p ortant
p la c e Briga dier Gen eral John F orb es was charged
with it He was S cot ch b y b i rth a well bre d man of
th e w orld and unlik e B ra ddo ck b y his c onduct to
ward the p rov incial tro ops c ommanded b oth the
resp ect and afi e ct ion of th e c olon i sts He only r e
s emble d Braddo ck in his det ermin e d resolut i on but
h e did n o t h es i tat e to emb ra c e mo des of warfar e
th at Braddo ck woul d h ave s corne d He wrot e to
Bo quet : I hav e b e en l ong of your O p i nion of e qui p
ping numb ers of our men lik e th e sava ges and I
fan cy Col B urd of Virgin i a has most of his m en
e q uip p ed in that mann er In this c ountry w e must
l earn our art of war fr om th e In d i ans or any on e
els e wh o h as c arried it on here
He arrive d in
Phila delphia in April 1 7 58 but it w as th e end of
Jun e b efore his troop s wer e r e ady t o march His
forc e c on s ist e d of Montgomery s Highlan ders twelve
hundred strong ; Prov i nci als from P ennsylvan i a V i r
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H E N R Y B O U QU E T
.
17
f
ginia Maryl and N orth C arolina and a det achment
Royal Americ ans ; amounting t o ab out s i x or s even
o
th ou s and m en Th e Royal Am er i c ans were German s
from Penn s ylvania th e C olon el in chief b i eng L or d
Amherst C olon el Comman dant Fre derick Haldi
m an d an d c onspi cuous am on g th em was Lieute n ant
C olon e l H e n ry B ouqu e t a br a e an d a c c ompli s h e d
S w i s s w h o c omm ande d o n e o th e four b att alions
whi ch th e re g i ment was c o mp os ed
o
Gen eral Forb e s was detain e d in Phil adelphi a by a
p ainful and dan ger ous malady
B ouquet a dvanc e d
and en camp ed at R ay s t ow n now B edford
Then
ar ose th e q uest i on o op enin g a n ew ro ad through
Pennsylvan i a t o Fort Duquesn e o r follo win g t h e
ol d ro ad m a de b y B ra ddo ck Washington w h o c o m
m an de d th e Vir ginian s for etol d th e ruin o th e e x
e
i
i
unle s s B raddo ck s ro a d w as cho s en but
d
t
on
p
Forb es and B ouquet w er e firm an d it was d e ci de d to
adopt th e n ew route throu gh Penn s ylvan i a F orb es
was abl e t o re a ch C arlisle early in Jul y but h i s dis
order was so incre as ed b y th e j ourney that he w as
n ot abl e to l e av e that plac e until the 1 1 t h of Au gust
and th en in a kind o litt er swun g b et w een two
hors es In thi s way h e re a ch e d Shippensburg wh ere
h e l ay h elpless until far into S e p t emb er
H i s pl an
w a s t o a dvan c e slo w ly e s t ablishin g fortifie d ma ga
zin e s a s h e w ent and at l a s t wh en within ea s y dis
tan c e of th e Fort t o a dvanc e up on it w i th all for c e
as littl e imp ede d as p o ss ibl e w ith wa gons and p a ck
h or s e s Havin g s e cure d his m a gazines at R ay s t o wn
and built a fort w h i ch h e c all e d Fort B edford in h o n
“
or o his friend and p atron th e Duk e of B e d o r d fi
B ouqu et was sent with h i s c omm an d to forward th e
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c o gn i t i o n o t h i s h o n o r t h e D u k e o B e dfo r d p re s e n t e d t o
t h e f o r t a l a rge fl a g o c ri m s o n b ro c a d e s i l k
I n 1 89 5 t h i s fl a g w a s i n
t e p o s s e s s i o n o M rs M o o re o B e dfo r d w h o k i n d l y l e n t i t t o t h e
h
P i t t s b u rg h C h a p t e r D a u gh t e rs o t h e A m e ri c a n R e vo lut i on o r e x
h i b i t i o n a t a re c e p t i o n gi v e n b y t h e m a t M rs P a rk P a i n t e r s
r e s i d e n c e F e b ru a ry 1 5 t h 1 895
I
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18
f
heavy work o ro ad m akin g o ver th e m ain range of
the Alle ghan ies and th e L aurel Hills ; he win g dig
gin g blastin g layin g a cin es and gabi ons t o supp ort
th e tra ck al on g th e s ide s o th e steep d e clivitie s o r
worming their w ay lik e mol e s through the j un gl e of
”
s w am p and fore s t
A s far as th e eye o r mind c ould
re a ch a prodigious fore s t ve getation spread its im
p erviou s c ano p y over hill vall ey an d pl ain
His
n ext post w a s o n th e Loyalhanna Cre ek s carc ely
fi ty miles di s tant fro m Fort D u quesne and h ere h e
built a fortific ation n aming it Fort Ligonier in
h onor o Lord L i gonier c ommander in chief o H i s
Maj esty s armies F orb e s ha d s erve d un der Lig on i er
and his in fluen c e to g eth er with that o th e Duk e of
Bedford s e cur ed t o Forb es his a pp oin tm ent
N o w c am e th e di ficult an d imp ortant t ask o s e
curing Indian allies Sir William John s on o r the
Engli s h and J o n cair e for the Fr en ch w ere trying in
ev ery w ay t o fright en o r caj ol e th em i nt o cho osin g
sides ; but that w hich n eith er of th em c o ul d a e c om
p lis h w a s done b y a devote d Moravian m is s io n ary
Chri s tian Fre deric P ost Po s t s p oke the D ela w are
l an gua g e h ad marri ed a c onvert e d s quaw an d b y
his s implicity dir e ctne s s an d p erfe ct h onesty ha d
ga i ne d their full c onfidenc e He was a plain German
upheld b y a s ense o duty and s in gle h eart ed tru s t in
Th e Moravians were ap ostles o p ea c e an d
Go d
th ey suc c e ede d in a surpri s in g w ay in w eanin g their
c onverts from th eir fero cious in s tinct s an d sava g e
pra ctic es while the mi s s i on Indians o C anada r e
t ain e d all th eir n ativ e fero city and th eir wigwams
were strun g w ith s c al p s m ale an d fem al e a dult and
infant Th es e s e c alle d mission s w ere but ne s ts of
b aptize d s avage s wh o wore the crucifix i nstea d of
th e m edicine b a g
Po st a c c epted th e dan gerous m i ss i on as envoy t o
th e c amp of th e ho stil e I ndians an d making his w ay
to a D elaware town on B e aver Cre ek he was k i ndly
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L O R D VIS C O U N T L I GO NIE R
.
20
The Fren ch p ush ed th eir advanta ge s with spir i t
an d th ere w ere m any skirmi s h es in the fore s t b e
twe en Fort Ligonier an d Fort Duquesn e but th ei r
c as e was d esp erat e The i r Indian alli es had des erte d
them and the i r sup p lies h ad b e en cut o ; s o L ign e ris
w ho succeeded C o n t reoeu r was forced to dismi s s the
great er p art o his forc e The Engli s h t o o w er e
en durin g great hardships Rain h ad c ontinu ed al
mo st with out ce s sation all through S eptemb er ; th e
n e w ly m ade ro ad was li quid mud i nto which th e
wa gons s unk up t o th e hub s In O ctob er the ra i n
ch an ge d t o sn o w wh i l e all this t i m e Forb es was
ch aine d t o a sick b e d at R ay st o w n now Fort B ed
ford In th e b e ginnin g o N ovemb er h e was c arr i ed
fro m Fort B edford to Fort Li gonier i n a litter and a
c ouncil o O fi c ers th en held de c ided t o att empt noth
in g m or e th at s eason ; but a fe w days l at er a rep ort
of th e c on dition o the French was brought in which
l e d Forb es to give order s o r an immediate a dvanc e
On Novemb er 1 8 1 7 5 8 t w o th ousand five hun dred
pick e d m en w ithout tents o r b a gga g e wi th out
wagons o r artillery excep t a few l i ght pieces began
th eir march
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F O RT P I TT
F re nch
A b a n d on F o rt D u qu e s n e
f
—o t
F
.
r
P i tt ls Bu i lt
.
On the ev en i n g o the 24 t h th ey enc am p ed on th e
h i lls aroun d T urtl e Cre ek an d at midnight th e s en
tin els h e ar d a heavy b o om a s if a m a ga z ine h a d ex
w
l
a
In
th
e
morning
th
e
march
resumed
s
d
e
d
o
p
A t er th e advan c e guard c am e Forb es c arried in
th e tro o p s foll o w i n g in three columns th e
a litter
Highland ers i n th e c enter h e ade d b y Mont gom ery
th e Royal Am er i c an s and Provin cial s o n th e ri ght
and left under B ouqu et and Washin gt on
Sl o w ly
they ma d e th e i r w ay b ene ath an endless entan gle
ment o bare branches
The Highlanders were
go ade d to ma dness b y s e ein g as th ey appro a che d
th e Fort th e h ea ds o th eir c ountrymen w ho h a d
fall en wh en Grant mad e his rash att a ck stuck o n
p oles aroun d which th eir pl aid s ha d b een wrapp e d
in i m i tat i on o p ett i c o ats F o amin g w ith ra ge they
rush ed forward ab andonin g th eir musk ets and
draw i n g th e i r br oa dswords ; but th e i r fury w as in
va in o r wh en th ey re a ch ed a p oint wh er e th e Fort
s hould h av e b een in si ght
th er e was nothin g b e
t w een th em and th e hills o n th e opp o s it e b anks o
th e Monon gah el a and All e gh eny but a mas s o bl a ck
en ed an d sm oul derin g ruin s Th e en emy aft er burn
ing th e b arra cks and s tore h ou s es ha d blo w n up th e
f ortific ations an d retreat e d s om e do w n the Ohio
o thers overlan d t o Presqu e Isle
an d others u p the
Alle gh eny t o V en an go
There were two forts and some idea may be
orme d of th e i r s i z e with th e b arra cks and store
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22
h ou s e s fro m th e fa ct that John Haslet w rite s t o th e
Rev D r Alli s on t w o day s after th e En gli s h to ok
p o s s e s sion that there were thirty chimn ey s tack s
s tandin g
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Th e tro ops ha d n o sh elter until th e fir st fort w as
built
C o l B ouquet w rot e t o Mi s s Ann e Willin g
from Fort Duquesne Novemb er 2 5t h 1 7 5 8
they
h av e burne d an d destroyed t o th e groun d their fort
ific at io n s hou s es an d m a gazi n e s and left u s no othe r
c over th an th e h eavens —a v ery c old one o r an army
”
w ithout t ents o r e quip ages
.
.
“
,
,
,
f
,
,
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C ol
f f
f
B ouquet in a letter w ritten t o Ch i ef Justic e
Al len o Pennsylvan i a o n N ov emb er 26 t h en u m er
ate d th e ne eds o th e garrison w hich h e hope s th e
Provinc e s o Penn sylvani a and Virgini a w ill im
m ediately s up ply He a dd s : After G o d th e s uc c e s s
thi s exp e dition is entirely due t o th e general He
o
h as sho w n th e greate s t prudenc e firmne s s an d ab ili
N O o n e is b etter i n formed th an I am w h o h ad an
ty
op p ortun ity t o s e e every step that h as b een taken
from th e b eginnin g and ev ery O b sta cl e that w a s
”
throw n in his w ay
Forbes first care w as t o p rov i de
defense an d shelt er o r his troops and a s tron g s to ck
ade w a s built aroun d th e tra ders c ab in s and s oldiers
hut s w hich h e nam e d Pitt s burgh in honor o Eng
land s great min ist er William Pitt T w o hundred
Virginians un d er C o l Merc er w ere l eft t o defen d th e
new fortific ation a forc e wholly ina dequate t o h ol d
f
th e plac e i th e French ch os e t o return an d att empt
t o tak e it a gain Th o s e w ho r em ain e d mu s t o r a
tim e depend l ar gely o n s tream and for e s t t o supply
their n e eds w hile the army w hich w as t o return b e
gan th eir hom e w ard mar ch e arly in D e c emb er with
starvation s tar i n g th em in th e fa c e
.
f
,
,
,
“
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,
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,
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,
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f
’
f
’
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,
’
’
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,
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f
,
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,
.
N o s o on er w a s his w ork don e than Forb e s utterly
suc cumb e d He l eft w ith the s oldier s and w as c ar
ried all the way t o Phil adelphia in a litt er arrivin g
.
,
,
W IL L I AM P ITT
.
23
th er e January 1 8 1 7 59 He lin ger ed through th e
wint er die d in March an d w a s buried in Christ
I
his
Church M arch 14 1 7 59 Parkman s ays :
a chi evement w as n o t brilliant its s olid value w a s
ab ove p ric e ; it op en ed th e Great West t o En glish
ent erpris e t o ok fro m Fran c e h alf h er sava ge allie s
an d r eli eve d th e w e st ern b orders from the s c our ge o
Indian war
From south ern N e w Y ork t o N orth
C arolin a the frontier popul ation h a d c au s e t o bles s
th e m emory o thi s st ea dfast and all endurin g s o l
dier
f
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,
,
,
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,
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,
f
,
,
f
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-
f
.
Ju s t sixty days aft er the tak i n g o Fort Duquesn e
William Pitt w rote a letter date d Whitehall Janu
ary 23 1 7 59 o which the foll o w in g extra ct w ill
show ho w imp ort ant this p la c e w as c onsi dere d in
Great Brit ian
,
f
,
,
,
,
.
f
Sir —I am n o w t o a c quaint y o u that th e K in g h as
b een pl eas e d imm ediately u p on re c eivin g th e ne w s o
th e s uc c ess o his arms on th e riv er Ohio t o direct
th e c ommander in chief o His Maj e s ty s forc e s i n
North America and General Forbe s t o lose n o time
i n c onc ertin g th e pro p ere s t and s p ee diest m ean s o r
c ompl et ely r estor ing i p ossible th e ruine d Fo rt
Duqu esne t o a defen sibl e an d resp ect abl e stat e o r
o r er e ctin g another in th e ro om o
it o su ficient
strength and ev ery way a de quat e t o th e great im
p ortan c e o th e several obj e cts o m aintainin g His
Maj e s ty s subj e cts in th e undis p ute d p oss ession O f
the Ohio
etc etc
f
-
f
f
-
,
f
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’
f
f ff
f
,
,
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f
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’
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,
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.
In a l etter dat e d Pittsb ur gh August 1 7 5 9 C o l
Merc er w rites t o G o D enny :
Capt Gordon chief
en gin e er has arr i ve d w ith m ost o th e ar t ificers but
do es n ot fix the s p ot o r c onstructin g th e Fort till
the general c om es up We ar e prep arin g th e m a
t e rials o r bu i l d i ng with wh at ex p ed i t i on s o few m en
”
ar e c ap abl e o
v
.
,
ff
.
f
.
f
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,
,
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24
There was n o attempt m ade t o re s tore the o ld
fortific ati ons but ab out a year afterward w ork w as
b e gun o n a new fort Gen John Stan w ix who s u c
Forb es is said t o h ave b e en a m an o
ce e d e d Gen
hi gh military stan ding w ith a lib eral and g enerous
spirit In 1 7 60 h e a pp eared o n th e Ohio at th e h ea d
an army and with full p ower t o build a large fort
O
where F ort Duquesne h ad s to o d Th e exa ct dat e of
h i s arrival an d the d ay w hen w ork w as c omm enc e d
is n o t kno w n but th e w ork must h ave b een b e gun
the last o Au gu s t o r th e first o S ept emb er 1 7 59
A l ett er dat e d S eptemb er 24 1 7 5 9 give s the follow
i ng a ccount : It is n ow near a month s i nce the army
h as b e en empl oye d in ere ctin g a m ost formidabl e
fortification s uch a o n e a s w ill t o late s t p ost erity s e
cur e th e B riti s h empire o n th e Ohi o There is n o
nee d t o enum erat e th e abiliti es o th e chi ef en gineer
n o r th e s p ir i t shown by the tro ops in
exe cutin g th e
imp ortant task th e fort will s o on b e a last i ng monu
ment o b oth
f
,
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f
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f
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.
The fort w as built n ear th e p o i nt wh er e th e All e
gh en y and Mon on gahel a unit e their w ater s but a
littl e farth er i n l an d than the s it e o Fort Duque s ne
It s to o d o n th e pres ent sit e o th e Duque s ne Freight
Station whil e all the groun d from th e Point t o Third
Street and from Lib erty Str eet t o the All egh eny
River was en clo se d in a sto ckade an d s urr ounded b y
a m oat It w as a solid and s ub s tantial buildin g c o n
struct e d at an enormous exp ense t o th e En glish Gov
ii
e rn m en t
It w as fi e s ided t w o s ide s fa cin g
th e l an d o brick the oth er s s to ckade Th e earth
aroun d w as thro w n up s o all w as en clo s e d by a ram
p art O earth supp ort e d o n th e land side by a p er
p en dicul ar wall o b rick ; o n th e oth er s ides a line of
f
f
,
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,
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,
f
f f
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,
v
-
,
.
,
!
The
co s t o
p oun ds
fth
re
,
i
F
o
s
a
o rt
e rs
d i s c r e p a n c y in t h e a u t h o r i t i e s a s t o t h e
P i tt ; s om e
s t a t e t h e c o s t a s s i x h u nd r e d
gi v e i t a s s i xt y t h o u s a n d p o u n d s
w i de
!
.
26
f
lish fort inst e ad o th e kind ly w el c om e h e h ad b een
a c cu s tom e d t o rece i ve fro m th e Fren ch h e g ot n oth
ing but o aths and mena c e s an d bl o w s s ometi m e s
b ein g a s sisted t o le ave th e premi s es by th e butt o a
But ab ove an d b eyond all th ey
s entin el s mu s ket
w at ched with w rath an d fe ar th e pro gre s s o the
whit e man int o their b e s t hunting ground s o r as
th e Engli s h c olonist a dvan c e d th eir b el ove d forests
disapp eare d under th e strokes o th e axe The Fren ch
did all in th eir p o w er t o augm ent thi s di s c ont ent
,
,
,
,
,
’
.
f
f
f
,
f
f
,
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.
In thi s spirit o revenge and h atre d a p o w erful
c onfedera cy w a s formed in cludin g all the w e s t ern
t rib es u n de r th e c omm and o Pontia c alik e reno w ne d
his wi s dom and his bravery
o r his warlike s pirit
and w ho s e n am e was a t error t o the entire re gion o
th e l ake s The blow was t o b e struck in th e month
o
May 1 7 63 Th e trib es were t o ri s e s im ul tane ou s ly
an d attack th e En glish garri s on s Thu s a sudden at
ta ck was ma de o n all th e w estern p osts D etr oit w a s
save d aft er a long and clo s e s i e ge
Forts Pitt
and Niagara narro wly escap ed while Le Boeuf
Venan g o Presqu I s l e Miami s St Jo s eph Q ua ch
tanon Sandusky and Michillim a ck in ac all fell into
th e hands o th e Indian s Th eir garri s ons w ere either
but cher ed o n th e sp ot o r c arried O to b e t orture d
o r th e amusem ent o
their cruel c apt or s
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The s ava ges s wept over th e s urroun ding c ountry
c arryin g death and destruction w her ever they w ent
H un dreds o tra der s w ere slaught er ed with out
mercy while their wi ve s and children if n o t mur
der ed were c arried o c aptive s Th e prop erty de
stroyed o r stol en amounte d it is s aid t o five h u ndre d
thou s and p ounds Attacks w ere made o n Fort s Bed
ford an d Ligoni er but without suc c es s Fort Li gon
nier w as under s eige o r t w o months The pres erva
tion o this p ost w as o the utmo s t imp ortanc e and
Li eut Bla in e b y his c oura ge an d go o d c onduct
f
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27
m an a g ed t o h old i t until Au gust 2 176 3 wh en C o l
B ou quet arr i ve d with hi s l i ttl e army
,
,
.
.
f
In th e m e antim e every p rep aration w as m ade at
Fort Pitt o r an atta ck Th e garri s on at th at p o s t
numb ere d thre e hundre d and thirty c ommande d by
Capt Sim eon E cuyer a brav e Swi s s
Th e forti
fica t ion s having been badly damaged by floods were
with great lab or r e p air ed Th e b arra ck s w ere m ad e
sh ot pro of t o prote ct th e w om en and children and
as th e buildin g s in s id e w ere all o wo o d a rude fir e
en gine was c onstru ct e d t o extin guish any flam es
kindl e d b y th e fir e arro w s o th e Indians All th e
hous es an d c ab i n s outs i de the walls w er e level e d t o
th e gro un d Th e fort was s o c ro wde d b y th e familie s
of th e s ettl ers wh o ha d tak en r efuge th ere that
E cuyer wrote to C 0 1 B ou q uet
We are so crowded
i n the fort that I fear disea s e o r in sp it e o every
c ar e I c ann ot k e ep th e pla c e as cl e an as I should like
Besides th e smallp o x is amon g us and I h ave th ere
fore cau s ed a hos p ital t o be built under the draw
”
b rid ge
,
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S everal we eks h owever el aps e d b efore th er e w as
any determined atta ck fro m the enemy On July
26 t h s om e chi efs ask ed for a p arley with C apt
E cuyer w h i ch was grant e d They d em an de d th at h e
an d all in th e fort should l e av e i mm ediat ely or it
and th ey wo ul d all b e destroye d He replie d th at
th ey w oul d n o t go closin g his s p e e ch with th es e
words : Th erefor e my broth er I will a dvi s e y o u t o
9?
go hom e
Mor e over I t ell y o u if any
O f you appear aga i n ab out this fort I will thro w
b omb shells w hi ch w ill burst and blow y ou t o atoms
and fire c annon up on y o u lo ade d w ith a wh ol e b a g
full of bullet s
T ak e c ar e th erefor e for I don t
”
want t o hurt you
On th e ni ght suc c e eding this
p arl ey th e Indians ap pro a ch ed i n gre at numb ers
crawl i ng under the banks of the two r i vers digging
,
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28
f
f
h o le s w it h th eir kn i ves in w hi ch th ey wer e co m
n e
o
r
fi
l
l
h
eltere
d
from
th
e
o
th
e
fort
On
e
e
t
s
e
y
p
s id e th e entire b ank w as lin ed with th es e burrows
fro m whi ch th ey s ho t volley s o bullet s arro w s and
fire arro ws into t he fort
The yelling w as terri fic
and th e women and children in th e cro w de d b ar
ra cks clung t o ea ch oth er in abj e ct terror
Thi s
atta ck laste d o r five days
On Augu s t 1 st the
In dia n s h e ard th e rum or o C o l B ouquet s appro a ch
which c au s e d th em t o m ove o n an d s o th e tir ed gar
rison was relieve d
,
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,
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f
f
Wh en the ne w s o this Indian upri s ing re a ch e d
Gen Amh erst h e order e d C ol B ouquet t o mar ch
with a d eta chment o five hundre d m en t o th e r elief
O f th e b esie ged forts This for c e wa s c omp o s e d o
c omp ani es from th e Forty s e con d Hi ghl an ders an d
Seventy seventh Regulars t o wh i ch were added si x
c omp ani e s o Ran ger s
B ouqu et establi shed his
c amp in C arli s l e at th e end of June Here h e foun d
every buildin g ev ery h ou s e every b arn every h ovel
cr o w de d w i th r efuge es He writ es to Gen Amh er s t
on Jul y 1 3 th as follow s :
Th e list o p eople kn o w n
Th e de s ol ation O f
t o b e killed i n cr eas es every day
reduc e d t o the l ast extremity of
s o m an y famili es
want and mis ery ; the desp a i r o th os e w h o h ave l ost
th eir p arents r el ations and fri ends with th e cries of
distra cte d women and children w h o fill th e s tre ets
form a s c en e p ainful to hum anity and i mp ossib le to
”
d es crib e
.
,
f
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f
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f
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Stran ge as i t m ay s e em th e Prov in c e o P en n s y l
vainia would do n othing t o aid th e tro ops wh o
gath ere d for it s defen s e
The Quakers wh o h el d
a m aj ority in th e A s s embly wer e n on c omb atants
from prin cipl e an d pra ctic e ; an d th e Swi s s and Ger
m an Mennon i tes who wer e numerous in L anc aster
C oun ty p rofes s ed like the Quak ers th e principle of
n o n r esistanc e
and refus ed t o b ear arms Wa gons
,
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,
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,
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29
and horses ha d been p romised but promises were
broken B ouqu et wr i tes a gain t o Amh erst :
I h op e
w e sh all b e abl e t o s av e that infatuat e d p e o p l e from
destruct i on notwith s tandin g all th eir ende av or s t o
defeat your v i gorous measures
While B ouquet
harassed and exasp erated labored on at h i s di ficult
t ask th e t erro r of th e c ountry p eo p l e in cr e ase d until
at last fin d i n g that th ey c o ul d h o p e o r but littl e
ai d fr om th e Government they b estirr e d th emselves
with a dm i rabl e sp i r i t in th eir own d efens e
Th ey
r ais e d sm all b o dies o rifl e m en wh o sc our e d the
wo ods i n front o th e s ettl ements an d su c cee de d in
drivin g th e enemy b ack In s om e instances th es e m en
dress ed th ems elves a s Indian warr i ors p ainted th e i r
fa c es re d and bla ck and a do p t e d th e sava g e mo de o
,
“
.
f
,
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f
,
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f
f
,
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,
,
f
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v
vf
ar are
,
,
.
On the 3 d of July a cour i er from Fort B edford
ro d e int o C arl i sle and as he sto p p e d to water his
h ors e h e was immediat ely surroun de d b y an anxiou s
crowd t o who m h e tol d his t al e of w o e a dd i n g a s
h e mount ed his h ors e t o r i de on t o B ou q uet s t ent
”
Th e Indians will so on b e h er e
Terror an d excit e
m ent sprea d everywh er e m ess en g ers were di s p at ch e d
in every d i re ction t o g i ve the al arm an d th e re p ort s
h arr owin g as th ey ha d b e en were fully c onfirm e d
b y th e fugit i v es wh o wer e m et o n ev ery ro a d and b y
p ath hurry i n g t o C arl i sl e o r r efuge A p arty armed
themselves an d went out t o w arn th e livin g and bury
the de a d Th ey foun d death and des olati on every
wh er e an d s i ck en e d with horror at s eein g group s
of ho gs t e arin g and devourin g th e b o di es of th e
de ad
,
,
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’
,
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f
,
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,
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After a delay of eighteen days havi ng secured
enough wagons horses and oxen B ouquet began his
p erilous m arch with a for c e much small er th an
Bradd o ck s t o en c o un t er a fo e far mor e form i dable
But B ouquet th e man o iron will and iron hand
,
,
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f
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,
30
h ad served s even years in Americ a
his work
an
,
d
underst oo d
.
On July 2 5t h h e rea ch ed Fort B edford w h en h e
was fortunate in s ecurin g thirty b a ckwo odsmen t o
w
ith
him
This
littl
e
army
toil
ed
n
through
o
o
g
the blazin g he at o July over th e Alle ghan ies an d
re a ch e d Fort Ligonier Au gust 2 d the Indians w h o
ha d b esie ge d th e fort o r t w o months disapp earing
a t th e approa ch of th e tro ops Here B ouquet left
his oxen and w a gons and re s ume d his march o n th e
4t h
On th e 5 t h ab out no on h e en c ountered th e
enemy at B ushy Run
Th e b attl e ra ge d o r two
days and ended in a t ot al rout of th e sava ges Th e
loss o the B riti sh w as o n e hundred and fifteen and
eight O fic ers The distance t o Fort Pitt w as twenty
five mil es which p la c e was rea ch e d o n th e l 0t h The
en emy ha d ab andon e d the sie ge and mar ch e d t o
unit e th eir forc es with th ose which atta cked Col
Bouquet at Bushy Run Th e s avages c ontinued
their h a s ty retre at but C o l Bouquet s for c e w a s
n o t su ficient to enable him t o pur s ue th e en emy b e
yon d the Ohio and h e was oblige d t o c ontent him
s elf with supplying Fort Pitt an d oth er forts with
provi s ions ammunition and stores
,
f
f
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,
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,
f
f
,
f
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,
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f
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’
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,
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,
It was at this tim e that C o l B ouquet built th e
l i ttl e R edoubt which is n o w n ot only all that r e
m ains o Fort Pitt but the only existing monument
o
B riti s h o c cup an cy in thi s r e gion
f
f
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,
.
Th e Indians ab andoned all their form er s ettl e
m ents an d retre at e d to th e Mu s kingum ; h ere th ey
form ed n e w settl e ments an d in the spring O 1 7 6 4
a gain b e gan t o rava ge th e frontier T o put an end
t o thes e depredations Gen Ga ge pl ann ed a c am
p aign into this western wilderness from two p o ints
—Gen B radstreet was to advance by way of the
l akes and C 0 1 B ouquet from Fort Pitt After th e
usual del ays and disap p ointments in se curing tro o p s
f
,
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31
fro m Pe n nsylvan i a an d V i rg inia t o aid i n this e x
the march fro m Carli s l e w as b egun and
p e dit io n
C o l B ouquet arrived at Fort Pitt Sept emb er 1 7 th
and was det aine d th er e until O ct ob er 3 d He o l
l owe d th e north b ank o th e Ohio until h e r ea ched
th e B eaver w h en h e turned t o w ards Central Ohio
Holdin g o n his c ours e h e refu s e d t o list en t o either
threat s o r promis es fr om th e Indian s de clining t o
tr eat with th em at all un til the y s houl d deliver up
th e pris oners Although n ot a blo w w as struck the
In dians were vanquish ed
B ouquet c ontinue d his
ma rch do w n th e valle y O f th e Muskin gum unt il h e
r ea ch e d a s p ot wher e so me bro a d mea do w s O ffer e d
a suitable pla c e o r en c ampm ent Her e h e rec eived
a deputation o ch i ef s list en ed t o their o fl er s o
p ea c e and deman de d th e delivery o th e pris oners
S o on b and aft er b and o c aptives arr i ve d un til th e
numb er e x ce ede d thre e hun dr ed
,
f
,
f
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,
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,
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,
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f
f
,
,
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f
.
f
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,
.
Th e s c enes wh i ch follo w e d th e rest or i n g O f the
pri s oner s t o th eir friend s b e ggar all description ;
wives re c overing th eir hu s b an d s p ar ents seekin g o r
children wh o m they c o ul d sc arc ely r e c o gniz e
br oth ers and sist ers me etin g aft er a lon g s ep aration
and sometimes scarcely able t o sp eak the same lan
gua ge Th e s t ory is tol d o a woman w hos e dau gh
t er ha d b een c arrie d OE nin e year s b efore
Th e
m oth er re c o gniz e d h er child but the girl w ho ha d
almo s t for gotten h er m other t on gu e s howed n o si g n
o
re c o gnition
Th e moth er c omplaine d t o C 0 1
B ouquet that th e daughter she ha d s o oft en s un g t o
sl eep o n h er kn e e ha d forgott en h er
S ing th e s on g
t o h er that y o u us e d t o sin g when sh e was a child
s a i d C o l B ouquet Sh e did s o and w ith a p a s s ionat e
flo o d O f t e ars the lon g l ost daughter flun g h ers elf
i nto h er m oth er s arms
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Everyth in g b e i n g s ettl e d the army brok e c amp
N ovemb er 1 8t h and arr i ve d at Fort P i t t on th e 28t h
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32
E arly in January C o l B ouquet returne d t o P hila del
p hia re c eivin g w herever h e w ent every p o s s ibl e
mark o gratitud e and e s te em from the p e opl e The
Ass embly O f Penn s ylvania and th e Hous e o Bur
gess es o Virginia e a ch unanimou sly voted him ad
dre s ses o thanks and o n the arrival o th e first
account o this exp edition the K i ng p romoted him
t o th e rank of Bri gadier G en eral t o c ommand th e
S outh ern District o N orth Ameri c a
f
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C onfl i ct
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Be t w e e n
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P e nn s ylv an i a
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an
d ! i rgi n i a
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ff
We hav e s e en two o the mo s t p ow erful nat i ons
Europ e c ont ending for th e p o s se s sion o th e
o
”
Forks o th e Ohio
We h ave s e en the e fi o rt s o
th e In dians t o d estr oy t h e Fort and r e gain p osse s
sion of th eir hun ting groun ds
“
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In O ctob er 1 7 7 0 Washington a gain visited th e
Forks of th e Ohio this tim e o n a p e ac eful erran d
He rea ch e d Fort Pitt O ctob er 1 7 1 7 7 0 and h e says
in his Journal :
Lo dge d i n what is c alled th e town ;
distant ab out thr e e hun dr e d yards from th e fort at
o n e S emple s wh o ke eps a very go o d hous e o
ent er
t
t ain m en t
He de s crib es b oth th e t o w n and the for
wher e th e garri s on at this t i m e c on s ist ed o two
c omp ani e s of Royal Iri s h c omman de d by Capt E d
m o n st o n e
In thi s Journ al we fin d th e foll o w ing
entry on O ct ob er 1 8t h :
Dined in th e fort with
C 0 1 Cro gh an an d the O ffic ers o the garri s on ; su pp e d
th ere also m e etin g w i th gr eat c iv ility fr om th e
gentl eman and enga ged t o dine w ith C o l Cro gh an
n ext day at his s eat ab out four m iles up the All e
,
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gh en y
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Wash in gton an d his p arty numb er i n g nine o r ten
p erson s with thr e e Indians c ontinue d their j ourn ey
down th e Ohio in a larg e c an o e On Novemb er 2 d
w e fin d th at the p arty en camp ed and w ent a hun t
in g kill e d five b u al o es and w oun de d s om e others
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A R T HU R
C L AI R
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f
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thre e de er et c This c oun try ab oun ds in bu alo es
an d w i ld gam e of all k i nds as als o in all k in ds of
w i l d fowl th er e b ein g in th e b ottoms a great m any
small grassy p onds or lakes which ar e full of
”
swan ge ese an d ducks of di erent k in ds
Th e
p arty returned to P i ttsbur gh N ovemb er 2l st w er e
a ga i n h ospitably enterta i n ed an d on th e 23d m ount
e d th e i r h ors es o r the i r r eturn j ourney t o V i rginia
Th i s was Wash i ngton s l ast vis i t t o Fort P i tt
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Now after the s e ason of rest and qu i et th er e
c om es ano th er c ontest this t i m e b etwe en the Prov
in c e s of Pennsylvania and Virg i n i a
Th e British
Governm ent a s th e troubl e w i th th e c ol onie s ln
cre ased deem e d it a dvisable t o ab ando n Fort Pitt
and wi thdraw th e troops
Maj E dm on st on e th en
in c omm and sol d th e bu i ldin gs an d m ater i al O ctob er
1 0 1 77 2 to Alexan der Ross and W i ll i am Thom p son
for fifty p ounds N ew Y ork cur r en cy Th e fort was
evacuated by the B ri t i sh forces i n O ctob er 1 7 72
and i n January 1 7 7 4 tro ops from V i rg ini a sent b y
th e Govern or L ord Dun mor e un der c o mmand o
D r Jam es C onnelly to ok p oss ess i on an d ch ang e d
th e nam e t o Fort D unm ore D r Conn elly was ar
r e s te d by Arthur S t Clair th en a m a gi s trate of
Westmor eland County of wh i ch Al l egheny Co unty
wa s at that t i m e a p art an d p ut i n j a i l but wa s
so on r elea se d on b a i l He w ent b a ck t o !i rg i n i a
but sh ortly r eturn e d w i th c i v il an d m i litary au
t h o rit y t o enforce th e l aws of Virg i n i a
This c on
te s t c ont i nued for s everal ye ars until a p rominent
c iti z en wrot e to Gov ernor Penn :
Th e deplorabl e
st ate O f afl airs in th i s p art of y our gov ernment is
truly d i str ess i n g W e are robb e d ins ul ted an d dra
go o n e d by Connelly and his mil i t i a i n this p la c e an d
”
i ts environs
Marylan d to o h ad c ontended s om e
tim e s wi th th e s h eddin g o blo o d o r th e p oss es s i on
of this i mp ortant p oint It w as n o t until 1 785 th at
c ommission ers were a pp ointed th e b oundary of the
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w estern
p art of th e State finally run and P en n sy l
va n i a establish ed in th e p ossess i on o h er territory
,
R e voluti on a ry
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P e ri o d
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Dur in g th e struggl e o r i nde p endenc e the s ettle
m ents we s t o the A lle ghan ies ha d little to fear from
the inva d i n g armi es o Gre at Britain ; but i nfluenc e d
by th e Engl i sh the Ind i ans a gain b e gan th eir rav
a ges
,
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f
Fort P i tt was at that t i me un der th e c ommand of
Capt John N ev i ll e an d was t h e c ent er o g overn
m ent auth or i ty Just two days aft er th e D e clara
tion of In de p enden ce but l on g b efore the n ews of i t
c ould have cross e d the moun t a i ns w e r e ad of a c o n
ferenc e at Fort P i tt b etwe en Maj Tr ent Maj Ward
Ca p t N ev i lle an d oth er o ficers of the garris on w i th
th e famous Pont i a c Gu y asu t a Ca p t Pi p e and other
re p resent atives of th e Si x Nat i ons Gu y asu t a was
th e ch i ef s p e ak er He p ro duc e d a b elt of wam p um
wh i ch was t o b e sent fro m th e S ix Nat i ons t o other
Western trib es i n form i n g th em that th e S i x N at i ons
would tak e n o p art i n th e war b etwe en Englan d and
Am eric a an d ask i n g th em to do th e s am e In h i s
a ddress Gu y asu t a sa i d :
Broth ers
We w i ll n ot
sn fl er
e i ther th e Engl i sh or Am er i c ans t o p ass
through o ur c ountry Shoul d e i th er att em p t it we
shall for ewarn th em thre e t i m es and shoul d th ey
p ers i st th ey must take th e c ons e q uen c es I am ap
p o inted by the Si x N at i ons t o tak e c are of th i s c oun
try ; th at is o th e Ind i ans on t h e other s i de of th e
Oh i o !
wh i ch include d the Al l e gh eny ! an d I des i r e
you will n ot think of an e xp e dition a gainst Detro it
I r e p e at we will not su fl er an army t o p ass
or
The Si x N ations w as the
t hrough our c oun try
m ost p owerful c onfedera cy of Ind i ans i n Amer i c a
a n d whi ch ever s i de s e cur e d their alle g i an ce m i ght
c ount o n th e oth er trib es follo wi n g t h em
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Inst i gat e d b y th e a gents o Great B ritain it w as
S c al p ing
n o t l on g b efore a dea dl y strug gl e b e gan
p art i es o Indi ans rava ge d th e frontier sp arin g
n eith er a g e n o r s ex and burn in g and destroyin g all
that c am e in th eir p ath C om p an i es wer e form e d t o
prote ct th e s ettlements who s e h ea d quart ers w er e at
Fort P i tt and exp editions were ma de i nto the
en emy s c oun try but w ith n o v ery gre at suc c ess
On Jun e 1 1 77 7 Bri g Gen E dward Hand to ok
c omman d of the p ost an d issued a c all for two th ou
san d m en He d i d not re c e i ve a very s at i sfa ctory
res p onse to this c all After c ons i derabl e d el ay h e
m ad e s everal e xp edit i ons a gainst th e In d i ans but
wa s s i ng ul arly un fortunat e in h i s attem p ts Thes e
fru i tless e orts only emb olden e d th e sava ges to c on
t in u e th e i r rava ges
In 1 7 7 8 Gen Hand at h i s own r e q uest was re
c all ed an d Br i g Gen M cI n t o sh suc c e e de d h i m
Gen M cI n t osh p lann e d a fo rm id abl e e xp e d i t i on i nto
th e en emy s c o un try He m ar ch e d t o th e m outh of
the B e av er wh ere he bu i lt a fort and c alle d i t F ort
M cI n t o sh ; th en h e a dvan c e d s eventy fi e mi les
farther bu i lt anoth er fort an d c all ed i t Fort Laur
ens ; but on h ear i n g alarm in g r e p orts of th e In d i an s
an d for want of su pp l i es he left Col Jo hn G i b son
w i th on e hun dr e d an d fifty m en there an d ret urn ed
t o Fort P i tt Th e de p re dat i ons of th e Ind i ans c on
t in u e d and Gen M cI n t o sh utterly d i sh e art en e d from
the want of men and su pp l i es asked to b e re li eved
of his c ommand He w as suc c e ede d b y C 0 1 D an i el
Bro dhe a d wh o lik e h i s p rede c ess ors p lanne d great
th i ngs but never ha d th e means of carryin g out his
p l ans
By th i s t i me Fort P i tt was b a dly in need of re
p airs and th e g arr i s on h alf fe d an d b adly e q u ipp ed
was almost mut inous In N ov emb er 1 781 Gen
W i ll i am Irv in e t o ok c ommand of th e p ost He
d es cr i b es th e c on diti on of th e fort and of th e sol
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36
d i ers as depl orable He wr i tes :
Th e few tro op s
that ar e h ere are the most l i c ent i ous m en an d worst
b ehave d I ever s aw owing I p resum e i n a gre at
m easur e t o th eir n ot b e i n g h i therto k e p t under any
”
sub ordination or tol erabl e degree of d i sci p l i n e
Th e
firmness of th e c omm ander s o on restore d order but
n ot w i thout th e fre e a pp l i c at i on of the l ash and the
e x e cution of two s oldiers
Th e w int er of 1 7 82 and 1 783 w as c om p arat i vely
q uiet and on O ctob er 1 st 1 7 83 Gen Irv in e to ok his
final l e ave of t he west ern dep artment The State of
Pennsylvan i a a ckn owl edg ed h er g ratitude or his
servic es by donat in g him a valuabl e tra ct of l and
In 1 79 0 th er e was an other In d i an outbreak Maj
Is aa c Cra i g was th en act i n g as Quartermaster in
Pittsburgh On May 1 9 t h 1 7 9 1 h e wrot e to Gen
Kn ox repres entin g th e t error o c c asion e d b y th e near
a pp ro a ch of th e In dians an d a skin g p erm i ss i on t o
erect another fort i ficat i on as Fort Pitt was i n a
ru i nous con di tion
Th i s request was granted and
Maj Craig ere cte d a fortific at i on o c cu p y i n g th e
gr oun d fro m Garr i s on Al ley t o Han d !
now Ninth !
Stre et an d fro m Lib erty to th e Alle gh eny R i ver
This h e n ame d Fort L afayette
The exp ed i t i ons of Gen Harmar and of Gen St
Cl air a gainst t he Indian s ha d b e en ine e ctual and
disastrous In 1 7 9 4 Gen Anthony Wayn e was m or e
suc c e s sful an d d efe at ed and s cattered th e Indians
so e e ctua lly th at th ey never a gain gave tr oubl e i n
this re gion
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Th e groun d from Fort Pitt to th e All e gh eny
R i ver was s old i n 1 784 t o Isa a c Craig and Steph en
B ayard and after p assing through var i ous h ands
was p urchase d by Gen James O Har a Se p temb er 4
1 805
When Gen O Hara d i ed i n 1819 the p ro p erty
p ass e d t o his daughter Mary wh o i n 1 82 1 m arr i e d
Wi ll i am C roghan Mrs C roghan d i ed i n 1827 and
h er dau ghter Mary Eli z ab eth an i nfant b arely a
year Old b ec ame h er sole h e i r She marr i ed C a p t
E W H S ch enl ey of th e Engl i sh army an d t o
Mrs Mary E S chenl ey who might b e c all e d Pitts
”
burgh s Fa i ry God m other
the Daughters of the
Amer i c an R evolution O Allegh eny Coun ty ar e in
d ebte d for th e g i ft of th e Old Blo ck Hous e and sur
roun d i ng p ro p erty
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Wh i l e th e p ro p erty was in p ossess i on of Cra i g and
B ayard a l arg e dwell i ng hous e was bu i lt an d c on
n ect e d with th e Blo ck Hous e
This was o c cupied o n e
year by Mr Turnbul l and for tw o years su b s e
quently b y Maj Cra i g From that tim e 1 7 85 until
i t c am e into th e p oss ession of th e D aught ers of t h e
Am eri can R evoluti on April 1 1 894 i t c ont i nued t o
b e use d as a dwell i n g hous e T i me and de c ay ha d
done th eir work in o n e hundre d an d th i rty ye ars
”
an d th e D aught ers found th e ol d Blo ck Hous e
fast crumbl i ng away If it had b e en l eft much
l on ger w i th out r ep airs i t would so on h ave b een n oth
i n g but a h eap of brok en bri ck
Mrs S chenley s
gift to th e D au ghters of the Am er i c an Revolution
was the Blo ck Hous e w i th a p lot of ground m easu r
i n g on e hun dre d by n i n ety fe et and a p assa geway
l ea d in g t o Penn Avenue of ninety fe et by twenty
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As s o on a s th e D aughters of th e Am er i c an R e olu
t i on re c e i ved th e de e d for th e p rop erty the work o
cl ear in g away th e tum ble down t en ements which
c overe d th e groun d was c ommenced
It was not
wi thout great difficulty and no l i ttle exp ense that
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th e o c c up ants of th ese hous es w ere i ndu c e d t o g i v e
them up
.
Wh i l e th e Bl o ck House was us e d as a dwell in g
th e ston e t abl et p la c e d over the do or w i th th e in
s cr ip t i on
,
1 7 6 4
f
v
was removed and i nserte d i n the wall of the sta i r
c as e o C i ty Hall Th e D aughters of th e A m r i c an
R e oluit o n p et i t i on e d Co un cils for p erm iss io r 0 re
store i t t o i ts or i ginal p os i t i on
Th e p etit i on was
grant e d an d th e t ablet n ow fills th e s p a c e wh i ch it
o ccup id on e h undre d and th i rty e i ght years a g o
e
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ov e t h e s e a n c i e n t ru i n s
W e n e v e r t r e a d u p on t h e m b u t w e s e t
re n d h i s t o ry
O u r f o o t u p on som e r e v
I
do l
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P ittsburgh
S e p temb er
1 898
.
M ATIL D A WI L K IN S D E NN Y
A
I
.
"
! la d “
r
m
f
N AM E S
P I TT S B U R G H S
OF
T h e i r Hi s to ri c a l
ig n i fi c anc e
M o rg an Hardi ng
By J ul i a
F ro m
!
S
T R E E TS
t h e P i tt s b u rgh B ull e t i n , F
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u a ry
eb r
15
,
We are told in h i s Autob i o gra p hy that B enj amin
Franklin ever to ok pleasure i n O bt a i nin g any littl e
”
ane c dotes o his anc estors
an d in thes e days o
reawaken e d int erest in th in gs of th e past m any
p eo p l e m ay b e fo un d who l i ke th e gre at p rototy p e
of American ch ara ct er P enn sylvan i a s ap ostl e of
c ommon sens e tak e p le asur e i n l ook in g i nt o th e
ol d re cords of th eir family h i story A st ill r i ch er
i nher i tance i s the story o the lives of the men who
c on quere d th e w i lderness an d sub due d th e In d i ans
French an d Br i tish ; and this i n h er i tan c e is held i n
c ommon b y all g o o d c i tiz ens of P i ttsburgh wh ether
or n ot th e i r anc estors fought w i th Braddo ck o r
B ouquet o r m ar ch e d w i th Forb es In th e stir an d
bustl e of th e busy city ab ove the n o i s e o th e trolley
an d the i ron wa gon one fa intly h ears th e nam es of
stre et s whos e un amiliar sounds re c all t o o u r minds
th es e illustrious de ad With but lit t l e cfl o rt th e in
war d eye qu i ckly sees an i mp enetrabl e forest cl oth
—
i n g h ills and r i ver b ank s dark myster i ous
or
biddin g crossed b y o c c a s ional narrow and obstruct e d
p aths ; war p arties of p aint ed s ava ges ; a few s c at
t ere d s ettl ers and traders c ab ins ; h er e and th er e
a c ano e on the sw ift and s i l ent rivers ; a silen c e t oo
O ft en broken by th e war who op of th e Ind i an an d
th e s cre am o his t ortur ed v i ct i m
“
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41
From th e e astern slo p e of th e En dless Hills t o
”
th e un kn own and un b oun ded Indian Co un try t h at
l ay b eyon d the F orks of th e Ohio such was t h e
reg i on i nto wh i ch Wash i ngto n B raddock Forb es and
”
B ou q uet le d th e i r forlorn ho p es
In days wh en a
less util i tar i an s pi r i t p r eva il e d and asso ciat i on was
st i ll p owerful th e C i ty of P i ttsb ur gh a cknowledg ed
i ts debt of grat i tude to the sold i e rs statesmen and
early settlers who made i ts un e x am p led p ros p er i ty
p oss i ble b y n am i ng for th em many of i ts stre ets and
suburb s
Its e arly h i st ory c an b e tra c ed th ereb y
much as the h i stor i an and arch aeolog i st di scove rs
the suc c ess i ve Rom an S a x on D an i sh an d Norman
o c cu p at i ons of L on don and oth er En gl i sh t owns
Alliquip p a Min go S han n o p in S hin ghiss Gu y asut a
an d Ki llbuck r e c all th e Indian tr i b es and ch i efs wh o
on c e p oss ess e d th e c ountry ; G i st Montour G i rty
M cK e e Ch art i ers and Van Bra am the gu i des and
tra ders wh o first p enetrat e d th e w i lderness
D in
w i dd i e br i n gs to m in d th e crusty but far se ein g
S c otc h gov ernor of Virg ini a wh o first c om p rehende d
th e value of th e d i s p ut e d l and
Forb es B ou quet
Ligon i er Halk et Grant Stanw i x N ev i lle Crawford
Hay Marbury Ormsby T ann ehill O Hara Butler
Wayne B ayard St ob o Steub en St Clair Crai g
Smallman and Irw in r e c all o r did re c all th e soldiers
and c omman dants who w o n th e West Du q uesne
St P i erre and Ju m on ill e s p eak of th e French g ov er
nor o Cana da the o fic er wh o re ce i ve d Washingt on
at Fort L e B o e u and th e capta in who fell at Gr eat
S m it hfield ow es its nam e to D evereau x
Mead ows
Sm i th p rom i nent i n colon i al and revolut i onary days ;
an d Woo d street was c all e d for Ge org e Wo o ds sur
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In Penn av enu e or stre et as i t us e d to b e and still
ought to b e called the name of the founder O the
C ommonwealth th e Quaker feudal p ro p r i et or i s
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42
p reserve d ; and th e great c i ty its elf as well as tw o
sh abb y so oty l i ttl e stre ets forever imm o rt ah z es
Wi ll i am P i tt the f ri end o Ame ri ca and makes hi m
a s p l end i d and endur in g m onument
But l et us d i g i nto th e lowest h i stor i cal stratum
and d i s c over th e re al lo c al r elat i onsh ip s o n ame s
an d p la ces w i th th e first o c cu p ants of th e l and All i
tells
th
e
great
q
u
e
en
of
th
e
D
el
awares
i
a
u
O
q pp
wh o l i ve d at th e m outh of th e Y o u ghio gh en y wh ere
M cKe esp o rt now i s and wh om i t m us t b e rem em
b ered Wa sh i n gton v i site d on h i s first m emorabl e
j ourney to th e Oh i o From wh at he rel ates t o us
sh e c ould not h av e b e en a very tem p erat e sovere i gn
lady but sh e was a c el ebrity and a p ower i n her day
w i th a p rest i ge th at lon g survived h er ; an d wh en
i n ful l s ava ge regalia surrounde d by her warriors
she granted an aud i ence to the young V i rg i n i an she
was doubtless most i m p ressive and c on des c endin g
S hin ghiss wh o b ore a n ame wh i ch suggests a sub
j c et of Que en Wilh elmina rather th an a N orth
Am er i c an Indian was a m i ghty warr i or in h i s day
an d a kin g o the D el awares S ome of th e chr on i
cl ers g i v e him a very b ad nam e and tell us th at his
explo i ts i n war would form an i nterest i ng though
”
sh o ck i ng do cument ; others among them Christian
Po st g i ve him a much b etter chara cter N e ert he
l ess it is true th at the c olony o Pennsylvania O ffere d
a thousand dollars o r h i s s c alp Washin gton m et
h i m o n h i s first v i sit t o th e Ohio an d s p eaks of him
in his Journal This brave an d much feare d chief
was small in sta t ure o r an Indian and l i ved near
the Ohio on Chartiers Cr e ek
A ch i eft a in a s ren own ed as S hin ghis s and more
fr equ ently m ent i oned in th e histor i es of th e O lden
tim e was Guy asut a o r K iashu t a a S en e c a wh o first
a p p e ars on th e s c en e as one o the thre e Indians w h o
a c c o mp anie d Washington to Fort Le B o euf He was
a c ons p icuous figure i n all the Indian wars and
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43
tr eat i es wh i ch followed th at ev ent an d was p r es ent
at th e treaty Col B ou quet h eld with th e Sh awne es
D elawares and Sene c as on the Musk i n gu m We h e ar
of h i m a ga in in Lord Dun mor e s war He wa s re
qu ently at or i n th e n e i ghb orh oo d o Fort Pitt and
ha d unb oun de d i nfluen c e w i th his p eo p le an in flu
enc e h e genera ll y e x erte d for go od and i n th e int erest
th ou gh finally won over t o th e
t he c olon i es
o
Br i tish dur in g the R evolut i on H i s s p e e ch es at th e
var i ous c oun c ils h e att ende d wer e elo quent an d h i s
lan gua ge th at of an auto crat who ha d unquestion in g
c onfiden c e in th e p ow er of h i s p e o p l e and in his own
might He was de eply c onc erned in th e c ons p ira cy
of Pont i ac and i s bel i eved to have i nspired the attack
on Hann ahstown Guy asut a fo un d his last restin g
p la c e n ear th e b anks of th e All e gh eny on Gen
O Har a s farm wh i ch i s st i ll c alle d b y h i s nam e
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The stray v i s i to r who from tim e t o t i m e threads
h i s devious wa y through th e all eys and c ourts wh i ch
surroun d the Blo ck Hous e m ay find h i mself p erh a p s
i n Fort str e et on histor i c groun d onc e tro dden by
Wash in gton Forb es B ouqu et an d th e Ind i an k i n gs
of who m w e have j ust b e en s p e ak in g The e cho es of
th e En gl i sh drums S co t t ish b a gp ip es an d clash o
arms have long s i nce d i ed away from the scarred
s i des o Mt Wash i ngton and Du quesn e Hei ghts and
in th eir st ea d we h ear the st e am wh i stle and hollow
reverb erations fr om n ei ghb orin g b o il er sh o p s Hib er
n ian s and Italians inh ab it the fields and the river
b anks wh er e K i llbuck Whit e Eyes S hin ghis s and
C ornstalk onc e l i t the i r c amp fir es and hel d elo quent
c o un c i ls with Jum onv i ll e D e L ign eris and Bouquet
S qual i d ten em ents crowd the n arro w promontory
wh ere R ob ert de la Sall e sto o d at th e h ea dwat er s o
th e Oh i o in all p rob ab ility th e dis c overer o th e
thre e r i vers
The fort that Pont i a c b e s ie ged h as
d i sa pp eared Th e p a i nt ed p ost t o wh i ch th e Indian
t i ed h i s v i ct i m the Wi gwam the wam p um belts have
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44
van i shed ; the tomahawk i s bu ri ed forever though
th e re adiness on c e O b serve d among th e r es i dents at
”
th e Point to draw kn i ves u p on eac h oth er o n o c
cas i ons of su p erhilarit y may be but the survi val of
the g oo d ol d customs which p reva il e d in that ne i gh
b o rh o o d m or e than on e hundred ye ars a go
Ins pi re d b y th e su ggest i ons of h ere dity th e im
a gin at i e m i nd turns to th e p ast for oth er instanc es
On any pleasant Monday morn i ng duri ng the S p ri ng
or summer months t he thrifty housekee p ers in Fort
Street or Po i nt Alley and i n the shadow of the Block
House itself may b e seen do i ng the i r week s wash
in g i n front of th e i r h ous es
But l i ttle ar e th ey
th inkin g of those M onday m orn ings in th e m i ddl e o
the e i ghte enth c entury wh en th e wom en o th e fort
were es corte d by b ands of s oldiers t o th e b anks of
th e Al l e gheny wh ere laundry work was c arrie d on
un der rath er emb arra s s i ng cir cumstan c es For In
dians w er e dodgin g ab out b ehin d tre e s and bushes
and dan cin g in full view on th e o pp os i te shore with
threatenin g cr i es an d only kept at a d i stanc e by th e
p res en c e o a guard Th e custo m se em s still t o pre
vail on this clas s i c ground but do the conven i ences
of s o a p an d hydrant wat er m ake up o r th e s pi c e
and vari ety th at ch ara ct erize d th e lives o c olonial
laun dresses ?
Pittsburgh h as always b e en pre em i nently a h os
p it ab le city and it is p ossibl e that in no oth er t o wn
of i ts s iz e is th ere as much entertain i ng At w e d
dings too the display of p resents is an O bj ect of
surpr i s e t o the out o —
t own guests unu s e d t o such
l avishness Tra cin g our provincial ch ara cter i st i cs
b a ck t o th e i r r emote origins w e di s cover that P i tts
burgh at th e en d of th e n i neteenth century in th e
grip of heredity i mit ates th e tra ders and e arly s et
t lers i n this re gion who wer e in th e habit of enter
tain ing whole trib es O f Indians an d of m ak in g them
fre quent gifts Gay blankets red p aint strings of
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46
c an ed i ti on h ath b e en a c com p l i sh e d at a price s o
moderate that the man of th e wo ods as w ell as th e
m an of th e c ourt m ay sola c e himself w i th s enti
”
m ental delight
In thi s li s t w e find th e nam e of
Ensi gn Fran cis Howard o the R oyal Irish at Fort
”
P i tt
the only sub s cr i b er west o th e mountains
We c an i ma g i ne the young sold i er far from h om e
and rin ds r e ading o tho s e far OE tim es of war and
p eril the winter w i nd howlin g up and down th e
r iver and beat i ng against the Block House carrying
with it th e e cho p erha p s of an Indi an d eath h allo o !
D oubtles s he wondere d wh at th e stern S p an i sh c am
i
n
r
would
h
av
e
d
on
e
i
f
brought
to
th
e
western
a
e
p g
w i ldern ess t o fight th e re d man and if h e l i ve d t o
r eturn t o h i s En glish hom e with h i s sc al p i nta ct i t
i s m ore th an p rob able that Ens i gn Franc i s Howard s
tale s of Amer i can warfar e and a dventure were th e
del i ght of many a hunt i n g d i nn er or even in g fir es i de
F ew i nd eed are th e tangible rel i cs of th e m ost
rom ant i c p er i o d of our lo c al h i st ory
The wr i ter
”
owns a c o p y of the e dition of Charle s F i fth
an d
i n all p rob ab i lity i t is th e one th at th e En gl i sh en
s i gn r e ad at Fort P i tt A few old l ett ers m aps and
a cc oun t b o oks s om e c annon b alls rusty swords and
b ayonets th e handsom e c arved ston e sun di al wh i ch
th e Cha p ter h as p l a c e d for s afe ke e p ing in C arn e g i e
Museum until its own home i s built are about all
w e c an sh ow of th e w orks and p oss ess i ons of th e
m en who m ad e o ur early history
Her e wa s the s c ene of a mi ghty strug gl e fo r em
pi r e a struggl e of which the o n l y v estig es left are
th e Blo ck Hous e and th e n am es of our stre ets to o
many of wh i ch h av e b e en change d in re cent y ea rs t o
su i t the vul gar needs of conven i ence and at the cost
of our h i stor i c al i dent i ty
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JU L IA M O R GAN HAR D I N G
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47
Much wat er h as run under th e br i dges of th e
All e gheny an d th e M o n o gah ela rivers s i nc e th e
”
sk etch
Th e N am es of Pittsburgh Stre ets
was
writt en an d chan g es as ra dical as thos e th at t o ok
p la c e b etwe en th e first years o
th e Nin ete enth
C entury and th e e arly davs of th e Twent i eth h av e
”
th e h i stori c
Po int
i n th e last
r evolution iz e d
d e ca de
Just as th e Fren ch and Indians stol e do w n th e
r i ver b efor e th e a dv anc e o G en Forb es an d his
Br i t i sh an d C ol onial tro o p s i n 1 7 5 8 s o did th e
”
d en iz ens of th e aforesaid
Po i nt
m elt away i n
cr e ak in g
e very d i r e ct i on b efor e th e st eam shov els
d err i cks an d snort in g engin es of th e Pennsylvan i a
R a i lro a d in 1 904 5
W i th th e c ons ol i dat i on of P i ttsburgh and All e
S om e of
ghen y into on e c i ty came oth er chang es
t he ol d stre ets whos e na m es c omm emorat ed dea d
p atr i ots asso c i at e d w i th Colon i al an d R evolut i on
ar e bur i e d un der emb ankm ents
a ry P i ttsburgh
c oncr et e w alls and br i ck wareh ous es Oth er n am es
h av e b e en drop p e d an d c erta i n etym ol o gic al cur i
St i ll oth ers
o s it ies hav e b e en p ut i n the i r p l a c e s
hav e b e en transferr e d t o d istant and i rrel evant lo
calit ies
and an ol d r es i dent r eturnin g from th e
worl d of sh ades wo ul d b e sadly c onfus ed i f lo ok i n g
for ol d l an dmarks
Fort P i tt and all p erta i n in g
t o i t exc eptin g only th e Blo ck Hous e vanish e d lon g
a g o Th er e is nothing l eft of th e l at er a ge wh i ch
”
s aw R i c e s C ast le in i ts gl ory
Th e n ew indus
t r i al i sm i s st e ad i ly and r a pi dly blott i n g out th e
pi ctures q ue an d h i stor i c all aro un d us L et all go o d
P i ttsburgh ers un i t e to p res erv e th e l i ttl e th at is
l eft th e re doubt bu i lt b y C ol B ou q uet i n 1 7 6 4
JU L IA M O R GAN H AR D IN G
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