Seven Years’ War (1756-1763).
George Washington's 1st expedition to remove the French for Fort Duquesne resulted in a skirmish near what is now known as Jumonville Glenn. The French & Indian War started in 1754 & did not end until 1763. Many battles were fought & powers shifted over the course of the war. Native American tribes eventually allied with both the French & British troops, & therefore fought for both sides.
Constructed by the French in 1754 at the heart of the Ohio River Valley, Fort Duquesne was an important landmark during the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). Because of its strategic location on the land where the Allegheny & Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio River, the British made several attempts to take the fort from the French & gain control of the Ohio Country. In 1758, an expedition led by General John Forbes finally succeeded in capturing Fort Duquesne, & Fort Pitt was established by the British on the site.
After several generations of imperial rivalry, the construction of Fort Duquesne triggered the French & Indian War between the British & French in 1754. Despite the fort’s small size, poor construction, & underwhelming force, its power was in its location. The French were able to prevent British expansion into the Ohio Country by positioning the fort at the intersection of the Allegheny, Monongahela, & Ohio Rivers. The location gave the French the opportunity to trade with Native American groups in the Ohio Country & deter the growth of British trade & settlement in North America.
In spring 1754, Major George Washington led an expedition of 300 Virginians toward Fort Duquesne to force the French to abandon the site. In May, Washington’s men, along with the Seneca tribe led by Tanacharison (also known as the Half King), found a campsite of about 30 Frenchmen & their commander, Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville. They ambushed the French, & the battle ended with one Virginian & 14 Frenchmen dead, including Jumonville.
Nervous about a counterattack by the French & Indians, Washington encouraged his men to hasten the construction of Fort Necessity. In late June, Indian allies informed Washington & his men that the French had assembled a force with the intention of driving the Virginia militia back.
On July 3, the French attacked Washington & his men at Fort Necessity. After a few hours of fighting, the French offered to let the overmatched British provincials walk away if they agreed to leave the Ohio Country for a year. Having lost 30 men & with 70 wounded, Washington abandoned Fort Necessity the next morning, & the French destroyed it.
For the past several decades the English & the French had struggled for control of the lucrative fur trade with the American Indians of North America. In June 1755, Braddock & an army of 1,400 English soldiers & colonial militiamen, including George Washington, marched to the Ohio Country. Their goal was to drive the French from Fort Duquesne at the place where the Allegheny & Monongahela Rivers joined to become the Ohio River.
With the hope of, once again, trying to halt French expansion, the British led a series of expeditions to Fort Duquesne between 1755 & 1758, starting with a disastrous mission commanded by General Edward Braddock, which is known today as “Braddock’s Defeat.” Braddok arrived in Virginia in February 1755, with a plan to take control of Fort Duquesne already forming.
With the aid of Lieutenant Colonel George Washington, who was still serving as a provincial officer, Braddock led 1400 men towards his target in June 1755. When they were about 10 miles from Fort Duquesne, an army of 900 Frenchmen, Canadians, & Native Americans attacked Braddock & his men. The massacre ended with 977 British killed or wounded, including Braddock. The French & their Indian allies, on the other hand, had only 39 casualties. Despite Britain’s monumental losses, Washington valiantly evacuated the remaining British forces & was the only surviving officer. He earned the title “Hero of the Monongahela” & a promotion to colonel of the entirety of Virginia’s forces.
In fall 1758, General John Forbes led the final British expedition to Fort Duquesne. Forbes had some 6,000 men under his command, including Washington & members of the Cherokee & Catawba tribes. In order to cut travel time on Braddock’s previously established road, Forbes decided to construct a new road that would take him & his men directly west to Fort Duquesne. Washington did not support Forbes’ decision & spoke outwardly about it to Forbes’ second in command, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Bouquet. The plan proceeded, despite Washington’s objections.
Forbes after he learned The general that only 200 French regulars occupied the fort & suffered from low morale & a limited food supply. Forbes & his men began their final move on Fort Duquesne in November 1758. It was a perilous journey for the three brigades, the third of which was led by Washington. the night before the British planned to take the fort, Forbes received word from his Native American scouts. that the French had destroyed & abandoned Fort Duquesne. One report by Bouquet stated that the scout “had discovered a very thick smoak from the Front extending in the bottom along the Ohio” & “sent word that the Enemies had abandoned their Fort after having burnt everything.”1 To this, Forbes responded, “I will sleep in Fort Duquesne or in hell tonight.”2 Forbes & the British troops simply claim the land the fort occupied.
The Forbes’ Expedition was Washington’s final campaign serving the British Army before his retirement. Plans for a new fort 1,000 feet upstream from the location of Fort Duquesne along the Monongahela River. Fort Pitt, as it came to be known, was 10x the size of Fort Duquesne. & it stood throughout the American Revolution.
Alison Dundore, George Washington University for Mount Vernon
Notes:
1. Henry Bouquet to William Allen, 25 November 1758, in The Papers of Henry Bouquet. Vol. 2, The Forbes Expedition, ed. S.K. Stevens, et al. (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, 1951), 610.
2. Forbes quoted in Douglas R. Cubbison, The British Defeat of the French in Pennsylvania, 1758: A Military History of the Forbes Campaign Against Fort Duquesne (Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2010), 172.
Bibliography:
Anderson, Fred. Crucible of War: The Seven Years’ War & the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766. New York: Vintage Books, 2000.
Clary, David A. George Washington’s First War: His Early Military Adventures. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011.
Crocker, Thomas E. Braddock's March: How the Man Sent To Seize a Continent Changed American History (Yardley, PA: Westholme, 2009)
Cubbison, Douglas R. The British Defeat of the French in Pennsylvania, 1758: A Military History of the Forbes Campaign Against Fort Duquesne. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2010.
Kopperman, Paul. Braddock at the Monongahela (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1977).
McCardell, Lee, III. Starred General: Braddock of the Coldstream Guards (Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1958).
Waddell, Louis M. & Bruce D. Bomberger, The French 7 Indian War in Pennsylvania: Fortification & Struggle During the War for Empire (Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, 1996).
