The Archaeology of the French and Indian War in Pennsylvania

was quickly surrounded by 600 600 by surrounded quickly was

approximately 350 Virginians Virginians 350 approximately

On July 3–4 his detachment of of detachment his 3–4 July On

poorly situated on lowland. lowland. on situated poorly

There he built Fort Necessity, Necessity, Fort built he There

retreated to the Great Meadow. Meadow. Great the to retreated

Jumonville. Washington quickly quickly Washington Jumonville. involved in a military engagement. engagement. military a in involved

captured. The dead included included dead The captured. place in the Ohio Valley and Fort Augusta was never never was Augusta Fort and Valley Ohio the in place

of the French were killed or or killed were French the of tlers during Indian raids. However, the main confict took took confict main the However, raids. Indian during tlers

battle of Jumonville Glen, most most Glen, Jumonville of battle - set sheltered and River Susquehanna the along patrols

Within ffteen minutes, at the the at minutes, ffteen Within many as 400 troops. During the war the fort maintained maintained fort the war the During troops. 400 as many

Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville. Jumonville. de Villiers de Coulon The fort garrisoned as as garrisoned fort The fortifcations. wooden by topped of Europeans continued to expand westward. westward. expand to continued Europeans of

soldiers commanded by Joseph Joseph by commanded soldiers Allegheny Mountains with earthen walls over 200 feet long long feet 200 over walls earthen with Mountains Allegheny plish when they united. However, the never ending stream stream ending never the However, united. they when plish

approximately forty French French forty approximately Fort Augusta was the largest British fort east of the the of east fort British largest the was Augusta Fort was an early example of what the Indians could accom could Indians the what of example early an was -

encountered a detachment of of detachment a encountered Augusta. Augusta. quest and initiated one of accommodation. Pontiac’s War War Pontiac’s accommodation. of one initiated and quest

Fort Duquesne, Washington Washington Duquesne, Fort Hunter and Fort Halifax served as supply depots for Fort Fort for depots supply as served Halifax Fort and Hunter Native Americans the British reversed their policy of con of policy their reversed British the Americans Native -

May, 1754. On his way to attack attack to way his On 1754. May, a new fort was built at the mouth of Fishing Creek. Fort Fort Creek. Fishing of mouth the at built was fort new a that eventually provoked the American Revolution. For For Revolution. American the provoked eventually that

Washington back to the Ohio Valley with a larger force in in force larger a with Valley Ohio the to back Washington Colonel Clapham’s Augusta Regiment in April, 1756, and and 1756, April, in Regiment Augusta Clapham’s Colonel nifcant fnancial burden which led to unrest in the colonies colonies the in unrest to led which burden fnancial nifcant

men, the French refused to withdraw. Dinwiddie sent sent Dinwiddie withdraw. to refused French the men, 16, 1755. Fort Hunter was transferred to the command of of command the to transferred was Hunter Fort 1755. 16, - sig a created war the However, America. North eastern of

Fort LeBoeuf in December of 1753 with an escort of seven seven of escort an with 1753 of December in LeBoeuf Fort ing point after an Indian attack at Penns Creek, October October Creek, Penns at attack Indian an after point ing The French and Indian War resulted in British control control British in resulted War Indian and French The

withdrawal from the region. When Washington reached reached Washington When region. the from withdrawal - rally a as served Harrisburg near River Susquehanna the the Battle of Bushy Run, ending Pontiac’s Rebellion. Rebellion. Pontiac’s ending Run, Bushy of Battle the

by Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia to demand the French French the demand to Virginia of Dinwiddie Governor by havens for local settlers. Samuel Hunter’s gristmill, on on gristmill, Hunter’s Samuel settlers. local for havens a large Indian force was defeated by Colonel Bouquet at at Bouquet Colonel by defeated was force Indian large a

At the age of twenty-one George Washington was sent sent was Washington George twenty-one of age the At were no more than simple fortifed homes serving as safe safe as serving homes fortifed simple than more no were and killing hundreds of soldiers and settlers. On August 6 6 August On settlers. and soldiers of hundreds killing and

to Fort Duquesne. Duquesne. Fort to the eastern side of the Blue Mountain. Most of these these of Most Mountain. Blue the of side eastern the Valley in May, 1763, destroying eight forts and capturing capturing and forts eight destroying 1763, May, in Valley

Isle, Erie, through Fort LeBoeuf, Fort Machault, and fnally fnally and Machault, Fort LeBoeuf, Fort through Erie, Isle, upcoming confict and constructed a series of forts along along forts of series a constructed and confict upcoming Ottawa chief Pontiac led a series of attacks in the Ohio Ohio the in attacks of series a led Pontiac chief Ottawa

eled south along the Venango Path from Fort de la Presque Presque la de Fort from Path Venango the along south eled Susquehanna Valley would be the strategic center of the the of center strategic the be would Valley Susquehanna treaty and offended by the post-war policies of the British. British. the of policies post-war the by offended and treaty

- trav Supplies region. the in fortifcation major the became After Braddock’s disaster the British felt the the felt British the disaster Braddock’s After The Indian allies of the French were dissatisfed with the the with dissatisfed were French the of allies Indian The

Ohio in 1754 and replaced it with Fort Duquesne. This This Duquesne. Fort with it replaced and 1754 in Ohio

with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763. 1763. 10, February Paris, of Treaty the of signing the with

F S D t

S ort F o tem S y ive S en F e e H

the English supply station, Trent’s Fort, at the forks of the the of forks the at Fort, Trent’s station, supply English the

ears’ War, it ended in North America America North in ended it War, ears’ y Seven the as Europe

Valley. In response to these incursions, the French burned burned French the incursions, these to response In Valley.

ended the war on the North American mainland. Known in in Known mainland. American North the on war the ended

Susquehanna Valley. Susquehanna

By 1740 English traders were expanding into the Ohio Ohio the into expanding were traders English 1740 By

Canada and captured Montreal in 1760. This effectively effectively This 1760. in Montreal captured and Canada

of raids on settlers of both western Pennsylvania and the the and Pennsylvania western both of settlers on raids of

to Georgia. Georgia. to

With the Ohio Valley secure the British force invaded invaded force British the secure Valley Ohio the With

allowed the Indian allies of the French to initiate a series series a initiate to French the of allies Indian the allowed

1.5 million) controlled the Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia Scotia Nova from coast Atlantic the controlled million) 1.5

p t A

e AC e ry A empor left the settlers of western Pennsylvania unprotected and and unprotected Pennsylvania western of settlers the left

valleys, to the Louisiana territory. The British (population (population British The territory. Louisiana the to valleys,

back across the Monongahela. This catastrophic defeat defeat catastrophic This Monongahela. the across back

eastern Canada, south through the Ohio and Mississippi Mississippi and Ohio the through south Canada, eastern

western Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania. western Braddock was mortally wounded and his army was routed routed was army his and wounded mortally was Braddock

200 years. The French, (population 75,000) controlled controlled 75,000) (population French, The years. 200

in this campaign that eventually removed the French from from French the removed eventually that campaign this in Within fve hours the British suffered over 800 casualties. casualties. 800 over suffered British the hours fve Within

been exploiting the resources of North America for nearly nearly for America North of resources the exploiting been

was part of the Forbes Road and served as a supply depot depot supply a as served and Road Forbes the of part was by a small but aggressive force of French and Indians. Indians. and French of force aggressive but small a by

military powers. At its outset the French and English had had English and French the outset its At powers. military

major forts of Bedford, Ligonier, and Pitt. Fort Loudoun Loudoun Fort Pitt. and Ligonier, Bedford, of forts major tive, Braddock’s troops were attacked on July 9, 1755 1755 9, July on attacked were troops Braddock’s tive,

between two eighteenth-century European European eighteenth-century two between

from Carlisle to the forks of the Ohio that included the the included that Ohio the of forks the to Carlisle from - objec their from miles Eight Duquesne. Fort destroy to

outcome of competition competition of outcome

Forbes set out to retake Fort Duquesne. He built a road road a built He Duquesne. Fort retake to out set Forbes Braddock marched into the Ohio Valley with 2100 troops troops 2100 with Valley Ohio the into marched Braddock

War was the inevitable inevitable the was War

defense. In 1758, with a command of 7000 troops, General General troops, 7000 of command a with 1758, In defense. When this news reached Great Britain General General Britain Great reached news this When

The French and Indian Indian and French The

raid. This fort was also part of the Blue Mountain line of of line Mountain Blue the of part also was fort This raid. Washington to surrender. to Washington

C

t C li F on on Matthew Patton’s farm, burned in an earlier Indian Indian earlier an in burned farm, Patton’s Matthew on

flled Fort Necessity and the gun powder failed, forcing forcing failed, powder gun the and Necessity Fort flled

i t

le AB nevit e H Fort Loudoun was built by Pennsylvania militia in 1756 1756 in militia Pennsylvania by built was Loudoun Fort French and Indians led by Jumonville’s older brother. Rain Rain brother. older Jumonville’s by led Indians and French

The Archaeology of the French and Indian War in preServing ArCHAeology

Archaeology enhances and enriches all our lives, OF PENNSYLVANIA but prehistoric and historic sites are non-renewable Pennsylvania resources. Unfortunately, sites are ruined daily due Adjacent to the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, The State to development and urban sprawl. When a site is Museum of Pennsylvania offers expan- destroyed, information about the past is lost forever. sive collections interpreting the state’s Because unrecorded archaeological sites are those fascinating heritage. With exhibits most often destroyed, every effort must be made to examining the dawn of geologic time, locate, evaluate and record their content for the future, the Native American experience, the before a development project is undertaken. If you colonial and Revolutionary eras, a piv- know of locations where artifacts have been found and otal American Civil War battleground wish to assist with the preservation of archaeological PHMC/PHOTO By DON GILES and the Commonwealth’s vast indus- sites, we encourage you to record these locations with trial age, The State Museum demonstrates that Pennsylvania’s the Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey (PASS). story is America’s story.

We also encourage you to donate your collections. tHe CommonWeAltH’S oFFiCiAl muSeum These artifacts represent our connection to the past MUSEUM HOURS Wednesday through Saturday and should be preserved. Information, recording 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Sunday noon–5 p.m. Closed major holidays. forms, instructions and additional resources about Hours may be subject to change. Pennsylvania archaeology can be obtained at admission charged. www.paarchaeology.state.pa.us www.pennsylvaniaarchaeology.com The State Museum of Pennsylvania 300 North Street (Third St. between North and Forster Sts.) http://twipa.blogspot.com Harrisburg, PA 17120 (717) 787-4980 www.statemuseumpa.org

tHe StAte muSeum oF The State Museum of Pennsylvania pennSylvAniA’S ArCHAeology is one of 25 historic sites and museums AnD AntHropology gAllery on the Pennsylvania Trails of History® administered by the Archaeologists preserve the past and educate Pennsylvanai Historical and Museum Commission. the public about the role of archaeology in preserv- ing our heritage. In Harrisburg, The State Museum of Pennsylvania’s Archaeology and Anthropology Gallery focuses on the cultural heritage of Pennsylvanians. Visitors can explore nearly 16,000 years of human occupation, from Native American prehistory through European colonization. The museum is also the off- cial repository for state and federal archaeological investigations and curates these collections for future Tom Corbett, Governor generations. Andrew E. Masich, Chairman James M. Vaughan, Executive Director www.paarchaeology.state.pa.us www.phmc.state.pa.us 06/13 www.pennsylvaniaarchaeology.com http://twipa.blogspot.com A SAmple oF FrenCH AnD inDiAn WAr Fort exCAvAtionS

he archaeology of these French and Indian War forts has focused on the documentation of military features T such as stockades, bastions, offcer and enlisted personnel quarters, water wells and the recovery of hallmark artifacts such as gunfints, musket balls and buttons. Archaeologists have also examined dietary remains to document the lives and health of soldiers, and ceramics (dishes) which document the lifestyle of these people. Fort AuguStA—tHe lArgeSt BritiSH Nearly all of these sites continued to be occupied after the French and Indian War, some as military posts and Fort eASt oF tHe AppAlACHiAnS loCAteD others as farmsteads. Many are now covered by small urban centers thereby complicating their excavation and At tHe ForkS oF tHe SuSqueHAnnA interpretation. Interestingly, these sites were also the locations of Native American settlements, many of which river, nortHumBerlAnD County document thousands of years of Native American prehistory. This increases not only the complexity of their excavation but also their signifcance. Fort Augusta (1756-1792) was designed and built by The following four examples range in size from Fort Augusta, the largest British fort ever built east of the the British at the Indian town of Shamokin. It served Allegheny’s to Fort Hunter, a small supply depot. Their excavation has led to an improved understanding of warfare as a defensive facility against Indian raids in the during this period and also enhanced our understanding of military and rural life on the frontier during a time of upper Allegheny and Susquehanna River valleys dur- confict and change. ing the French and Indian War and again during the Revolutionary War as a place to protect settlers from loyalist Indian raiders. Fort louDoun—A provinCiAl Fort in GILES Archaeological investigations at Fort Augusta began

DON FrAnklin County tHAt plAyeD A mAjor y in 1938 with Works Projects Administration funds. B

role in tHe ForBeS CAmpAign tHAt Archaeologists uncovered the remains of the offcer’s PHOTO / regAineD tHe oHio vAlley quarters and the stockade. Upright posts were found set LVANIA y Fort Loudoun (1756–1765) was built on the site of into the ground to a depth of four feet. Many artifacts the Mathew Patton farm after it was burned in an early were discovered including iron cannon balls, lead mus- PENNS

OF Indian raid. The garrison included as many as 400 ket balls, gun parts, bayonets, buckles, buttons and a enlisted men and offcers. The fort site was completely host of other fort associated objects. There were also MUSEUM

excavated by The State Museum of Pennsylvania many non-military items such as domestic tableware, STATE

THE

in 1970–1980. The stockade was constructed by i.e. dishes, wine bottles and dietary remains in the form Fort leBoeuF—A FrenCH Fort Along PHMC Pennsylvania militia using British plans. The walls of discarded bones from butchered animals. Public outreach is an important aspect of excavations at Fort Hunter. were 127 feet long with bastions on three of the four tHe venAngo pAtH in erie County The 1978, 1979 and 1981 excavations conducted by Fort Hunter—A SmAll BritiSH Supply corners. The walls are somewhat haphazardly aligned The site of Fort LeBoeuf (1753–1796) in Waterford was the State Museum of Pennsylvania uncovered a sec- Depot Along tHe SuSqueHAnnA river, and the uprights were placed in a trench. The triangular the location of French, British and American fortifca- tion of earthen wall, wooden stockade, and the powder DAupHin County shaped bastions were supported by the fort walls with tions. It was excavated in 1937–1938 with federal funding magazine. Finally, additional excavations by James Delle a tripod arrangement of uprights on the outside walls. from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) by Harry of Kutztown University recovered cannon balls, remains Fort Hunter (1756–1760) was hastily built by a British The Patton house was used as the offcer’s quarters. Schoff and a crew of local laborers. The American block- of the commander’s home and blacksmithing activities. regiment as a supply depot for Fort Augusta. The garrison One of the most interesting fnds came from the well. house was located and musket balls, gunfints, and glass Excavation in the area of the northeast bastion revealed was generally occupied by less than forty offcers and This feature produced a variety of leather goods and an trade beads were recovered from its location. Additional (1896) the massive earthen and wooden fortifcations. enlisted men. Annual excavations by The State Museum of intact water bucket. In November, 1765, the local citi- testing across several blocks of Waterford produced evi- Pennsylvania began in 2006 and are on-going as part of zens became enraged over the excessive military control dence of charred timbers and burned artifacts such as Archaeology Month’s celebration in September and of their business affairs and laid siege with continuous nails, glass and lead. Historic documents verify the burn- October. There are no maps or detailed narratives depict- musket fre for two days. The fort was abandoned by the ing of both the French and British forts. A series of ing the site. References note a blockhouse, offcer’s quar- British on November 18. Some historians consider this trenches excavated to a depth of eight feet yielded evi- ters, stockade and a surrounding ditch. Archaeological action to be the frst act of the American Revolution. dence of a foundation and a concentration of musket testing has yet to locate the stockade but auger tests have balls, gun parts and a cut silver Spanish coin, a common defned potential anomalies. Artifacts possibly relating to form of currency in the eighteenth century. The extreme the fort consist of white, salt glazed stoneware, numerous depth of over-burden in this area was attributed to gunfints, musket balls, a four pound cannon ball and a destruction of one of the previous forts. The soil deposits LVANIA y

bale-seal. The later was used to certify the payment of LVANIA y and artifact concentrations were suffcient for Schoff to PENNS taxes and suggests the presence of a fort rather than a pri- PENNS OF

surmise that “the work at Waterford has established OF vate residence. The primary archaeological feature from beyond all doubt the traditional site of the Le Boeuf MUSEUM this period was a “bake oven”. This is a mortared platform MUSEUM

forts”. More recent investigations conducted by Dr. STATE

surrounded by thermally reddened earth, large quantities pennsylvania of forts frontier the of sites the locate to commission the of report

STATE Renata Wolynec, Edinboro University, confrmed the

THE

of charcoal and animal bone. The majority of gunfints and FROM THE presence of charred remains of the forts. musket balls were recovered from around this feature. Map depicting the layout of Fort Augusta based on historic PHMC PHMC Excavations at Fort Augusta revealed a cluster of cannon balls. Fort Loudon stockade trench and posts. documents. A CHronology oF tHe HigH pointS oF tHe FrenCH AnD inDiAn WAr in pennSylvAniA

1749 1753/1754 12/11/1753 05/28/1754 07/04/1754 07/09/1755 10/16/1755 1756 1758 09/1760 02/10/1763 03/1763 08/06/1763 English traders The French build Fort George Washington Battle of Battle of Great Braddock’s Penns Creek Massacre. British begin con- Forbes Campaign Surrender of Treaty of Paris, Beginning Battle of Bushy Run. increasingly move Duquesne and three visits Fort LeBoeuf Jumonville Glen, Meadows or Fort defeat at the Provincial government struction of forts begins. British capture Montreal, Canada. offcial end of the of Pontiac’s Pontiac’s Rebellion into the Ohio valley supply forts on the and demands that the opening confict Necessity. Washing- Battle of the builds a series of forts Augusta, Halifax Fort Duquesne and French and Indian Rebellion ended. and compete with Venango Path to secure French abandon their of the French and ton surrenders, Monongahela. along Blue Mountain. and Hunter. begin the construction War French traders. their trading region. forts. Indian War. returns to Virginia. of Fort Pitt.