AND
FORT PITT
EARLY NAMES OF PITTSBURGHSTREETS
F OU R TH E D I TI ON
P U BLI S HE D BY
I
D AU GHTER S OF T HE AME R I CAN R E!OLU TI ON .
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A G H Y TY P Y A I A LLE E N C OU N , E NNS L! N
R E E D W I T T I N G , P R E S S Tbis little skelen D uquesn e a n d F ort P ill is
’ com il d from exlra els lei /!z n m a in l from P a rkma n s p e e y
Hislories T/ze Old n Tim é N vill B . Cra i F ort ; e e , y e e g,
P ill B M s m l n on P ion i o W . D a i l H sl é r . r r r , y g ; ee y , y
Hild el e c S . P . r /z , i .
P itts én rg/z
S eplember 1 898 . C HR O N O L O G Y .
—T h F r n ch b e b a chain r s t o eu 17 5 3 . e e gin to uil d of fo t
a forc e th eir b ound ri e s . — L B 1 7 53 . Was s s F r e e . D e c e mb e r 1 , 1 hington vi it o t o uf
’ — a Wa wr s I s a d J a ar 17 54 . Wa s ds nu y , hington l n on in ight l n
— e e ds a a r b e in th e All e gh e ny riv er. R comm n th t fo t
F rk h b uilt at th e o s of t e Ohio .
r 17 17 54 —A r b e u at th e F rk th e F e b u a ry , . fo t g n o s of
b a a re Ohio y C pt . Willi m T nt .
— - A r 16 17 54 . E s Ward w r re e m en sur p il , n ign , ith thi ty th ,
r s r b h e F re an d s rre ders . p i e d h e e y t nch , u n
J — D s m 17 54 . F r e e e e . un e , o t uqu n co pl t d
Ma 28 17 54 — a a k s n de J e y , . W shington att c Coulo umonvill
r a w at G eat M e do s .
— ’ J 9 1755 . Bra k s a uly , ddoc de fe t .
r — rb k mma A 17 58. Br en J F es a d. il G . e s p , ig . ohn o t co n — A s 17 58. F r B e rd b ugu t , o t dfo uilt . — O t b r 17 58. F r L er b c o e , o t igoni uilt . — N o e b e r 24 17 58. F r D s s r b th re v m , o t uqu e n e de t oyed y e
r a F r t e ting ench .
v — n N e b e r 25 17 58. Ge . F rb e s ak e s ses s . o m , o t s p o ion
- A s 17 59 . F r P b b n w x ugu t , o t itt egun y Gen . J ohn S ta i . — M 17 6 3 . s ra P a ay, Con pi cy of onti c . — J 17 6 3 . F r P b s b I a uly, o t itt e iege d y ndi n s . — 4 . H 17 6 . e r B e b ds th e d b Col n y ouqu t uil R e ou t . — O t b e r 10 17 7 2 . F r P ab a d b h Br s c o , o t itt n on ed y t e iti h . — J ar 1774 . D r J a F r P anu y, . m e s Conn elly occupi e s o t itt With
! r a a an d a e a e F r D re . i gini militi , ch ng s n m to o t unmo — — J 17 7 6 . I a uly, ndi n confere nce at F o rt P itt P ontia c an d
Guyasut a . — H ak s h r . 17 77 Br . en . a d e a t J un e 1, . ig G n t comm nd of e fo t
— n M cI n t sh s e e Ha d 7 8. e o d . 17 G . ucc s n — r 17 81 n W a I r e ak es a d. N ov e m b e , . Ge . illi m vin t comm n
Ma 9 17 9 1 —M a I s aa ra re r s F r P a y 1 , . !. c C ig po t o t itt in
d n —B ds F r L a a ruinou s con itio uil o t f ye tte . — b r 4 1805 . T h s r s r as b n . S e pt e m e , e hi to ic ite pu ch ed y G e
’ Hara J am e s O .
—M r r A r 1 1894 . s . ar E . S e e a dda er p il , M y ch nl y , g n ught of
’ ’ J a H a s s B ed b G en . e s O ar re e . e s m , p nt Col ouqu t R ou t
to the D aughters of th e Am erican Re volution of
A e e P e s a a ll gh ny County , nn ylv ni . F O RT D U Q U E SN E
Conflicting Cl aim s of F ranc e a n d E ngl and in
N A r a o rt h m e ic .
N maps of British America in the earlier part O th of e eighteenth century , one sees the east
ern coast , from Maine to Georgia , gashed with ten difieren t or twelve colored patches , very in size and fin shap e , and de ed more or less distinctly by divid
ing lines , which in some cases are prolonged west n or ward u til they reach the Mississippi , even cross
it and stretch indefin itely towards the Pacific . s These patche are the British Provinces , and the western prolongation of their boun dary represents their several claims to vast interior tracts founded on ancient grants , but not made good by occupation f ii 5“ or vindicated by an exertion o power .
Each province remain ed in j ealous isolation , u b sied with its own work , growing in strength , in
- ul in e en d the capacity of self r e , in the spirit of d p
ence , and stubbornly resisting all exercise of
- authority from without . If the English speaking l popu ation flowed westward , it was in ob edience to r K natu al laws , for the ing did not aid the move
ment , and the royal Governor had no authority to
do so . The p ower of the colonies was that of a
rising flood , slowly invading and conquering by the it u s unconscious force of s own growing volume , nle s means be foun d to hold it back by dams and em ban k m n t s e within app ointed limits . 6
it w as In the French colonies different . Here the representativefs of the crown were men bred in the s o atmo phere broad ambition and masterful , far rea ching enterprise . They studied the strong and s weak point of their rivals , and with a cautious forecast and a daring energy set themselves to of the task defeating them . If the English colonies were comparatively strong in numb ers thes e num bers could not be brought into action , while if French forces were small they were vigorously commanded and always ready at a word . It was s union confronting divi ion , en ergy confronting t o in apathy , and military centralization opposed dust rial for a democracy , and a time the dvantage
‘ w as on on Yet f all e side . in view o what France of had achieved , the patient gallantry of her ex l rers f advn o o e p , the zeal her missionaries , the
f - s o turons hardihood her bush ranger , revealing to mankind the existence of this wilderness world , while her rivals plodded at their workshops , their farms , their fisheries ; in view of all this , her pre tensions were moderate and reasonable compared to those of England .
— ’ W s F k t h . a s F s o r s of e Ohio hington i rs t !i it . The Treaty of Utrecht had decided that the Iroquois or Five Nations were British subj ects ; therefore it was insisted that all c oun tries con quered by them belonged to the British crown . The range of the Iroquois war parties was prodigious , un and the English laid claim to every mo tain , forest and prairie wher e an Iroquois had taken a scalp . This woul d give them not only all between the Alle han ies g and the Mississippi , but all between i but Ottawa and Huron , leaving noth ng to France the part now o ccupied by the Provin ce of Queb ec . 1713 The Treaty of U trecht in , and that of Aix ’ la ll in 1748 Chape e , were supposed to settle the dis put ed boun daries of the French and English pos ses
sions in America ; France , however , repented of her
enforced concessions , and claimed the whole Ameri c a f o can ontin ent as hers , except narrow strip sea
coast . To establish this boundary , it was resolved to build a line of forts from Canada to the Missis
sippi , following the Ohio , for they perceived that “ ” the Forks of the Ohio , so strangely neglected by the English formed together with Niagara the key f , o the great West . f an This chain o forts began at Niagara ; then other was built ofsquared logs at Presque Isle
!now Erie !, and a third , called Fort Le Boeuf , on eek what is now called French Gr . Here the work L rd r for a a u . e stopped a time , and g de St Pierre went into winter quarters with a small garrison
at Fort Le Boeuf . 11th f 1753 On the o D ecember , , Maj or George
Washington , With Christopher Gist as guide ,
Abraham Van Braam as interpreter , and several i w oo dsm en fi presented himself as a bearer of a letter from Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia to the re commander of Fort Le Boeuf . He was kindly ceiv ed . f o In fact , no form courtesy was omitted
durin g the three days occupied by St . Pierre in ’ framing his reply to Governor Dinwiddie s letter .
This letter expressed astonishment that his !St . ’ Pierre s !troops shoul d build forts upon lands so notoriously known to b e the property of Great
Britain , and demanded their immediate and peace
r . able departu e In his answer , St . Pierre said he had acted in accordance with the commands of his
general , that he woul d forward Governor Din widdie ’ s letter to the Marquis Duquesne and await his orders .
‘ T h e n a m e s o ft h e s e w oodsme n w e re B a rna b y C u rri n a n d J a e M a c G u ire I i a ra e r s H r t e w a r a n d W i i a m s , nd n T d ; e n y S t ll m J e k i Ha K i M o n o k a t o o ch a J e s k a k a k e W h i e h n ns ; l f ng , , , t T un d e r a n t h e H e r d unt . 8
It was on his return j ourney that Washington twice escap ed death . First from the gun ofa French Indian ; then in attempting t o cross the on Allegheny, which was filled with ice , a raft that he and his companions had hastily constructed with the help of one hatchet b etween them . He was thrown into the river and narrowly escaped drown ing ; but Gist succeeded in dragging him out of the ’ on Wain ri ht s water , and the party landed g Island ,
f - about opposite the foot o Thirty third Street . On making his report Washington recommended that “ ” a fort b e built at the Forks of the Ohio . Men and money were necessary to make good Governor Dinwiddie ’ s demand that the French evacuate the territory they had appropriated ; these ffi l he found it di cu t to get . He dispatched letters , ur orders , co iers from New Jersey to South Carolina , asking aid . Massachusetts and New York were t o as urged make a feint against Canada , but the or land belonged either to Pennsylvania Virginia , the other colonies did not care to vote money to defend them . In Pennsylvania the placid obstinacy ofthe a f Quakers w s matched by the stolid obstinacy o the German farmers ; notwithstanding , Pennsylvania hun voted sixty thousand pounds , and raised twelve dred men at eighteen p ence per day . All Dinwiddie coul d muster el s ewhere was the promise of three or four hundred men from North Carolina , two com p anics from N ew York and one from South Caro lina , with what recruits he could gather in Virginia . ’ s In accordance with Wa hington s recommendation ,
Capt . William Trent once an Indian trader of the , f better class , now a commissioned o ficer , had been sent with a company of backwoodsmen to build a fort at the Forks of the Ohio , and it was hoped he woul d fortify himself sufficiently to hold the posi tion . Trent began the fort , but left it with forty 9 men un der Ensign Ward and went b ack to j oin
Washington . The recruits gathered in Virginia were to b e commanded by Joshua Fry, with Wash in gt on as second in command . — Wa at F r N e e ss . F o rt D uqu es ne . s hington o t c ity
n 17 1754 O the th of April , , Ward was surprised by the appearance of a swarm ofcanoes and bateaux descending the Allegheny , carrying , ac cording to
Ward , about one thousand Frenchmen , who landed , n planted their can on , and summoned the Ensign to surrender . He promptly complied and was allowed to depart with all his men . The French soon de m olished the unfinished fort and built in it s place a on e D u much larger and b etter , calling it Fort of quesne , in honor the Marquis Duquesne , then
Governor of Canada .
re Washington , with his detachment of ragged cruit s , without tents and scarcely armed , was at ’ Will s Creek , about one hundred and forty miles “ f ” o from the Forks the Ohio , and he was deeply chagrifned when Ward j oined him and reported the loss o the fort . Dinwiddie then ordered Washing ton to advance . In order to do so , a road must b e c cut for wagons and ann on , through a dense forest ; two mountain ranges must b e crossed , and innu m erable hills and streams . Towards the end of May he reached Great Meadows with on e hundred and
fifty men . While encamped here , Washington learned that a detachment of French had marched from the fort in order to attack him . They met in a rocky hollow and a short fight ensued . Coul on de Jumon ville , the commander , was killed ; all the French were taken prisoners or killed except one Canadian . i f This skirm sh was the beginning o the war . Wash ’ in gt on then advanced as far as Christopher Gist s settlement , twelve or fourteen miles on the other 10
f d . side o the Laurel Ri ge He soon heard that stron g t o reinforcements had been sent Fort Duquesne , and that another detachment was even then on the march ul on un 28th under Co on de Villiers , so J e he began N s . ot to retreat having enough horse , the men had on to carry the baggage their backs , and drag nine swivels over miserable roads . Two days brought on e them to Great Meadows , and they had but full day to strengthen the slight fortification they had made there , and which Washington named Fort
Necessity .
fr 1 1 o The fighting b egan at about , and lasted nine hours ; the English , notwithstanding their half of u starved condition , and their want amm nition , keeping their ground again st double their number . Wh t en darkness came a parley was sounded , o which
Washington at first paid no attention , but when the
French repeated the proposal , and requested that
f . u an o ficer might be sent , he co ld refuse no longer There were but two in Washington ’ s command who m could understand French , and one of the was wounded . Capt . Van Braam , a Dutchman , acted as interpreter . The articles were signed about mid night . The English troops were to march out with drums beating , carrying with them all their prop r Th afiair e ty . e prisoners taken in the Jumonville were to b e released , Capt . Van Braam and Maj or Stobo to b e detained as hostages for their safe re turn to Fort Duquesne .
This defeat was disastrous to the English . There was now not an English flag waving west of the Alle han ies t g . Villiers went back exultant to For Duquesne and Washington b egan his wretched ’ march to Will s Creek . No horses , no cattle , most of the baggage must b e left behind , while the sick and woun ded must b e carried over the Alleghan ies on s An d the backs of their weary , half tarved comrades . ul 1754 this was the Fourth of J y , . 1 1
The conditions of th e surrender were never car ried out . The prisoners taken in the skirmish with m n vill Ju o e were not returned . Van Braam and
Stobo were detained for some time at Fort Duquesne , s then sent to Queb ec , where they were kept pri oners for several years . While a prisoner on parole Maj or Stobo made good use ofhis opp ortunities by ac quain tin g himself with the neighborhood ; afterwards he was kept in close confinement and endured great f1759 hardships ; but in the spring o he succeeded in making his escap e in the most miracul ous manner . n While Wolfe was besiegi g Queb ec , he returned from
Halifax , and , it is said , it was he who guided the troop s up the narrow wooded path t o the Heights of
Abraham . Strange , that one taken prisoner in a far s distant provinc e , in a skirmi h which b egan the war , shoul d guide the gallant Wolfe to the victory at
Quebec , which virtually closed the war in America .
B d rad oc k .
Nothing of importanc e was done in Virginia and Pennsylvania until the arrival ofBraddock in Feb ruar 1755 y , , bringing with him two regiments . Governor Dinwiddie hailed his arrival with j oy hop ing that his troubles would now come to an end . Of ’ n w Braddock , Gover or Din iddie s Secretary, Shirley wrote to Governor Morris “ We have a general most judiciously c hosen for b eing disqualified for ” the service he is in , in almost every respect . Brad dock issued a call to the provincial governors to meet him in council , which was answered by Dinwiddie of
Virginia , Dobbs of North Carolina Sharp e of Mary f , o D elan e Y land , Morris Pennsylvania , y of New ork , and Shirley of Massachusetts . The result was a plan u to attack the French at fo r p oints at once . Brad r dock was to advanc e on Fort Duquesne , Fo t
Niagara was to b e reduced , Crown Point seized , and 1 2
f t o Beause a body o men from New England capture j our and Arcadia .
We will follow Braddock . In his case prompt a f w s action o the utmost importance , but this was s s n eces impossible , as the people refu ed to furni h the wh sary supplies . Franklin , o was Postmaster Gen ’ eral in Pennsylvania , was visitinfg Braddock s camp with his son when the report o the agents sent to collect wagons was brought in . The numb er was so wholly inadequate that Braddock stormed , say ing the expedition was at an end . Franklin said it n ot was a pity he had landed in Pennsylvania , where he might have foun d hors es and wagons more plen ti ful . Braddock b egged him to use his influence to s on re obtain the nece sary supply , and Franklin his turn t o Pen n sylvania issued an address to the farm ers . In about two weeks a sufficient number was furnished , and at last the march b egan . He reached ’ s n 1 0 1 755 Will Creek o May , , where fortifications had b een erected by the colonial troops , and called
Fort Cumb erland . Here Braddock assembled a forc e
- numb ering about twenty tw o hundred . Although Braddock de spised the provincial troop s and the
Indians , he honored Col . George Washington , who commanded the troop s from Virginia by placing ff , him on his sta . A month elapsed before this army was ready to n leave Fort Cumberla d . Three hun dred axemen led
the - the way, long , long , train of pack horses , wagons , i s ul and cannon follow ng , as be t they co d , along the u Th narrow track , over st mps and rocks and roots . e i road cut was but twelve feet wide , so that the l ne o f s s ur march was ometime fo miles long , and the difficulties in the way were so great that it was im possible to move more than three miles a day . 1 8 f th o On the June they reached Little Meadows , s re not thirty mile from Fort Cumb erland , where a port reached them that five hundred regulars were on 13
their way to reinforce Fort Duquesne . Washington advised Braddock t o leave the heavy baggage and n press forward , and followi g this advic e , the next n 1 9th day , Ju e , the advance corps of about twelve hundred soldiers with what artillery was thought
indispensable , thirty wagons , and a numb er of pack
horses , b egan its march ; but the delays were such that it did not reach the mouth of Turtle Creek until h n July 7t . The dista ce to Fort Duquesne by a di
rect route was ab out eight miles , but the way was ffi s ul di c t and perilous , so Braddock cro sed the
re - Monongahela and crossed farther down , at one ’ o clock . Washington describ es the scene at the ford with
admiration . The music the b anners the mounted f f, , o ficers , the troops o light cavalry, the naval detach
- - ment , the red coated regulars , the blue coated Vir in ian s g , the wagons and tumbrils , the cann on , howit
z ers - and coehorns , the train of pack horses and the droves of cattle passed in long procession through l n the rippling shallows and s owly e t ered the forest . g
Fort Duquesne was a strong little fort , compactly of built of logs , clos e to the point where the waters
the Allegheny and Monongahela unite . Two sides
were protected by these waters , and the other two by an d en ravelins , a ditch glacis and a covered way ,
closed by a massive stockade . The garrison consisted of a few companies of regulars and Canadians and n eight hundred Indian warriors , u der the command on re ur of C t oe . The captains under him were Beau Li n eri j eu , Dumas , and g s . When the scouts brought the intelligenc e that the
English were within six leagues of the fort , the
French , in great excitement and alarm , decided to march at once and ambuscade them at the ford . The
Indians at first refused to move , but Beauj eu , dressed fin as one of them , ally persuaded them to march , and they filed offalong the forest trail that led to the ford 1 4
f — s o the Monongahela six hundred Indian and about three hundred regulars and Canadians . They did not reach the ford in time to make the attack there .
’ Braddoc k s D e fe at .
Braddock advanced carefully through the dense and silent forest , when suddenly this silence was
- f o broken by the war whoop of the savages , whom ’ delib n ot one was visible . Gage s column wheeled erat ely into lin e and fired ; and at first the fEnglish or seemed to carry everythin g b efore them , the Canadians were seized by a panic and fled ; but the scarlet coats of the English furnished good targets l for their invisible enemies . The Indians , yel in g
- their war cries , swarmed in the forest , but were s o l completely hidden in gu lies and ravines , b ehind trees and bushes and fallen trunks , that only the trees were struck by the volley after volley fired by the
English , who at last broke ranks and huddled to s f gether in a b ewilfdered ma s . Bfoth men and o ficers o o were ignorant this mode warfare . The Vir gin ian s alone were equal to the emergency and might have held the enemy in check , but when Braddock n i a fou d them hid ng b ehind trees and bushes , s the
Indians , he b ecame so furious at this seeming want of c ourage and discipline , that he ordered them with oaths to j oin the line , even b eating them with his sword , they replying to his threats and commands that they would fight ifthey could see any one to n fight with . The grou d was strewn with the dead and dying , maddened horses were plun ging about , n the roar of musketry and can on , and above all the yells that came from the throats of six hundred in cho visible savages , formed a as of anguish and terror indescribable . Braddock saw that all was lost and ordered a re treat , but had scarcely done so when a bullet pierced
1 6 f s shells were destroyed , barrel o gunpowder were i staved and the contents thrown nto a brook , and provisions scattered about through the woods and n o h of swamps , while the enemy , with thoug t pur t o suit , had returned Fort Duquesne . Braddo ck died on 1 3 1755 the th of July , , and was buried on the
road ; men , horses and wagons passing over the grave of their dead commfander as they retreated t o Fort s Cumberland , thus e facing every trace of it , le t it should b e discovered by the Indians and the b ody
mutilated . Thus ended the attempt to capture Fort
Duquesne , and for ab out three years , while the storm
of blood and havoc raged elsewhere , that point was un disturbed .
Br ad r G F r ig i e en e ral o be s .
o v In the meantime Dinwiddie had gone , a new g ern or was in his place , while in the plans of Pitt the capture of Fort Duquesne held an important
place . Brigadier General John Forb es was charged
with it . He was Scotch by birth , a well bred man of
the world , and unlike Braddock , by his conduct to
ward the provincial troops , commanded b oth the afi ection r resp ect and of the colonists . He only e s embled Braddock in his determin ed resolution , but he did not hesitate to embrace modes of warfare
that Braddock would have scorned . He wrote to Boquet : I have b een long of your Opinion of equip ping numb ers of our men like the savages , and I
fancy Col . Burd of Virginia has most of his men
equipped in that manner . In this country we must
learn our art of war from the Indians , or any one
else who has carried it on here . He arrived in 1758 w as Philadelphia in April , , but it the end of n o Ju e b efore his troops were ready t march . His ’ s force con isted of Montgomery s Highlanders , twelve hundred strong ; Provincials from Pennsylvania , Vir
HE NRY BOU QU E T . 17
ginia , Maryland , North Carolina , and a detachment f t o s o Royal Americans ; amounting about six or even
thous and men . The Royal Americans were Germans
- in - from Pennsylvania , the Colonel chief bieng L ord
Amherst , Colonel Commandant Frederick Haldi n mand , and conspicuous among them was Lieute ant
C e r B e a ave an d acc s e olon l Hen y ouqu t , br ompli h d n f s o e o Swi s , who commanded the four battalions
ofwhich the regiment was composed . General Forb es was detained in Philadelphia by a
painful and dangerous malady . B ouquet advanced wn R a sto . and encamped at y , now Bedford Then arose the question ofopening a new road through or the Pennsylvania to Fort Duquesne , , following m . co old road made by Braddo ck Washington , who m an d s f ed the Virginian , foretold the ruin o the ex ’ edition s p unle s Braddock s road was chosen , but Forb es and Bouquet were firm and it was decided to
adopt the new route through Pennsylvania . Forb es ul was able to reach Carlisle early in J y , but his dis order was so increased by the j ourney that he was 1 1th not able to leave that plac e until the of August , and then in a kind oflitter swung b etween two s horses . In thi way he reached Shippensburg , where
he lay helpless until far into Septemb er . His plan w as s to advance slowly , e tablishing fortified maga s s s zine as he went , and at la t when within ea y dis
tance of the Fort , to advance upon it with all force , as little impeded as po ssible with wagons and pack
s s . s m R a st own hor e Having ecured his agazines at y , and built a fort which he called Fort Bedford in hon fhi “ o s frd Bed o or friend and patron , the Duke of fi Bouquet was sent with his command to forward the
I n re o n f i i o i s n r t h e D k e fB e r re s co gn t th ho o , u o dfo d p e nt e d t o t h e r a a r e fl a fr o i m s n r s i n 1 9 t i s fo t l g g c o b o ca d e lk . I 8 5 h fl a g w a s in t e o e n o fM rs . M r s si o e o fB e r h k i i t p w o e n t h s s o o , dfo d . ndly l t o t h e P i b r C a e r D a e r o ft h m i i r ts t s e e r a R e f g o e x t u h h p t ugh A c n volut on , ’ h i b i tio n a t a re e i n i i c p t o g ve n b y th e m a t M rs . P a rk P a n t e r s re i e e F e b r a r 15 1 s d nc , u y th , 895. 1 8
heavy work o froad making over the main range of “ Alle han ies the g and the Laurel Hills ; hewin g , dig fci a n es t o ging , blasting , laying and gabions , support f r s s o s o the track along the ide the steep declivitie , worming their way like mole s through the j ungle of ” w s As o r s amp and fore t . far as the eye mind could reach a prodigious fores t vegetation spread its im His pervious canopy over hill , valley and plain . w as on s next post the Loyalhanna Creek , carcely f s u fi ty miles di tant from Fort D quesne , and here he
built a fortification , naming it Fort Ligonier , in
f - in - f o o honor Lord Ligonier , commander chief His ’
. s Maj esty s armies Forb e had served ufnder Ligonier , o and his influence , together with that the Duke of
t o n . Bedford , secured Forb es his appoi tment w f f N o came the di ficult and important task o se
curing Indian allies . Sir William John s on for the s on caire Engli h , and J for the French , were trying in every way to frighten or caj ole them into choosing sides ; but that which neither of them coul d - aecom
lish w as I mission ar p done by a devoted Moravian y , s s Chri stian Frederic Post . Po t poke the D elaware language , had married a converted squaw , and by s s his implicity , directne s and perfect honesty , had gained their full confidence . He was a plain German ,
f - upheld by a s ense o duty and single heafrted trust in Go d. o The Moravians were apostles peace , and they succeeded in a surprising way in weaning their converts from their ferocious in stinct s an d savage ss f o r practices , while the mi ion Indians Canada e t ain ed all their native ferocity , and their wigwams w s were strung ith scalp , male and female , adult and
s e - s s infant . These called mission were but ne ts of s s baptized avage , who wore the crucifix instead of
- the medicine bag . Post accepted the dangerous mission as envoy to n the camp of the hostile I dians , and making his way to a Delaware town on Beaver Creek , he was kindly LORD VIS COU NT LIGONIE R .
20
t The Fren ch pushed their advantages with spiri , and there were many skirmi shes in the fores t b e r tween Fort Ligonier and Fort Duquesne , but thei case was desperate . Their Indian allies had deserted ffo L n eri o s i s them , and their supplies had b een cut ; g , wh on t reoeur s o succeeded C , was forced to dismi s the
f . s t o o o greater part his force The Engli h , , were al enduring great hardships . Rain had continued most without cessation all through September ; the newly made road was liquid mud , into which the u wagons s nk up to the hubs . In Octob er the rain t o changed snow, while all this time Forbes was
- R a st own chained to a sick bed at y , now Fort B ed ford . In the beginning ofN ovemb er he was carried from Fort Bedford to Fort Ligonier in a litter , and a ff i o council O ficers , then held , dec ded to attempt noth ing more that seafson ; but a few days later a report o of the condition the French was brought in , which fr led Forb es to give orders o an immediate advance . 18 1 758 t w o On November , , thousand five hundred or picked men , without tents baggage , without or wagons artillery except a few light pieces , began their march . F O R T P I T T — F r P ls B . F re nch Abandon F o rt D uqu es n e . o t itt uilt
On the evening ofthe 24th they encamped on the
hills around Turtle Creek , and at midnight the sen tinels heard a heavy boom as if a magazine had ex
l w as . p o ded . In the morning the march resumed Af ter the advance guard came Forb es , carried in a n litter , the troops followi g in three columns , the
Highlanders in the center headed by Montgomery , the Royal Americans and Provincial s on the right
and left under Bouquet and Washington . Slowly they mafde their way b eneath an endless entangle ment o bare branches . The Highlanders were goaded to madness bfy seeing as they approached o th e Fort the heads their countrymen , who had his on fallen when Grant made rash attack , stuck s p oles , around fwhich their plaid had b een wrapped in imitation o p etticoats . Foaming with rage they
rushed forward , abandoning their muskets and drawing their broadswords ; but their fury was in i f o r va n , when they reached a point where the Fort s hould have been in sight there was nothing b e , f tween them and the hills on the oppo site banks o of the Monongahela and Allegheny but a mass black
ened and smouldering ruins . The enemy , after burn
s - s ing the barracks and tore hou es , had blown up the s fortifications and retreated , ome down the Ohio , o t o thers overland Presque Isle , and others up the t o Allegheny Venango . There were two forts and some idea may be f , ormed of their size , with the barracks and store 22
s t o hou se s . from the fact that John Haslet write the s s s Rev . Dr . Alli on , two day after the Engli h took ss s s s po e sion , that there were thirty chimney tack standing .
The troops had no shelter until the first fort was l t s C o . o s built . Bouquet wrote Mi Anne Willing 25th 1758 “ from Fort Duquesne , Novemb er , , they have burned and destroyed t o the ground their fort ification s s n s us r , hou es and magazi e , and left no othe — fr c over than the heavens a very cold one o an army ” without tents or equipages . l C o . t o Bouquet , in a letter written Chief Justice Al f on 26th en um er o len Pennsylfvania Novemb er , o s ated the needs the garrison , which he hope the f s w im Province s o Penn ylvania and Virginia ill “ s : God s s mediately supply . He add After , the ucce s
f t . o thi s expedition is entirely due o the general He ha s s s shown the greate t prudence , firmne s and abili N n n wh t . O i o y o e s b etter i formed than I am , had an opp ortun ity t o s e e every step that has b een taken from the b eginning and every Obstacle that w as ” ’ thrown in his way . Forbes first care was t o provide fr defense and shelter o his troops and a strong stock ’ ’ ade was built aroun d the traders cabin s and s oldiers s s f o hut , which he named Pitt burgh , in honor Eng ’ s n Tw o land great mi ister , William Pitt . hundred n l t o Virginians u der C o . Mercer were left defend the t o new fortififcation , a force wholly inadequate hold the place i the French chose t o return and attempt s who r . f to take it again Tho e remained must o a time depend largely on stream and fore st t o supply t b e their needs , while the army , which was o return gan their homeward march early in Decemb er , with s starvation taring them in the face .
N o s ooner w as his w ork done than Forbes utterly
. s s succumbed He left with the oldier , and was car ried all the way to Philadelphia in a litter , arriving L L WI IAM PITT .
23
1 17 5 8 9 . there January , He lingered through the in w as winter , died March , and buried in Christ I fhis 14 1 759 . s : Church , March , Parkman ays o s w as achievement w as n t brilliant , its olid value above price ; it opened the Great West t o English s enterprise took from France half her savage allie , , f and relieved the we stern b orders from the scourge o Y t o Indian war . From southern New ork N orth Carolina the frontier population had cause t o bless
f - s ol the memory o thi s steadfast and all enduring dier . f Just sixty days after the taking o Fort Duquesne ,
William Pitt wrote a letter , dated Whitehall , Janu 23 1759 f ary , , o which the following extract will show how important this plac e was considered in Britian Great . — Sir I am n ow t o acquaint y ou that the King hafs b een pleased immediately upon receiving the news o s fhi n t o o s o the uc cess arms the river Ohio , direct ’ - in - f s the commander chief o His Maj e ty s forces in s o n o North America , and General Forbe , t lose time s for in concerting the propere t and speediest means i if completely restor ng , possible , the ruined Fort t o or fDuquesne a defensible and respectable state , o r erecting another in the room ofit ofsufficient strength and every way adequate t o the great im , f portance o the several obj ects ofmaintaining His ’ Maj e sty s subj ects in the undisputed possession Of the Ohio , etc . , etc .
1759 C ol . In a letter dated Pittsburgh August , t o v Go . : Merc er writes Denny Capt . Gordon , chief f ar ificers engineer , has arrived with most o the t but do es not fix the spot for constructing the Fort till the general comes up . We are preparin g the ma erial f t s or building with what exp edition so few men ” of are capable . 24
There was no attempt made t o re store the old fortifications , but about a year afterward work was
o n . su c begun a new fort Gen . John Stanwix , who f d t o ceede Gen . Forb es , is said o have b een a man l high military standing , with a iberal and generous 17 60 a on spirit . In , he ppeared the Ohio at the head f t o O an army , and with full power build a large fort where Fort Duquesne had s tood . The exact date of his arrival and the day when work was commenced i n t s o known , but the work must have b een begun
r f 1759 . f s o o the last o Augu t the first Septemb er , 24 1759 s A letter dated September , , give the follow ing account : It is n ow near a month since the army has b een employed in erecting a most formidable s on e as t o s s e fortification , uch a will late t posterity n o cure the British empire o n the fOhio . There is need t o enumerate the abilities o the chief engineer n or the spirit shown by the troops in executing the important task the fort will soon b e a lasting monu ment ofb oth .
The fort w as built near the point where the All e hen s g y and Monongahela unite their water , but a l n of s . little farther i and than the s ite Fort Duque ne It stood on the present site ofthe Duque sne Freight
Station , while all the ground from the Point t o Third Street and from Lib erty Street to the Allegheny River was enclosed in a stockade and surrounded by
. s s c n a moat It was a solid and ub tantial buildin g , o structed at an enormous exp ense t o the English Gov ii rn m n w fi e - e e t . as vs tw o s It ided , ide s facing f s o s the land brick , the other tockade . The earth aroundfwas thrown up so all was enclo s ed by a ram O on part earth , supported the land side by a per en dicular f p wall o brick ; on the other sides a line of
! T h e r e i s a w i d e d i s c r e p a n c y in t h e a ut h o r i t i e s a s t o t h e ! c o s t o fF o r t P i t t ; s o m e s ta t e t h e c o s t a s s ix hund re d o n s o e r s i e i a s i x t h o a n o n p u d , th g v t s t y us d p u ds .
26
f l o lish fort , instead the kind y welcome he had been s t o accu tomed receive from the French , he got noth s s m s ing but oaths , and menace , and blow , someti e s o f b eing a ssisted t o leave the premi es by the butt a ’
s s . s entinel mu ket But above and beyond all , they s f watched with wrath and fear the progre s o the fr s s o white man into their be t hunting ground , as the Engli sh colonist advanced ftheir beloved forests o disappeared under the strokes the axe . The French t o s s did all in their power augment thi di content .
In thi s spirit ofrevenge and hatred a powerful s confederacy was formed , including all the we tern t rib es un der f , the command o Pontiac alike renowned fr o his warlike spirit his wisdom and his bravery , , f and whose name was a terror t o the entire region o thfe lake s . The blow was t o b e struck in the month o 1 l s 763 . t s s u May , The tribes were o ri e im taneou ly s s s at and attack the English garri on . Thu a sudden n w as tack was made o all the western posts . D etroit saved after a long and clo s e siege . Forts Pitt and Niagara narrowly escaped , while Le Boeuf , ’ s s Q Venango , Presqu I le , Miami , St . Joseph , uach Michillim ack in ac tanon , Sandusky and all fell into of s s the hands the Indian . Their garri ons were either o r ff n o O butchered the spot , carried to be tortured fr o the amusement oftheir cruel captors .
The savages swept over the surroun ding country carrying deatfh and destruction wherever they went . Hun dreds o traders were slaughtered without wi s n mercy , while their ve and children if ot mur ff , o s . dered , were carried captive The property de or is s t u stroyed stolen amounted , it aid o five h ndred s s on thou and pounds . Attack were made Fort s Bed
s . ford and Ligonier , but without succes Fort Ligon fr nier was under s eige o two months . The preserva of w a of s s tion this post the utmo t importance , and his c Lieut . Blaine , by courage and good onduct , 27
2 3 l 176 C o . managed to hold it until August , , when
Bouquet arrived with his little army .
In the meantime , every preparation was made at s s Fort Pitt for an attack . The garri on at that p o t numb ered three hundred and thirty , commanded by
s . Capt . Simeon Ecuyer , a brave Swi s The forti fica ion s t having been badly damaged by floods , were with great labor repaired . The barracks were made
- t o shot proof protect the women and children , and f re s s o fi as the building in ide were all wood , a rude engine was constructed to extinguish any flames
fir - of kindled by the e arrows the Indians . All the houses and cabin s outside the walls were leveled t o un c the gro d . The fort was so rowded by the familie s of the settlers who had taken refuge there , that “ 0 1 E cuyer wrote to C . Bouquet We are so crowded s fr n o i s i f te o in the fort that I fear disea e , p every care I cannot keep the plac e as clean as I should like . is Besides , the smallpox among us , and I have there fore caused a hospital t o be built under the draw ” bridge .
S everal weeks , however , elapsed b efore there was any determined attack from the enemy . On July
26th some chiefs asked for a parley with Capt .
Ecuyer , which was granted . They demanded that he and all in the fort should leave immediately or it ll and they woul d a b e destroyed . He replied that n ot o they would g , closing his speech with these “ : s ou words Therefore , my brother , I will advi e y to 9? ou go home , Moreover , I tell y if any
Of you appear again about this fort , I will throw
- u b omb shells which will burst and blow y o to atoms , and fire cannon upon y ou loaded with a whole b ag ’
s . full of bullet Take care , therefore , for I don t ” o want t hurt you . On the night succeeding this parley the Indians approached in great numb ers , crawling under the banks of the two rivers digging 28
com holes with their knives , in which they were
fir f . o n e plet ely sheltered from the e o the fort On s ide the entire bank was lined with these burrows , s f s s s o from which they hot volley bullet , arrow and
- h was fi . re arrows into t e fort The yelling terrific , and the women and children in the crowded b ar s racks clung t o each other in abj ect terror . Thi s 1 st attack lasted for five days . On Augu t the ’ n fl o India s heard the rumor C o . Bouquet s approach , s t o n which cau ed them move o , and so the tired gar rison was relieved .
When the news ofthis Indian upri sing reached l t o . o Gen . Amherst he ordered C Bouquet march , f with a detachment o five hundred men to the relief s o Of the b esieged forts . This force was compo ed companies from the Forty - second Highlanders and
- t o Seventy seventh Regulars , which were added six
f s . s c ompanies o Ranger Bouquet establi hed his camp in Carlisle at the end of June . Here he found s every building , every hou e , every barn , every hovel , s crowded with refugees . He writes to Gen . Amher t ul 13 s of w : on J y th , as follow The list p eople kno n t o be killed increases every day . The des olation Of s o m an y families reduced to the last extremity of , f want and misery ; the despair o those who have lost their parents , relations and friends , with the cries of who s distracted women and children fill the treets , form a s cene painful to humanity and impossible to ” describe .
s fP n n l Strange as it may eem , the Province o e sy vainia would do nothing t o aid the troops who it s s h . w o gathered for defen e The Quakers , held
ss on - a maj ority in the A embly , were n combatants from principle and practice ; and the Swiss and Ger i man Mennonites , who were numerous n Lancaster n s Cou ty , profes ed , like the Quakers , the principle of n on - resistance , and refused to b ear arms . Wagons 29
and horses had been promised , but promises were “ : broken . Bouquet writes again to Amherst I hope we shall b e able t o save that infatuated people from s s destruction , notwith tanding all their endeavor to defeat your vigorous measures . While Bouquet , ffi on harassed and exasperated , labored at his di cult n task , the terror of the country p eople i creased , until ul fo r at last fin ding that they co d hop e but little aid from the Government , they bestirred themselves with admirable spirit in their own defense . They ofrifl em en raised small bodfies , who scoured the o wo ods in front the settlements , and succeeded in driving the enemy b ack . In s ome instances these men dressed themselves as Indian warriors painted their , f o facefs red and black , and adopted the savage mode vvar are .
On the 3d of July a courier from Fort Bedford e rod into Carlisle , and as he stopped to water his horse he was immediately surroun ded by an anxious t o w o e crowd , whom he told his tale of , adding , as ’ s he mounted his horse to ride on to Bouquet tent , ” The Indians will soon b e here . Terror and excite s ment spread everywhere , messengers were di patched s in every direction to give the alarm , and the report , harrowing as they had b een , were fully confirmed by the fugitives who were met on every road and by path hurrying t o Carlisle for refuge . A party armed themselves and went out to warn the living and bury the dead . They foun d death and desolation every where , and sickened with horror at seeing groups of ho gs tearing and devouring the bodies of the dead .
After a delay of eighteen days , having secured his enough wagons , horses and oxen , Bouquet began perilous march , with a force much smaller than ’
un . Braddock s , to enco ter a foe far more formidable of But Bouquet , the man iron will and iron hand , 30
an d had served seven years in America , understood his work . 25th On July he reached Fort Bedford , when he was fortunate in securing thirty backwoodsmen t o n go with him . This little army toiled o through f ll h n o A e a ies the blazing heat July over the g , and 2d reached Fort Ligonier August , the Indians , who fr w o t o had besieged the fort months , disappearing at the approach of the troops . Here Bouquet left his oxen and wagons and resumed his march on the 4 h 5 h t . t On the , about noon , he enc ountered the fr o enemy at Bushy Run . The battle raged two days , and ended in a total rout of the savages . The loss ofthe Briti sh was on e hundred and fifteen and f t eight O ficers . The distance o Fort Pitt was twenty l 0 h on t . five miles , which place was reached the The enemy had abandoned the siege and marched to unite their forces with those which attacked Col .
Bouquet at Bushy Run . The savages continued l ’ s C o . their ha ty retreat , but Bouquet s force was o f b e n t su ficient to enable him to pursue the enemy t o yond the Ohio , and he was obliged content him self with supplying Fort Pitt and other forts with s provi ions , ammunition and stores . l It was at this time that C o . Bouquet built the little Redoubt which is n ow not only all that re mains ofFort Pitt but the only existing monument f , o s Briti h o ccupancy in thi s region . The Indians abandoned all their former settle s ments , and retreated to the Mu kingum ; here they f1 4 O 76 formed new settlements , and in the spring again b egan to ravage the frontier . To put an end to these depredations , Gen . Gage planned a cam i —p a gn into this western wilderness from two points Gen . B radstreet was to advance by way of the 1 C 0 . lakes , and . Bouquet from Fort Pitt After the usual delays and disappointments in securing troops 31 from Pen nsylvania and Virginia to aid in this ex edition s p , the march from Carli le was begun , and l 17 C o . Bouquet arrived at Fort Pitt Septemb er th , 3d fl o and was detained there until O ctob er . He lowed the north bank ofthe Ohio until he reached the Beaver , when he turned towards Central Ohio . n s Holding o his course , he refu ed to listen to either s or s t o threat promises from the Indian , declining treat with them at all un til the y should deliver up n ot w as the prisoners . Although a blow struck , the
Indians were vanquished . Bouquet continued his march down the valle y Of the Muskingum until he r eached a spot where some broad meadows Offered fr a suitable plac e o encampment . Here he rec eived r f f fl e o o s t o o s a deputation chief , listened their
f . o p eace , and demanded thfe delivery the prisoners o un Soon band after band captives arrived , til the n number exceeded three hu dred . The scenes which followed the restoring Of the prisoners t o their friends b eggar all description ; s s fo r wives recovering their hu band , parents seeking ul children whom they co d scarc ely reco gnize , brothers and sisters meeting after a long separation , and sometimes scarcely ablfe t o speak the same lan guage . The story is told o a woman whose dau gh E s ter had b een c arried O nine year b efore . The who mother recognized her child , but the girl , had s n n almo t forgotten her mother tongue , s howed o sig of 1 t o 0 . recognition . The mother c omplained C Bouquet that the daughter she had so often sun g t o “ on n i s sleep her k ee had forgotten her . S ng the ong ou to her that y used to sin g when she was a child , l C o . . so ss said Bouquet She did , and with a pa ionate flood Of tears the lon g- lost daughter flung herself ’ into her mother s arms .
n Everythi g b eing settled , the army broke camp 18th t 28th November , and arrived at Fort Pit on the . 32
l P hil l Early in January C o . Bouquet returned t o ade c w ss phia , re eivin g wherever he ent every po ible f s o mark gratitude and e teem from the people . The Assembly Of Pennsylvania and the House o fBur gesses ofVirginia each unanimously voted him ad f n f dre sses o thanks and o the arrival o the first account ofthis expedition the King promoted him to the rank of Brigadier General to command the
Southern District ofNorth Ameri ca .
B w n ! r Conflict e t e e n P e nns ylv ani a a d i gini a .
We have seen two ofthe mo st powerful nations ofEurop e contending for the po sse ssion ofthe “ ” f fio Forks ofthe Ohio . We have seen the e rt s o the Indians to destroy t he Fort and regain posses n sion of their hun ting grou ds .
1770 In O ctober , Washington again visited the “ on l Forks of the Ohio , this time a peac efu errand . 17 1770 He reached Fort Pitt O ctob er , , and he says in his Journal : Lodged in what is called the town ; n distant about three hu dred yards from the fort , at ’ n f o e o Semple s , who keeps a very good house enter t ain m en t s t . He de cribes b oth the town and the for s f where the garri on at this time con sisted o two E s s . d companie of Royal Iri h , commanded by Capt m n t n s o s o e . In thi Journal we find the following “ entry on O ctober 18th : Difned in the fort with 1 s C 0 . Croghan and the Officers o the garri on ; supped i there also , meeting with great civ lity from the l Co . gentleman , and engaged to dine with Croghan next day, at his seat about four miles up the Alle ” h n g e y .
or Washington and his party , numbering nine ten s person , with three Indians , continued their j ourney 2d down the Ohio in a large canoe . On Novemb er , “ we fin d that the p arty encamped and went a- hun t ff n ing , killed five bu aloes and wou ded some others ,
R H R L R A T U C AI . 33
. n ff three deer , etc This cou try abounds in bu aloes and wild game of all kinds , as also in all kinds of wild fowl , there b eing in the b ottoms a great many small , grassy ponds or lakes , which are full of ”
ff . swan , geese and ducks of di erent kinds The 2l st party returned to Pittsburgh Novemb er , were 23d again hospitably entertained , and on the mount ed their horses for their return j ourney to Virginia . ’
This was Washington s last visit to Fort Pitt .
Now , after the season of rest and quiet , there comes another contest , this time b etween the Prov in ces of Pennsylvania and Virginia . The British ln Government , as the trouble with the colonies it a creased , deemed advisable to bandon Fort Pitt E dm on st on and withdraw the troops . Maj . e, then in command , sold the buildings and material Octob er 10 1 772 , to Alexander Ross and William Thompson , Y for fifty pounds New ork currency . The fort was 1772 evacuated by the British forces in October, , 1774 and in January , , troops from Virginia sent by of the Governor , Lord Dunmore , under command
Dr . James Connelly , took possession and changed the name to Fort Dunmore . Dr . Connelly was ar s s re ted by Arthur S t . Clair , then a magi trate of l Westmoreland County, of which A legheny County was at that time a part , and put in j ail , but was ! on . soon released bail He went b ack to irginia , but shortly returned with civil and military au thorit y to enforce the laws of Virginia . This con s te t continued for several years , until a prominent “ citizen wrote to Governor Penn : The deplorable state Of afl airs in this part of your government is ul truly distressing . We are robb ed , ins ted and dra go on ed by Connelly and his militia in this place and ” its environs . Maryland , too , had contended , some s f for s s o time with the hedding blood , the posses ion n ot 1785 of this important point . It was until that commissioners were appointed , the b oundary of the 34
w P en n l estern part of the State finally run , and sy n of va ia established in the possession her territory .
e ar P r R volution y e io d. f During the struggle or independence the s ettle s of ments we t the Alleghan ies had little to fear from o f the invading armies Great Britain ; but , influenced
by the English , the Indians again began their rav
ages .
Fort Pitt was at that time un der the command of
. the f Capt John Neville , and was center o govern
ment authority . Just two days after the Declara n tion of I dependence , but long before the news of it n c on c ould have crossed the mou tains , we read of a
ference at Fort Pitt between Maj . Trent , Maj . Ward ,
. f Capt Neville and other o ficers of the garrison , with Gu asut a the famous Pontiac , y , Capt . Pipe and other Gu asut representatives of the Six Nations . y a was
’ the chief speaker . He produced a b elt of wampum , which was to be sent from the Six Nations to other n Western tribes , i forming them that the Six Nations would take no part in the war b etween England and
America and asking them to do the same . In his “ address Guy asut a said : Brothers - We will not sn fl er either the English or Americans to pass l our . through country Shou d either attempt it , we l shall forewarn them thre e times , and shou d they a p ersist they must take the consequences . I am p pointed by the Six Nations to take care of this coun f the o try ; that is , the Indians on other side of the Ohio !which included the Al legheny!“ and I desire you will not think of an expedition against Detroit , fr sufl er o , I repeat , we will not an army to p ass t hrough our c oun try . The Six Nations was the m ost powerful confederacy of Indians in America , an d whichever side secured their allegiance might c on h ount the other trib es following t em . 35 f o Instigated by the agents Great Britain , it was l n ot long fb efore a dead y struggle began . Scalping parties o Indians ravaged the frontier , sparing n r i neither age o sex , and burn ng and destroying all t o that cam e in their path . Companies were formed protect the settlements , whose headquarters were at
Fort Pitt , and expeditions were made into the ’ n . enemy s cou try , but with no very great success 1 1 7 On n 77 . Ju e , , Brig Gen . Edward Hand to ok command of the post and issued a call for two thou sand men . He did not receive a very s atisfactory response to this call . After considerable delay, he made several expeditions against the Indians , but was singul arly un fortunate in his attempts . These fruitless efforts only emboldened the savages to con t in ue their ravages . 17 8 7 . r In , Gen Hand , at his own request , was e al M cI n t sh . o . c led , and Brig . Gen succeeded him McI n t h m Gen . os planned a for idable expedition into ’ un the enemy s co try . He marched to the mouth of the B eaver , where he built a fort and called it Fort McI n t osh ; then he advanced seventy - five miles farther , built another fort , and called it Fort Laur ens ; but on hearing alarming reports of the Indians h and for want of supplies , he left Col . Jo n Gibson with one hundred and fifty men there and returned to Fort Pitt . The depredations of the Indians con in McI n t osh t ued . , and Gen , utterly disheartened from l the want of men and supplies , asked to be re ieved wa 0 1 of his command . He s succeeded by C . Daniel
Brodhead , who , like his predecessors , planned great things , but never had the means of carrying out his plans . By this time Fort Pitt was badly in need of re
- pairs , and the garrison , half fed and badly equipp ed , 1 1 . 78 . was almost mutinous In November , , Gen
William Irvine took command of the post . He describes the condition of the fort and of the sol 36
: s diers as deplorable . He writes The few troop that are here are the most licentious men and worst i b ehaved I ever saw , ow ng , I presume , in a great measure to their not being hitherto kept under any ” subordination or tolerable degree of discipline . The
firmness of the commander soon restored order , but not without the free application of the lash and the execution of two soldiers . The winter of 1782 and 1783 was comparatively 1 t 1783 s . quiet , and on October , , Gen Irvin e took his
final leave of the western department . The State of Pennsylvania acknowledged her g ratitude for his services by donating him a valuable tract of land . 1 790 . In there was another Indian outbreak . Maj Isaac Craig was then acting as Quartermaster in
19 h 1791 . Pittsburgh . On May t , , he wrote to Gen K nox , representing the terror o ccasioned by the near n d a approach of the In dians , a skin g p ermission to s erect another fortification , a Fort Pitt was in a di ruinous con tion . This request was granted , and
Maj . Craig erected a fortific ation occupying the groun d from Garrison Al ley to Hand !now Ninth !
Street , and from Lib erty to the Allegheny River . he This named Fort Lafayette .
The expeditions of Gen . Harmar and of Gen . St . Clair against the Indians had been ineffectual and 1794 disastrous . In , Gen . Anthony Wayn e was more s succe sful , and defeated and scattered the Indians so effectually that they never again gave trouble in this region .
38
The ground from Fort Pitt to the Allegheny River was sold in 1784 to Isaac Craig and Stephen
Bayard , and , after passing through various hands , ’
. O Hara 4 was purchased by Gen James , September , ’ 19 1805 . Har 18 . When Gen O a died in , the property 1821 passed to his daughter Mary , who in married
. 1827 William Croghan . Mrs Croghan died in , and
her daughter , Mary Elizabeth , an infant barely a l O d . year , b ecame her sole heir . She married Capt t o E . W . H . S chenley , of the English army, and
Mrs . Mary E . Schenley , who might be called Pitts ’ “ m ” burgh s Fairy God other, the Daughters of the American Revolution OfAllegheny Coun ty are in debted for the gift of the Old Block House and sur n rou ding property .
While the property was in possession of Craig and
Bayard , a large dwelling hous e was built and con n ect ed on e with the Block House . This was occupied l ubs year by Mr . Turnbu l , and for two years s e
. 1785 quently by Maj . Craig From that time , , until it came into the possession of the Daughters of the 1 1894 American Revolution , April , , it continued to had b e used as a dwelling house . Time and decay on e done their work in hundred and thirty years , and the “ Daughters ” found the old Block House
fast crumbling away . If it had b een left much longer without repairs it would soon have been noth ’ s ing but a heap of broken brick . Mrs . S chenley gift to the Daughters of the American Revolution m easur was the Block House , with a plot of ground n ing one hu dred by ninety feet , and a passageway
leading to Penn Avenue of ninety feet by twenty .
vlu As soon as the Daughters of the American R e o f o tion received the deed for the property, the work clearing away the tumble - down tenements which
covered the ground was commenced . It was not without great difficulty , and no little expense , that the occupants of these houses were induced to give
them up . While the Block House was used as a dwelling the stone tablet placed over the door with the in
scription ,
1 7 6 4 was removed and inserted in the wall of the stair of m e cas e City Hall . The D aughters of the A rican v rm i r r R e oluit on petitioned Coun cils for p e iss o . 0 e
store it to its original position . The p etition was
granted , and the tablet now fills the space which it
ccu i - o p d one hundred and thirty eight years ago .
I d l e h e e a i e i n o ov t s nc nt ru s . W e n e v e r t re a d u p on t h e m b u t w e s e t ’ O ur o re vre n d h i r f ot u p on som e sto y . Pittsburgh
1898 September .
L D LK E MATI A WI INS D NNY .
" A I ! la d “ r m f N A E S O F P I S BU G H E E M TT R S TR TS .
e r H s r a S a Th i i to ic l ignific nce .
B J a r a Har y uli M o g n ding .
F r m the P sb r B e F eb r ar 1 5 ! o itt u gh ull tin , u y ,
We are told in his Autobiography that Benj amin Franklin “ ever to ok pleasure in Obtaining any little ” f of o anecdotes his ancestors , and in these days reawakened interest in things of the past , many un people may b e fo d who , like the great prototype ’ of American character , Pennsylvania s apostle of r common sense , take pleasu e in looking into the old records of their family history . A still richer inheritance is the story ofthe lives of the men who conquered the wilderness and subdued the Indians , French and British ; and this in h eritance is held in common by all good citizens of Pittsburgh , whether or n ot their anc estors fought with Braddock or or Bouquet marched with Forb es . In the stir and , f bustle of the busy city , ab ove the noise o the trolley i and the iron wagon , one fa ntly hears the names of streets whose un familiar sounds recall to our minds tl cfl ort in these illustrious dead . With but lit e the ward eye quickly sees an impenetrable forest cloth s— for ing hills and river b ank dark , mysterious , s biddin g , crossed by occa ional narrow and obstructed paths ; war p arties of painted savages ; a few scat ’ ’ t ered settlers and traders cabins ; here and there a canoe on the swift and silent rivers ; a silence too Often broken by the war whoop of the Indian and the scream ofhis tortured victim . 41
From the eastern slope of the Endless Hills to ” the un kn own and un bounded Indian Coun try th at t he lay beyond the Forks of the Ohio , such was o region into which Washingt n , Braddock, Forbes and “ ” Bouquet led their forlorn hopes . In days when a less utilitarian spirit prevailed , and association was ul ur still powerf , the City of Pittsb gh acknowledged its debt of gratitude to the soldiers , statesmen and early settlers who made its un exampled prosperity possible , by naming for them many of its streets and suburbs . Its early history can b e traced thereby , much as the historian and archaeologist discovers the successive Roman , Saxon , Danish and Norman o ccupations of London and other English towns . Alli ui a S han n o in S hin hiss Gu asut a q pp , Mingo , p , g , y and Killbuck recall the Indian tribes and chiefs who onc e p ossessed the country ; Gist , Montour , Girty , McKee , Chartiers and Van Braam the guides and traders who first penetrated the wilderness . Din widdie brings to mind the crusty but far - seeing c i Scot h governor of Virg nia , who first comprehended the value of the disputed land . Forbes , Bouquet , Halk et Ligonier , , Grant , Stanwix , Neville , Crawford , ’ l O Hara Hay, Marbury , Ormsby , Tannehil , , Butler ,
Wayne , Bayard , Stob o , Steuben , St . Clair , Craig , or Smallman and Irwin recall , did recall , the soldiers w n o . and commandants who the West Duquesne , m on ill St . Pierre and Ju ve speak of the French gover f ffi o nor Canada , the o cer who received Washington uf i at Fort L e Boe , and the capta n who fell at Great S mithfield Meadows . owes its name to D evereaux
Smith , prominent in colonial and revolutionary days ; ur and Wood street was called for George Woods , s ve or y .
In Penn avenue , or street as it used to b e and still , f ought to be called , the name of the founder O the
Commonwealth , the Quaker feudal proprietor , is 42
preserved ; and the great city itself , as well as two immort ahz es shabby , sooty little streets , forever f r hi m ri o William Pitt , the f end Ame ica , and makes
a splendid and enduring monument .
But let us dig into the lowest historical stratum , and discover the real local relationships ofnames and places withfthe first o ccupants of the land . Alli quipp a tells O the great queen of the D elawares , You hio hen who lived at the mouth of the g g y , where M cKe or us esp t now is , and whom it m t b e remem b ered Washington visited on his first memorable
j ourney to the Ohio . From what he relates to us she could not have b een a very temperate sovereign
lady, but she was a c elebrity and a p ower in her day , an d h with a prestige that long survived her ; w en ,
in full savage regalia , surrounded by her warriors ,
she granted an audience to the young Virginian , she
was doubtless most impressive and condescending .
S hin hiss g , who bore a name which suggests a sub j cet of Queen Wilhelmina rather than a North
American Indian was a mighty warrior in his day , of chron i and a king the D elawares . Some of the clers give him a very bad name and tell us that his exploits in war would “ form an interesting though ” shocking document ; others , among them Christian everthe Post , give him a much b etter character . N it f less , is true that the c olony o Pennsylvania Offered fr a thousand dollars o his scalp . Washington met on him his first visit to the Ohio , and speaks of him
his - in Journal . This brave and much feared chief was small in stat ure for an Indian and lived near the Ohio on Chartiers Creek . S hin hiss A chieftain as renowned as g , and more frequently mentioned in the histories of the Olden Gu asut a o r Kiashut a time , was y , , a Seneca , who first appears on the scene as one ofthe three Indians who m acco panied Washington to Fort Le Boeuf . He was a conspicuous figure in all the Indian wars and 43
treaties which followed that event , and was present
at the treaty Col . Bouquet held with the Shawnees ,
Delawares and Senecas on the Muskingum . We hear ’ fe r of him again in Lord Dun more s wafr . He was o quently at or in the neighborhood Fort Pitt , and his in flu had unboun ded influence with people , an ence he generally exerted for good and in the interest fh o t e colonies , though finally won over to the
British during the Revolution . His speeches at the
various c oun cils he attended were eloquent , and his language that of an autocrat who had unquestioning confidence in the power of his people and in his own in might . He was deeply c onc erned the conspiracy
of Pontiac , and is believed to have inspired the attack n Gu asut a un on Han ahstown . y fo d his last resting
place near the banks of the Allegheny on Gen . ’ ’ Hara . O s farm , which is still called by his name The stray visitor who from time to time threads his devious way through the alleys and courts which surroun d the Block Hous e may find himself perhaps n in Fort street , on historic grou d onc e trodden by
Washington , Forb es , Bouquet , and the Indian kings
of whom we have just b een speaking . The echoes of ‘ f S cott ish b a i es o the English drums , gp p and clash arms hfave long since died away from the scarred o . sides Mt Washington and Duquesne Heights , and in their stead we hear the steam whistle and hollow Hib er reverberations from neighboring b oiler shops . n ian s and Italians inhabit the fields and the river K S hin hiss banks where illbuck , White Eyes , g and Cornstalk onc e lit their camp - fires and held eloquent un Li n e i r s . co cils with Jumonville , De g and Bouquet Squalid tenements crowd the n arrow promontoryf where Robert de la Salle stood at the headwaters o of the Ohio , in all probability the discoverer the
three rivers . The fort that Pontiac b e sieged has
disappeared . The painted post to which the Indian t W ied his victim , the igwam , the wampum belts , have 44
r vanished ; the tomahawk is bu ied forever , though the readiness onc e Observed among the residents at “ ” the Point to draw knives upon eac h other on o c casions of superhilarity may be but the survival of the good old customs which prevailed in that neigh
b orhoo d more than one hundred years ago . im Inspired by the suggestions of heredity , the
agin at ive mind turns to the past for other instances . On any pleasant Monday morning during the S pring or summer months the thrifty housekeepers in Fort w Street or Point Alley , and in the shado of the Block ’ House itself , may be seen doing their week s wash
ing in front of their houses . But little are they thinking of those Monday mornings in the middle of the eighteenth century when the women ofthe fort were escorted by bands of s oldiers to the banks of Al the legheny , where laundry work was c arried on s under rather embarra sing circumstances . For In s dians were dodging about behind tree and bushes ,
and dancing in full view on the opposite shore , with
threatening cries , and only kept at a distance by the
f . presence o a guard The custom seems still to pre s vail on this clas ic ground , but do the conveniences fr of soap and hydrant water make up o fthe spice and variety that characterized the lives o colonial laun dresses ?
Pittsburgh has always b een pre - eminently a hos it able p city , and it is possible that in no other town
of its size is there as much entertaining . At wed dings , too , the display—of presents is an Obj ect of t - f o o s surprise the out town guests , unu ed to such lavishness . Tracing our provincial characteristics s back to their remote origins , we di cover that Pitts at burgh the end of the nineteenth century , in the grip of heredity, imitates the traders and early set t lers in in this region , who were the habit of enter i tain ng whole tribes Of Indians , and of makin g them frequent gifts . Gay blankets , red paint , strings of
46
can edition hath been accomplished at a price so
moderate that the man of the woods , as well as the m an of the court , may solace himself with senti ” s s mental delight . In thi li t we find the name of “ f Ensign Francis Howard , o the Royal Irish at Fort ”
s f . o Pitt , the only sub criber west the mountains
We can imagine the young soldier , far from home
frin f - OE ds o and , reading those far times of war and
peril , the winter wind howling up and down the i river and beating against the Block House , carry ng ! with it the echo , p erhaps , of an Indian death halloo Doubtless he wondered what the stern Spanish cam p aign er would have done if brought to the western
wilderness to fight the red man , and , if he lived to
return to his English home with his scalp intact , it is more than prob able that Ensign Francis Howard ’ s tale s of American warfare and adventure were the n r delight of many a hunting din er or evening fi eside . Few indeed are the tangible relics of the most Th romantic period of our local history . e writer “ ” owns a copy of the edition of Charles Fifth , and in all probability it is the one that the English en
sign read at Fort Pitt . A few old letters , maps and c n ac ou t books , some cannon balls , rusty swords and bayonets , the handsome carved stone sun dial which the Chapter has placed for safe keeping in C arnegie
Museum until its own home is built , are about all we can show of the works and possessions of the our men who made early history . Here was the scene of a mighty struggle for em pire , a struggle of which the on l y vestiges left are the Block House and the names of our streets , to o many of which have been changed in recent y ears to suit the vulgar needs of convenience and at the cost of our historical identity .
UL RG HAR J IA MO AN DI N G . 47
Much water has run under the bridges of the M n ahela Allegheny an d the o og rivers , sinc e the “ ” sketch , The Names of Pittsburgh Streets was
written , and changes as radical as thos e that took place b etween the first years ofthe Nin eteenth
C entury and the early davs of the Twentieth , have “ ” r evolutionized the historic Point in the last
decade . Just as the French and fIndians stole down the river b efore the advance o Gen . Forb es and his 1758 British and Colonial troops in , so did the denizens of the aforesaid “ Point ” melt away in e very direction b efore the steam shovels , creaking derricks and snorting engin es of the Pennsylvania
1904 - 5 Railroad in . With the consolidation of Pittsburgh and Alle hen g y into one city came other changes . Some of t he old streets whose nam es commemorated dead p atriots associated with Colonial and Revolution a r u y Pittsburgh , are buried nder embankments , e concret walls and brick warehouses . Other names h ave been dropped , an d certain etymological curi o sities have b een put in their places . Still others have b een transferred to distant and irrelevant lo calities , and an old resident , returning from the world of shades would b e sadly confused if looking for old landmarks . Fort Pitt and all pertaining t o it , excepting only the Block House , vanished long ago . There is nothing left of the later age which ’ ” C astl in saw Rice s e its glory . The new indus t rialism is steadily and r apidly blotting out the un picturesque and historic all aro d us . Let all good P ittsburghers un it e to preserve the little that is l 1 4 . 76 eft , the redoubt built by Col Bouquet in . L R R JU IA MO GAN HA D IN G.