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| Fort Duquesne | |
|---|---|
| Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
 Fort Duquesne inPittsburgh | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Fort |
| Controlled by |  New France Great Britain |
 | |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1754 |
| In use | 1754–1758 |
| Battles/wars | French and Indian War |
| Designated | May 8, 1959[1] |
Fort Duquesne (/djuː.ˈkeɪn/dew-KAYN,French:[dykɛːn]; originally calledFort Du Quesne[2][3]) was afortestablished by the French in 1754, at the confluence of theAllegheny andMonongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed asPittsburgh in the U.S. state ofPennsylvania. Fort Duquesne was destroyed by the French before its British conquest during theSeven Years' War, known as theFrench and Indian War on the North American front. The British replaced it, buildingFort Pitt between 1759 and 1761. The site of both forts is now occupied byPoint State Park, where the outlines of the two forts have been laid in granite slabs.[4]
Fort Duquesne, built at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers which form theOhio River, was considered strategically important for controlling theOhio Country,[5] both for settlement and for trade. The English merchantWilliam Trent had established a highly successfultrading post at the forks as early as the 1740s, to do business with a number of nearbyNative American villages. Both the French and theBritish were keen to gain advantage in the area.
As the area was within the drainage basin of theMississippi River, the French had claimed it as theirs. They controlledNew France (Quebec), the Illinois Country along the Mississippi, andLa Louisiane, the ports ofNew Orleans andMobile, Alabama.
In the early 1750s, the French began construction of a line of forts, starting withFort Presque Isle onLake Erie in present-dayErie, Pennsylvania, followed byFort Le Boeuf, about 15 miles south in present-dayWaterford, Pennsylvania, andFort Machault, on the Allegheny River inVenango County in present-dayFranklin, Pennsylvania.
Robert Dinwiddie, Lieutenant Governor of theVirginia Colony, thought these forts threatenedextensive claims to the land area by Virginians (including himself) of the Ohio Company.
In late autumn 1753, Dinwiddie dispatched a young Virginia militia officer namedGeorge Washington to the area to deliver a letter to the French commander at Fort Le Boeuf, asking them to leave. Washington was also to assess French strength and intentions. After reaching Fort Le Boeuf in December, Washington was politely rebuffed by the French.
FollowingWashington's return toMount Vernon in January 1754, Dinwiddie sent Virginians to buildFort Prince George at theForks of the Ohio. Work began on the fort on February 17. By April 18, a much larger French force of five hundred under the command ofClaude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur arrived at the forks, forcing the small British garrison to surrender. The French knocked down the tiny British fort and built Fort Duquesne, named in honor ofMarquis Duquesne, the governor-general ofNew France. The fort was built on the same model as the FrenchFort Frontenac onLake Ontario.[6]
Washington, who was lieutenant colonel in the newly createdVirginia Regiment, set out on April 2, 1754, with a small force to build a road to, and then defend, Fort Prince George. Washington was atWills Creek in north central Maryland when he received news of the fort's surrender. On May 28,[7] Washington encountered a Canadian scouting party near a place now known asJumonville Glen (several miles east of present-dayUniontown). Washington attacked the French Canadians, killing 10 in the early morning hours, and took 21 prisoners, of whom many were ritually killed by the Native American allies of the British. On May 31, Washington replaced ColonelJoshua Fry as commander of the Virginia Regiment after Colonel Fry died en route to Wills Creek.[8]
The Battle of Jumonville Glen is widely considered the formal start of theFrench and Indian War, the North American front of theSeven Years' War.[9][10]
Washington ordered construction ofFort Necessity at a large clearing known as theGreat Meadows. On 3 July 1754, the counterattacking French and Canadians forced Washington tosurrender Fort Necessity. After disarming them, they released Washington and his men to return home.
Although Fort Duquesne's location at the forks looked strong on a map—controlling the confluence of three rivers—the reality was rather different. The site was low, swampy, and prone to flooding. In addition, the position was dominated by highlands across the Monongahela River, which would allow an enemy to bombard the fort with ease. Pécaudy de Contrecœur was preparing to abandon the fort in the face ofBraddock's advance in 1755. He was able to retain it due to the advancing British force being annihilated (see below). When theForbes expedition approached in 1758, the French had initial success in theBattle of Fort Duquesne against the English vanguard, but were forced to abandon the fort in the face of the much superior size of Forbes' main force.
The French held the fort successfully early in the war, turning back theexpedition led by GeneralEdward Braddock during the 1755Battle of the Monongahela. George Washington served as one of General Braddock's aides. Asmaller attack byJames Grant in September 1758 was repulsed with heavy losses.
Two months later, on November 25, 1758, theForbes Expedition under the Scotsman GeneralJohn Forbes took possession Fort Duquesne after the French destroyed and abandoned the site.[11]
Fort Duquesne was built at the point of land of the confluence of theAllegheny andMonongahela Rivers, where they form theOhio River. Since the late 20th century, this area ofDowntown Pittsburgh has been preserved asPoint State Park. The park includes a brick outline of the fort's walls, as well as outlines to mark the later Fort Pitt.
Archaeological observations and rescue excavations were undertaken at Point State Park in 2007 by A.D. Marble & Company, a Cultural Resource Management firm from eastern Pennsylvania. Two buried features were encountered in the vicinity of the site of Fort Duquesne that may relate to the fort. A stone-capped brick drain lay close to the location of a Fort Duquesne ravelin and was traced over a distance of 27 feet. One such conduit or drain was mentioned in 1754 construction accounts by Contrecoeur. The builder's trench (trench originally dug into subsoil to construct the drain) yielded only redeposited prehistoric artifacts and brick and mortar fragments, indicative of an early historic date of construction. Alternatively, it is possible the brick drain relates to later eighteenth or early nineteenth century occupation of the site.
The second feature was a refilled pit containing five archaeological strata to a depth of about three feet. These strata contained redeposited Late Woodland and Late Prehistoric artifacts and early historic objects that included three wrought iron nails, three small glass fragments, eight lead musket shot and one glass bead. Animal bones included those from deer, dog and cattle (or possibly bison). The early historic date of this pit and its location south of Fort Duquesne argue for association with the fort. The pit may on the other hand be a remnant of the "epaulement" (presumably earthen outwork) constructed west of Fort Pitt shown on the 1761 Bernard Ratzer map.
Data from the archaeological project strongly suggest that two to three feet of original lower terrace surface may have been removed across this portion of the park, which would probably have destroyed most of the ditch that once surrounded Fort Duquesne. Traces of fort elements that extended more deeply into the ground such as large vertical posts that formed the western half of the fort walls in addition to magazines and drains are more likely to have survived.[12]
On November 25, 1958, the 200th anniversary of the capture of Fort Duquesne, theU.S. Post Office issued a 4-cent Fort Duquesne bicentennialcommemorative stamp. It was first released for sale at the post office in Pittsburgh. The design was reproduced from a composite drawing, using various figures taken from an etching by T.B. Smith and a painting portraying the British occupation of the site as the Fort Duquesne blockhouse burns in the background.
Colonel Washington is depicted on horseback in the center, while General Forbes, who was debilitated by intestinal disease, is shown lying on a stretcher. The stamp also depicts ColonelHenry Bouquet, who was second in command to the ailing Forbes, and other figures who represent theVirginia militia and provincial army.[13]
Fort Duquesne is the subject of, or referenced, in:
40°26′29.9″N80°00′39.4″W / 40.441639°N 80.010944°W /40.441639; -80.010944
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