The Struggle for Control of the Forks of the Ohio

One of the defining characteristics of Pittsburgh's place in the history of the American nation is the struggle that took place for control of the strategic fork of the Ohio River. The French needed to establish themselves in the Ohio River Valley to consolidate their holdings in New France (Canada), New Orleans and west of the Mississippi River.

In the early 1700s, While the British worked to establish themselves on the east coast, the French were setting up outposts and forts throughout the interior. Trading posts were established throughout the Ohio River Valley and their tenous hold on the region seemed secure.

The English soon had expansionist thoughts of their own, and their reach soon stretched across the mountains to the west and into French claimed territory. English traders were soon setting up their own posts to barter with the local tribes. A commerce war soon followed, with the English underbidding their French rivals. A short local conflict, known as King George's War, followed. It ended in 1748 with an uneasy truce that allowed the English access to the Ohio and Mississippi River for trading purposes.

This was unacceptable to the French rulers, and an expedition soon followed, in 1749, where leaden plates were buried in several locations throughout the Ohio Valley officially claiming the lands for King Louis XV. Throughout their travels, the French found that the indians were sympathetic to their English trading partners and could not count on their support to oust the ever increasing number of traders.

In 1747, the English formed the Ohio River Company to engage in land speculation and trade with the indians. In 1752 an English expedition moved into and mapped the Ohio River Valley and without regard to French ambitions, staked their own claim to the lands. In early 1754 the company sent a group of armed Virginians to erect a fort, Fort King George, at the strategic river junction that the French refered to as Belle Riviere.

The French responded at once, sending a force of sixty boats, 300 canoes, 500 soldiers and indians, and 18 artillery pieces to remove the English invaders. The vastly outnumbered Virginians left the fort without a shot and retreated peaceably. The French immediately began construction of a new fort, Fort Duquesne.

The English were already on the march to reinforce their new fort with two companies of soldiers that included Major George Washington when they heard news of the fort's capitulation. Undaunted, they sought out the French and met at an engagement known as the Jumonville Affair. Washington's soldiers routed the French unit, and set off a chain of events that led to the French and Indian War of 1754-1763.

The French responded in force and drove the British back to Fort Necessity. With the English commander dead and Major Washington in charge, the English signed a truce and retreated from the fort with honors. The defeat was a humiliation for the English, and plans were immediately launched to retake control of the river junction.

In February of 1755, General Edward Braddock and two regiments, including now Colonel George Washington, set off from Virginia. On July 8th they had reached the fort and were prepared to march against it. The following day they were ambushed by a force of 850 French and Indians. They suffered a disastrous defeat, and General Braddock was mortally wounded.

Taking charge, George Washington ordered a general retreat and the battered force headed back to Virginia. The French consolidated their hold on the area and control of the region was firmly in their grasp. For the next three years the war raged in other parts of the country, but at Fort Duquesne things were quiet.

The English, however, were determined to drive the French from the continent, and capturing Fort Duquesne was the key to this goal. In 1758 a force of 6000 regular and colonial troops marched on Fort Duquesne under the command of General John Forbes. In September the vanguard of the force had reached the Fort.

Major James Grant then led 800 Highlanders in an effort to take the fort by coup-de-etat. On the 13th his soldiers swept down upon the French encampment. The French and their Indian allies were quick to respond, and again the British suffered a disastrous defeat. Most of the force were killed or taken prisoner. The unfortunate prisoners were mutiliated by the Indians, their heads lined up on posts outside the fort.

When General Forbes arrived shortly afterwards, news of the defeat prompted him to decide that the army should put off the attack and wait for spring. George Washington, now a General and assistant to Forbes, had scouts sent out to gather intelligence. The information he received convinced him that the fort was ripe for the taking.

The French were starving, and with their empire slowly crumbling, help was not forthcoming. Their Indian allies were anxious to get home to their families for the winter. Washington convinced General Forbes to attack.

The hopelessly outnumbered French burned their fort and retreated without a shot being fired. Control of the river junction passed to the British for the final time. The war continued for another five years, but no further action was scene at the forks of the Ohio.

The English constructed a new fort next to the ruins of the French structure. Fort Pitt was an elaborate fortification built to withstand any assault. The village of Pittsborough was established in 1759 and the history of the city of Pittsburgh began.