Settlers in the nearby village of Pittsborough heed the warnings of Fort Pitt commandant Simon Ecuyer and scurry to the safety of the bastion as the Indians of Chief Pontiac threaten the village from all sides. Surrounded, the citizens survived a siege that lasted for over a month while the British garrison held on in hopes that a relief column could break through the cordon and bring in much needed supplies.

English Domination until the Birth of a Nation

When General Forbes took command of the river junction in 1758 from the fleeing French garrison, he inherited the key to westward expansion and was determined to safeguard it for the King of England to ensure English domination over this important location. With true British resolve, Forbes was committed to defending the region. He ordered the building of a large and virtually impregnable fort, to be called Fort Pitt in honor of Prime Minister William Pitt.

Before work could be started on a major fortification, a temporary fort needed to be erected as Fort Duquesne had been burnt beyond repair. The troops needed shelter from the winter and Colonel Hugh Mercer, commander of the garrison troops feared a renewed French offensive. Mercer's Fort was constructed on the bank of the Monongahela and was sufficient to shelter a force of 400 men.

Completed in late December, the temporary fort stood for a year and a half while the garrison worked on the construction of the permanant fort. Fort Pitt would be the most elaborate and impregnable fortress the English constructed on American soil. By 1762 the fort was completed. There were two acres inside the fortress walls and 18 more in the outworks.

Fort Pitt was a formidable barrier, and the citizens of the new village of Pittsborough were delighted that it was finished. By 1762 the Indians were getting restless. The war with the French was still raging elsewhere, and their Indian allies in the region were growing increasingly frustrated with their treatment by the British occupiers.

In 1760 the population of Pittsborough was 149. This number increased to 330 in 1761 and in 1763 that number had doubled. These census figures did not include the garrison at the fort.

In May of 1763, the Indians went on the warpath. In an effort to drive the British settlers back across the Appalachian Divide, Chief Pontiac and a large force from several local tribes, began a campaign against British Forts in the Northwest territories. All but three forts fell. Only Fort Pitt, Fort Detroit and Fort Niagara stood against the savages.

The Indians soon focused their efforts on Fort Pitt. They moved on the settlement of Pittsborough in late May, killing all whites that had not escaped to the sanctuary of the fort. By May 27 the fort was surrounded, and a siege ensued. Six hundred frightened settlers and a garrison of 150 determined British soldiers were determined to hold out. The defenders of the fort withstood several attacks and soon supplies were running low and they were nearing the end of their ammunition.

Their only hope for rescue was a relief column, consisting of elements of the 77th and 42nd Highland Regiments, along with some Royal Americans. This force was led by the dedoubtable Colonel Henry Bouquet. The column was ambushed on August 4 near Bushy Run Station, a small stronghold just southeast of the village. After a two day struggle, Bouquet was victorious and Fort Pitt was relieved. The Indian Chief Pontiac soon capitulated in his efforts to drive the British out of his lands and hostilities ceased. This was the last time that the village and the fort were ever involved in hostile action.

After the Indian Uprising ended peace came to the region. An expansion to the fort was ordered by Colonel Bouquet, the new commandant, and four redoubts were built outside the main 20 acre complex. One of these buildings still exists, the Blockhouse at Point State Park.

With peace came prosperity, and Pittsburgh entered a new phase in its development. Situated at the base of the Ohio River Valley, the city became the official "Gateway to the West". Plans for a grand city were drawn up and soon the need for a frontier fort diminished.

In 1770, George Washington made a stop in Pittsburgh on his way to inspect land holdings in Ohio. He spent the day inspecting the garrison, and then lodged at a Pittsburgh home for the evening.

In 1772, thirteen years after it was built, Fort Pitt was sold by Captain Charles E. Edmonstone of the 18th Royal Regiment to Alexander Ross and William Thompson for fifty pounds of New York currency. Much of the outlying structures of fort were dismantled and construction materials recycled in the erection of some of Pittsburgh's earliest buildings. Jurisdiction over the region passed from the English crown to the Pennsylvania colony.

Boundary disputes between Pennsylvania and Virginia soon heightened regional tensions, and Pennsylvania was granted permission from the crown to garrison a local militia at the fort. By 1774, these disputes had reached a high point. Both Pennsylvania and Virginia claimed ownership of Pittsburgh, and the neighboring colonies were prepared to fight to preserve their claim to the area.

On January 6, 1774, Lord Dunmore, the Governor of Virginia, sent Dr. John Connolly to the fort to announce himself as "Captain and Commandant of Pittsburgh and its dependencies." Connolly began raising a militia. Pennsylvania challenged Virginia's claim to the fort and had Connolly arrested. Obtaining release from sympathetic judges, Connolly returned to again take command of the fort and organize his militia.

On April 25, Governor Lord Dunmore ordered all taxes and public dues paid to officers appointed by him. Fort Pitt was renamed Fort Dunmore, and Pittsburgh technically became a part of the Virginia colony. The Virginia Court was moved from Augusta, Va. to the newly named fort. Pittsburgh residents reluctantly became Virginians.

In May of 1775, frontiersman from Pittsburgh and the surrounding region organized a convention in the city and unanimously approved of the colonies recent actions against the crown, the beginnings of the American Revolution. Dr. Connolly and Lord Dunmore had been working with the crown to align the local Indian tribes against the colonial insurrection. These efforts failed and, finding himself and his small militia in hostile territory, the garrison abandoned the fort and went back to Virginia. Captain John Neville and 100 Pittsburgh militiamen took command of the fort. The southern court, however, remained for another year.

Once again bearing its proud name, Fort Pitt became a United States fort when Brigadier General Edward Hand tood command from Captain Neville on June 1, 1777. At this time, the Virginia court was removed. The boundary dispute between the colonies became secondary to the higher purpose of the revolution and in time the state lines were agreed upon by negotiation.

During the revolution, Fort Pitt saw no action. It was used as an armory and a staging ground for several incursions against restless Indians, whose promises of peace were never long lived. On August 11, 1779, Captain Daniel Brodhead left Fort Pitt with 600 men to destroy the Seneca Indian villages along the upper Allegheny. Indian raids on settlers were a constant cause of distress, and the elimination of this menace became a priority for the struggling region.

After Independence was won from the English, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania took possession of Fort Pitt from the United States of America. Repaired in 1791 by Major Isaac Craig, the fort remained in operation for another year, when Captain Hughes took possession of the newly built Fort Lafayette, located along the Allegheny River not far from the forks of the Ohio.