james grant was sent in command of a force of troops to capture fort duquesne.
james grant was sent in command of a force of troops to capture fort duquesne.
who was sent in command of a force of troops to capture fort duquesne?
james grant
on september 8, 1756, an expedition of 300 militiamen destroyed the shawnee and lenape village of kittanning, and in the summer of 1758, british general john forbes began a campaign to capture fort duquesne. at the head of 7,000 regular and colonial troops, forbes built fort ligonier and fort bedford, from where he cut a wagon road over the allegheny mountains, later known as forbes' road. on the night of september 13–14, 1758, an advance column under major james grant was massacred in the battle of fort duquesne. the battleground, the high hill east of the point, was named grant's hill in his memory. with this defeat, forbes decided to wait until spring. but when he heard that the french had lost fort frontenac and largely evacuated fort duquesne, he planned an immediate attack. hopelessly outnumbered, the french abandoned and razed fort duquesne. forbes occupied the burned fort on november 25, 1758 and ordered the construction of fort pitt, named after british secretary of state william pitt the elder. he also named the settlement between the rivers, "pittsborough" (see etymology of pittsburgh). the british garrison at fort pitt made substantial improvements to its fortification. the french never attacked fort pitt and the war soon ended with the treaty of paris and french defeat. they ceded their territories east of the mississippi river.
history of pittsburgh
the western portions of pennsylvania were among disputed territory between the colonial british and french during the french and indian war (the north american component of the seven years' war). the french had established numerous fortified sites in pennsylvania, including fort le boeuf, fort presque isle, fort machault, and the pivotal fort duquesne, located near the present site of pittsburgh. many indian tribes were allied with the french because of their long trading history and opposition to the expansion of the british colonies. the conflict began near the present site of uniontown, pennsylvania when a company of virginia militia under the command of george washington ambushed a french force at the battle of jumonville glen in 1754. washington retreated to fort necessity and surrendered to a larger french force at the battle of fort necessity. in 1755, the british sent braddock expedition to capture fort duquesne, but the expedition ended in failure after the british lost the battle of the monongahela near present-day braddock, pennsylvania. in 1758, the british sent the forbes expedition to capture fort duquesne. the french won the battle of fort duquesne, but after the battle the outnumbered french force demolished fort duquesne and retreated from the area. fighting in north america had mostly come to an end by 1760, but the war continued until the signing of the treaty of paris in 1763. britain's victory in the war helped secure pennsylvania's frontier, as the ohio country came under formal british control. although new france was no more, the french would deal their british rivals a major blow in the american revolution by aiding the rebel cause.
history of pennsylvania