History of Fort Pitt
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- Fort Pitt was one of the most strategic spots in American history and it played a pivotal role in the current national borders of North America. For untold thousands of years this spot was a meeting place for native tribes for trade, and it became one of the main staging points for early American western migration. The Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers join here to form the Ohio River making it a place that an empire must control. Fort Pitt was an extremely important outpost during the French and Indian War, Revolutionary War, Northwest Indian Wars, and even the War of 1812. In this video, I’ll tell you the story of Fort Pitt, show you the sites, and explain its impact on our modern United States.
In 1751, Chief King Beaver of the Delawares invited the British to come build a fort at the confluence of the Ohio River. In 1754, the British built a rough fortification that they named Fort Prince George. In April they were pushed out by the French. The British sent, then Major George Washington to lead an attack to retake the area but they were defeated and surrendered at Fort Necessity. The next year, General Braddock was given orders to take the territory back but failed in one of the worst defeats for the British Empire in the 1700s. Daniel Boone was a waggoner on this campaign.
The French built Fort Duquesne after the Marquis de Duquesne, the Governor General of New France. The Seven Years War exploded all over the world, and in North America it was called the French and Indian War. In 1758, the French in the Fort Duquesne area were defeated by British General John Forbes. The French sent their cannons by boat to the Illinois country, blew up and burned the walls of Fort Duquesne, and retreated from the territory. Upon taking possession of the area, General Forbes brought an army of 6,000 troops to the point. They built Fort Pitt and the town they called Pittsbourgh, after William Pitt the Elder, a British politician in the House of Commons, and Secretary of State for the Southern Department.
In 1758, the Treaty of Easton was signed by the Delaware and Iroquois tribes with Pennsylvania. The Treaty stated that if the Delaware and Iroquois abandoned their support of the French, that the British would return east of the Appalachian Mountains to their eastern settlements. In 1763, during Pontiac’s Uprising, a confederation of Delaware, Seneca and Shawnee attacked the fort. To appease the Indians and end the conflict, the British made The Royal Proclamation of 1763, which forbade European settlement west of the mountains. One of the blockhouses still stands and was completed in 1764. It is the oldest building in Pittsburg, and is officially, “the oldest building of authenticated date west of the Appalachian Mountains”. In 1894, the blockhouse was given to the Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1768, the Treaty of Stanwix was signed in which the Iroquois sold large tracks of land to the British. The British abandoned Fort Pitt in 1772.
Pennsylvania and Virginia began to compete for control of the territory. In the next few years, the area was claimed by both Pennsylvania and Virginia, and it wasn’t until 1780 that the infant federal government got involved and extended the Mason-Dixon Line further west, placing Pittsburg, in Pennsylvania. In 1770, George Washington met near here with the Seneca Chief Guyasuta. They had met seventeen years earlier, in 1753, when Guyasuta led the twenty-one-year-old Washington down the Allegheny River to Fort LeBoeuf to ask the French to leave the area. In 1777, the Continental Congress declared Fort Pitt the Headquarters of the Western District of the Continental Army.
In 1778, Fort Pitt’s commander General Edward Hand was sent to punish Indians that had joined to fight with the British. Some of his men came upon Delaware and Munsee villages who were peaceful at the time. General Hand’s men killed women and a boy in what would soon be called “The Squaw Campaign”. The fort was then commanded by General Lachlan McIntosh who launched an offensive against British held Fort Detroit. He established Fort McIntosh and Fort Laurens,. He was replaced by Colonel Daniel Brodhead. In 1779, Broadhead was ordered to march toward Fort Niagara. In 1781, General William Irvine took command of Fort Pitt and sent supplies to General George Rogers Clark for his expedition into Ohio against the tribes in retaliation for the massacre at Blue Licks.
Fort Pitt continued to be an important strategic location for supplies and staging for the 1790s Northwest Indian Wars in modern-day Ohio and Indiana. In 1792, General "Mad" Anthony Wayne ordered the construction of Fort Lafayette, later called Fort Fayette to be constructed about a half of a mile away from Fort Pitt.
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I am a “yinzer” with ancestors who were among the first Europeans to settle in this area. Love the Burgh and it’s history! Really appreciated the video.
Thank you for your support sir! You should be proud.
One of the best Fort Pitt videos I’ve seen. Thank you!
Well thank you Ma’am. Lots of efforts when into it 😀
Best watched with an Iron City Beer.
That makes sense, I seem to have missed out on that. Guess I need to come back!
Don't know if I would call the Battle of Blue licks a massacre, they were just out maneuvered by Simon Girty but Daniel Boone had a solid feeling they were walking into an ambush. Great video on fort Pitt, I love history and can't wait to go there and thanks for the heads up on where things are.
I have an ancestor who was stationed at Ft. Pitt during the Revolution. Thanks for the info!
Wow, that’s awesome! When we learn that our DNA was present for a historical event, it makes it tremendously more real. It becomes personal.
This is clearly a star fort!
Great video. I am driving to Fort Pitt in 2026 for a short trip from Ohio.
Awesome! You will be prepared for your visit now! 😀
I'm a Pittsburgh boy.... well done!!!
Well thank you sir, that means a lot coming from a local!
Well done, sir.👍👏Well done.
I've lived in Bethel Park (Yes, he was), a Whiskey Rebellion gathering site, for 32 years, now. I just love the amount of history in this area.
Thanks for doing this episode.
In the future, maybe check out Ft. Ticonderoga in NY or Ft. Western in Augusta, Maine. Both are extremely interesting.
I am a direct descendant of Col.William Crawford, who grew up with, served with and under George Washington. 6xgreat grandfather was tortured and burned at the stake by Delaware Indians at Sandusky Ohio. Would love to learn more information!!!
Lewis and Clark built there flatboats in Pittsburgh and set off on their expedition from here.
Can you imagine the excitement?
What an excellent video! Answered many historical questions I've always had,
Thank you for the support Sir!
I ride my bus through downtown Pittsburgh twice a day, five days a week , and I often think about the history of the Point and Fort Pitt (men don't only think about the Roman Empire!). My interest in local history began when I was a small child and opened up my father's copy of the Stefan Lorant book Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City. My favorite parts were the early chapters where everyone looked like George Washington. Thank you for this interesting, informative, and accurate video.
How about that! You have the gift, I too see everything around me like it was in its beginning. When we know the stories of the places around us it gives us a deeper sense of pride in our communities. Thank you for your support Sir!
Good for you on using the word "Indian" so often. I am a Native American, but I have no American Indian blood in me. My ancestors arrived from England in 1630. I will subscribe if you make a video of the history of the word "Indian" and "Native American". In the early 70s Dick Cavett Show mentioned that the Indians he knew didn't like being called Native Americans. I believe it to be an indoctrination that worked-even though it goes against common usage of a "native" from the dictionary.
The indoctrination we all are subject to is evident throughout your videos. For example, you mentioned Washington losing to the French but didn't mention he signed a paper stating he would never fight them again.
Today Fort LaFayette property is the corner of Penn Avenue at 9th Street in Downtown Pittsburg now Pittsburgh PA.
Great video… For some reason I realized how chunky the reenact-ors were. No way the Indians were that big lol.
Great job I'm from Pittsburgh and I do know a lot of the history but this really helped
I am a descendant of some "Shanty Irish" who lived in the Point neighborhood back when it was essentially an Irish Catholic slum. I have visited Point State Park many times as a child but feel like I learned more about the history of the site from this video than my visits there and the educational resources that existed there at the time. Great job!
Wow, that is a great compliment! Much effort goes into what we do. That’s good stock to be from, you must be proud!
Great job! I enjoyed your lesson on an important fortification. You are a good speaker.
Well thank you! I appreciate the support!
Mt 5X direct (father to son) Great Grandfather-Joshua York-was stationed at Fort Pitt following the famous winter at Vally Forge.
Great video! One small detail though. The Ft. Miamis on the map @ 7:50 located so close to Lake Erie, in present day Ohio didn't exist until 1794. The Ft. Miamis besieged by Pontiac in 1763 was at present day Ft. Wayne, Indiana (also built in 1794).
Thank you for you support! I’m not sure what you mean other than perhaps the maker of the map should have placed the marker for the fort a bit more west.
Im in Washington County near where the rebellion was. I've been wanting to visit the Fort, just can't seem to find the time. Thanks for the video.
I hope you get to go soon, thanks for the support!
Great clip colonel
Thank you Sir!
Such poor audio.
Interesting. You are the only one to make that comment. I’m curious, what type of device are you watching on? I’m glad you enjoyed the contents of the video though! 😆