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Fort Pitt, completed in 1762, was the largest English fort built in America. During it's thirty-seven year history as an active fortification, it saw service in many ways. It was a safe haven for settlers during Pontiac's Uprising and a staging ground for the Frontier Wars of the 1780s. Fort Pitt even held the seat of the Virginia Court for a short while. Dismantled in 1797, the legacy of Fort Pitt lives on here in Pittsburgh, as both a site of historical significance for tourists and a monument to the birth of our proud city. History of Fort Pitt (1759-1797)
English Domination Until the Birth of a Nation When English General John Forbes and his army took command of the Ohio River junction in 1758 from the fleeing French garrison, he inherited the key to westward expansion. Forbes was determined to safeguard it for the King of England to ensure British domination over this strategic location. With firm British resolve, Forbes was committed to defending the region. He ordered the construction of a large and virtually impregnable fort, to be called Fort Pitt, named in honor of Prime Minister William Pitt. The settlement that would grow around the fort would be known as Pittsborough. Before work could be started on a major fortification, a temporary fort needed to be erected. The French Fort Duquesne had been burnt beyond repair. The troops needed shelter for the winter and Colonel Hugh Mercer, commander of the garrison troops feared a renewed French offensive. Completed in late December, Mercer's Fort was constructed on the bank of the Monongahela. Sufficient to shelter a force of four hundred men, the fort was a square stockade with the walls consisting of the rear facing of interior buildings, with bastions at each corner. The temporary fort stood for a year and a half while the garrison worked on construction of Fort Pitt. It would be the most elaborate and impregnable fortress constructed by the English on American soil. Completed in 1762, there were two acres inside the fortress walls and an additional eighteen in the outworks.
Excluding the garrison assigned to the fort, by 1760 the population of the town was 149. This number increased to 330 the following year, and in 1763 had risen to nearly 700. Fort Pitt was a formidable barrier, and brought a renewed sense of security to the emerging town of Pittsborough. Security was indeed a concern along the frontier at that time, as by 1762 the native tribes were growing restless. War with the French was still raging in the north, and regional tribes allied to the French cause were growing increasingly frustrated with the British. The Siege of Fort Pitt In May of 1763, the native tribes united and went on the warpath. In an effort to drive the British settlers back across the Appalachian Divide, Chief Pontiac had consolidated several local tribes, then 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 savage onslaught. Fort Detroit was under siege and Fort Niagara was threatened.
The warriors under Chief Pontiac focused a great deal of effort on Fort Pitt. They drove down from the north, overrunning a string of smaller settlements in the Allegheny River Valley, then moved on to the settlement of Pittsborough. Settlers and traders that had not been killed or captured sought refuge in Fort Pitt. By May 27, 1763, the fort was surrounded, and a three-month siege ensued. Six hundred frightened settlers and a garrison of 150 determined British soldiers were determined to hold out. The natives avoided a direct attack, and instead decided to either burn or starve out the defenders. Forces along the river banks shot fire arrows into the fort, and others blocked all resupply routes. The defenders of the fort stood firm, but after three months supplies were running desperately short and ammunition stocks were dwindling.
Colonel Bouquet Comes to the Rescue The 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 redoubtable Colonel Henry Bouquet. On August 4, while approaching Fort Pitt, the relief column was ambushed near Bushy Run Station, a small stronghold southeast of Fort Pitt. After a two-day struggle, Bouquet defeated the attackers and continued on to relieve Fort Pitt. The seige was officially lifted August 20, 1763. Chief Pontiac soon abandoned his efforts to drive the British out of his lands and hostilities ceased. This was the last time that Fort Pitt was involved in direct hostile action.
After Pontiac's War, peace came to the region. An expansion of the fort was ordered by Colonel Bouquet, the new commandant, and four redoubts were built outside the twenty-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 and soon the need for a frontier fort diminished.
George Washington Returns to Pittsburgh In 1770, George Washington visited Pittsburgh on his way to inspect land holdings in Ohio. He arrived at Fort Pitt on October 17. He spent the afternoon inspecting the garrison, the fort and the outlying structures, then lodged in town at the home of a friend, Mr. Semple. Washington described the small town of Pittsburgh in his journal: "The houses, which are built of logs, and ranged in streets, are on the Monongahela, and I suppose maybe about twenty in number, and inhabited by Indian traders. The fort is built on the point between the rivers Allegany and Monogahela, but not so near the pitch of it as Fort Duquesne stood. It is five-sided and regular, two of which near the land are of brick, the others stockade. A moat encompasses it. The garrison consists of two companies of Royal Irish, commanded by Captain Charles E. Edmondson. The following day Washington dined in the fort with Colonel Croghan and the officers of the garrison. "Supped there also, he wrote, "meeting with great civility, from the gentlemen."
Washington spent the next day meeting with native leaders. The White Mingo and other chiefs of the Six Nations wanted reassurances of the British desire for peaceful cohabitation and trade relations. To this Washington replied "that all the injuries and affronts, that had passed on either side, were now totally forgotten, and that I was sure nothing was more wished and desired by the people of Virginia, than to live in the strictest friendship with them; that the Virginians were a people not so much engaged in trade as the Pennsylvanians, which was the reason of their not being so frequently among them; but that it was possible they might for the time to come have stricter connexions with them, and that I would acquaint the government with their desires." Washington and his traveling companions left Pittsburgh the following day for the Ohio Country, returning to Fort Pitt on the afternoon of November 21. After another two-day stay, and "defraying the sundry expenses accruing at Pittsburg(h)," he left for his trip home to Virginia. Sale of Fort Pitt and the Dunmore Affair In 1772, thirteen years after it was built, Fort Pitt was abandoned by the British. The structure was sold by Captain Edmondson of the 18th Royal Regiment to Alexander Ross and William Thompson for fifty pounds of New York currency. Many of the outlying structures were dismantled and the 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 for a fight to preserve their claim.
On January 6, 1774, John Murray, the 4th Earl of Dunmore, or 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. Then, on April 25, 1774, 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, Virginia, to Fort Dunmore. 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 Virginia Colony's recent secessionist actions against the Crown. These conventions marked the beginnings of the American Revolution. Dr. Connolly and Lord Dunmore, who had been working with the Crown to align the local Indian tribes against the colonial insurrection, failed in their mission. Finding themselves and their small loyalist militia in hostile territory, Lord Dunmore and his garrison abandoned Fort Dunmore and returned to Virginia. Captain John Neville and 100 Pittsburgh militiamen took command of the fort, immediately restoring it original name, Fort Pitt.
American Independence and the Frontier Wars Once again bearing its proud name, Fort Pitt became a United States fort when Brigadier General Edward Hand took 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 the revolution. In time, the state lines were agreed upon by negotiation, and Pittsburgh reverted back to a being a part of the state of Pennsylvania. 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 Broadhead 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, in 1783, 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. The U.S. Army decommissioned the site on August 3, 1797, and all salvagable items were auctioned. Historic Fort Pitt
The City of Pittsburgh's growth soon surrounded, then consumed the old fort, until nothing was left except Bouquet's blockhouse, which had been converted into a dwelling. Today, through the efforts of historical preservation societies, the blockhouse has been restored and some remnants of the fort have been excavated and rebuilt. The Fort Pitt Museum is located under a replica of one of the fort's five pointed bastions. The museum is full of artifacts and models showing the history of the forts that once occupied the Golden Triangle. ♦ "Guns At The Forks" - online book by Walter O'Meara ♦
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