Fort Duquesne - Fort's Construction and Replacement

Fort's Construction and Replacement

Following Washington's return to Virginia in January 1754, Dinwiddie sent Virginians to build Fort Prince George at the forks. Work began on the fort on February 17. By April 18, a much larger French force of five hundred strong arrived at the forks, forcing the small British garrison there to surrender. The French knocked down the tiny British fort and built Fort Duquesne, named in honor of Marquis Duquesne, the governor-general of New France. The fort was built on the same model as Fort Frontenac on Lake Ontario.

Even though location at the Forks of the Ohio looked strong on paper—it controlled the confluence of three rivers—the reality was rather different. The site was low, swampy, and prone to flooding. In addition, the position was dominated by nearby highlands, which would allow an enemy to bombard the fort with ease. The Canadien commander, Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur, was preparing to abandon the fort in the face of Braddock's advance in 1755, and was only saved when the advancing British force was annihilated (see below). When the Forbes expedition approached in 1758, the French were not as lucky.

Washington, who had been promoted to Lt. Colonel of the newly created Virginia Regiment, left on April 2 as part of a small force with the dual purpose of constructing a road and defending the fort upon their arrival. Washington was at Wills Creek in south central Pennsylvania when he received news of the surrender of Fort Prince George. On May 25, Washington assumed command of the expedition upon the death of Colonel Joshua Fry. Two days later, Washington encountered a Canadian scouting party near a place now known as Jumonville Glen (several miles east of present-day Uniontown). Washington attacked the Canadians killing 10 in the early morning hours, and took 21 prisoners, of whom many were killed by the Natives. He then ordered construction of Fort Necessity at a large clearing known as the Great Meadows. On July 3, the counterattacking French and Canadians forced Washington to surrender Fort Necessity but allowed Washington and his men to return home without their armaments.

The French held Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War, and it became one of the focal points for that war because of its strategic location. The French held the fort successfully early in the war, turning back the expedition led by General Edward Braddock. George Washington served as one of General Braddock's aides. A smaller attack by James Grant in September 1758 was repulsed with heavy losses. Two months later, on November 25, the Forbes Expedition under General John Forbes captured the site after the French destroyed Fort Duquesne the day before. The British built a much smaller fort on the site, and named it Fort Pitt.