Copyright © 2018 John F. Oyler
November 29, 2018
The Forbes Expedition
For its November “Second Tuesday” workshop the Bridgeville Area Historical Society continued its series on George Washington’s exploits in western Pennsylvania by focusing on the 1758 Forbes Expedition. Its mission was to capture Fort Du Quesne and expel the French from the Ohio Country.
Immediately following Braddock’s defeat in 1755 the frontier was left defenseless against Indian attacks. Washington, as commander of the Virginia Regiment, was left with the responsibility of protecting the settlers over a wide area stretching from the Potomac River to the North Carolina border.
Archives of newspapers from the colonies as well as from Great Britain are filled with accounts of his exploits in the next three years. In April, 1756, members of Washington’s regiment fought a losing battle against the natives at the Battle of Great Cacapon. That summer a campaign against Fort Du Quesne was planned, with Washington’s regiment coupled with a Maryland regiment; it never got beyond the planning stage.
In May, Washington “with about seventy men was invested at Winchester by a large detachment of French and Indians”, but “routed the enemy and killed a good number of them”. Communication with Fort Cumberland was cut off.
“False news” is not something invented in the twenty-first century. On July 24, 1756, it was reported that Washington had been killed in a battle. Seventeen days later a report states that he has captured Fort Du Quesne, with the support of a large contingent of Cherokees.
In October, he is reported at Fort Cumberland with about five hundred militiamen, pursuing several hundred Indians who have killed and captured twenty families. On November 16, 1756, we learn that Washington has survived a skirmish with the enemy and arrived at Williamsburg with “four prisoners and eight scalps”. A year later he was back at Fort Cumberland, preparing for an attack by several thousand French and Indians.
The war was also serious in Pennsylvania. The Battle of Sideling Hill, April 1, 1756, was a bloody encounter between Delawares led by Captain Jacobs and Pennsylvania militia led by Captain Alexander Culbertson, following an Indian raid on Fort McCord in the Cumberland Valley.
Benjamin Franklin had ordered the construction of a line of forts – Pomfret Castle, Granville, Shirley, and Lyttleton – in the Juniata Valley. On August 1, 1756, Granville was captured by French soldiers (Captain de Villiers) and Indian warriors (Captain Jacobs). Lieutenant Edward Armstrong was killed during the attack.
In retribution, Armstrong’s brother John, led a raid against the Delaware stronghold at Kittanning. Captain Jacobs was killed during the battle; the entire village was burned to the ground.
Meanwhile, in Europe, the great powers had finally decided to pick sides and officially begin what came to be known as “the Seven Years War”. A truly global conflict, it has been called “World War Zero” by many historians. After France attacked the British colony on Minorca, in the Mediterranean Sea, the English formally declared war on them.
Great Britain’s allies were Prussia, Portugal, and Hanover; France was allied with Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Spain. William Pitt had become England’s Prime Minister. His policy was to exploit their naval supremacy and attack the enemy all around the world, while relying on financing the Prussians to carry the brunt of the land warfare in Europe.
Prussia proved to be an appropriate ally. Frederick II (the Great) had inherited a powerful, well-disciplined army from his father, Frederick I, as well as the military skill to use it effectively. He is considered one of the four or five greatest military leaders of all time.
A newspaper clipping dated February 25, 1757, reports the promotion of Lieutenant Colonel John Forbes to full Colonel, in command of the Seventeenth Regiment of Foot, and their assignment for duty in North America. By September they were in Nova Scotia, part of an army being formed to attack the French stronghold at Louisburg.
The next year, 1758, the British announced their plans to carry out a three-pronged attack against the French, a scheme very similar to the one that failed in 1755. General Jeffrey Amherst, with the Navy and about 13,000 troops, would attempt to capture Louisburg. With over 18,000 men, General James Abercrombie, would attempt to overwhelm the enemy in upstate New York and capture Crown Point.
By now Forbes had been promoted to Brigadier-General and sent to Philadelphia with instructions to lead an expedition against Fort Du Quesne. His army included two thousand British regulars – Archibald Montgomerie’s 77thScots Highlanders and Henri Bouquet’s 60thRoyal Americans; two thousand Pennsylvania militiamen; and two thousand Virginians, commanded by George Washington.
The direct route from Philadelphia to the frontier led through Lancaster to Carlisle, at the head of the Cumberland Valley, crossing the Susquehanna River at Harris’ Ferry. Forbes’ advance guard, led by second-in-command Bouquet, quickly converted the Carlisle stronghold into a major supply depot. On June 5, 1758 Bouquet moved from Carlisle to Shippensburg, the last significant settlement in the west.
The Pennsylvania troops were sent ahead to improve the road west, through Chamber’s Mill to Fort Loudon, then up Path Valley and Cowan’s Gap to Fort Lyttleton. This road had been originally built in 1755 by Captain James Burd as a supply route to support General Braddock.
By June 28 the advance forces had reached Raystown, a small trading village established in 1732 by trader John Wray. It became the site of another major military fortification, Fort Bedford. A minor fort was also built halfway between Fort Lyttleton and Raystown, to protect the crossing of the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River.
By now it was obvious that Forbes’ strategy was to advance cautiously to the west, building strong points at regular intervals along his route. Washington, with the Virginia troops, was at Fort Cumberland, assuming that the route to Fort Du Quesne would follow the old Braddock’s Road. He set his troops to work building a road from Cumberland to Raystown, anticipating that Forbes’ army would follow it south.
Late in July Washington learned that Bouquet favored a more direct route, due west. It would be shorter and would avoid crossing the Youghiogheny and Monongahela Rivers. Once his scouts confirmed this was feasible, Bouquet convinced General Forbes to ignore Washington’s objections.
The controversy was had consequences far beyond military/logistical considerations. Both Pennsylvania and Virginia claimed what is now southwestern Pennsylvania, based on ambiguous wording in their grants from the Crown. In addition, Washington was convinced the decision was a bad one from the military standpoint. Nonetheless he was over-ruled and instructed to move his regiments to Raystown.
Suffering from dysentery, Forbes was following behind with the bulk of the army, reaching Shippensburg on August 12. Colonel James Burd had pressed on across Allegheny and Laurel Ridges to Loyalhanna Creek, where another impressive military fortification was constructed. Named Fort Ligonier in honor of Prime Minister Pitt’s advisor, General John Ligonier, it was considered an appropriate base for the final assault on Du Quesne.
Bouquet arrived at Fort Ligonier on September 7 and promptly sent a large force toward Fort Duquesne, on a reconnaissance mission. The contingent of Highlanders was led by Major James Grant. When they reached the hill overlooking the fort, on September 14, Grant elected to “demonstrate”, in the hope that he could encourage the enemy to come out and fight.
His hopes were realized when that did indeed occur, resulting in another disastrous defeat. Half of Grant’s forces were lost; he was captured by the enemy. This apparently encouraged the French and Indians to count-attack. On October 12, they mounted a fierce attack on Fort Ligonier, lasting three hours. When it became obvious the fortification was much too strong, they withdrew to Fort Du Quesne, ready to spend the winter there.
In the interim two disconnected events occurred that ultimately sealed the fate of Fort Du Quesne. On August 27, a British force led by Lieutenant Colonel John Bradstreet had defeated the defenders of Fort Frontenac, eliminating a major component of the French supply chain for Du Quesne. Located where the St. Lawrence River leaves Lake Ontario, Frontenac was essential for Du Quesne’s future.
On October 26, the Governors of Pennsylvania met with leaders of the Iroquois, Delaware, and Shawnee nations and signed a treaty that theoretically took them out of the war. In return for guarantees that their land west of Allegheny Ridge would be closed to settlers, the Indians agreed to no longer support the French.
Seriously ill, General Forbes arrived at Fort Ligonier in a litter on November 2. He called a council of war with his senior officers to discuss long term strategy. The general consensus was that the judicious thing to do was to leave a strong contingent at Fort Ligonier and Fort Bedford and to retire the bulk of the army to Philadelphia, planning to resume the campaign in the Spring.
The following evening a group of French and Indian raiders was reported at Fort Ligonier, apparently attempting to run off the horses. Forbes sent a detachment of Virginians, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Mercer to investigate. When a sharp skirmish resulted, he then sent Washington with another contingent to support Mercer.
Somehow Mercer’s troops mistook the Virginians for the enemy and began to fire on them. Realizing what was happening, Washington rode between the opposing lines, knocking the muzzles of his men’s muskets up and ordering them to cease fire. Nonetheless fourteen of his troops were killed by “friendly fire”.
During the skirmish Mercer’s men had captured three prisoners, one of whom reported that the French were low on provisions and that the fort was undermanned. Forbes sent a column led by Washington forward. When they arrived at the Forks of the Ohio, on November 25, they were greeted by explosions and smoke. The defenders had destroyed their fort and escaped down the Ohio.
Washington gave Colonel John Armstrong the honor of raising the Union Jack over the ruins of Fort Du Quesne. When General Forbes arrived, again in a litter, he celebrated by writing a letter to William Pitt in which he announced that the new fort to be built on the site would be named for the Prime Minister.
Colonel Mercer and two hundred men were left to occupy the ruins. They built a small fort along the Monongahela River to house them for the winter; the construction of the magnificent Fort Pitt would begin in 1759.
George Washington had seen the Forks of the Ohio for the first time five years earlier. His attempts to return had been frustrated twice. Despite his disagreement with his commander’s strategy, he had served faithfully, and, on at least one occasion, courageously. Nonetheless, his application for a commission in the British Regular Army was again rejected.
Reluctantly he returned to Virginia, to woo Martha Custis and to assume the life of a gentleman planter at Mount Vernon, a life he would enjoy for the next sixteen years.
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