Battle of Fort Duquesne

Background

In July 1758, a large-scale British expedition of 6,000 troops under General John Forbes, including Virginians led by George Washington, was organized to drive the French from the Ohio Country. A road was constructed with forts and redoubts every forty miles. Forbes, very ill, entrusted the advance to his second in command, Lt. Col. Henry Bouquet. By late August, Bouquet sanctioned Major James Grant to reconnoiter the area with 850 men.

Battle

On September 11, 1758, Grant led 850 men to scout Fort Duquesne ahead of Forbes' main column. Bouquet believed the fort held 500 French and 300 Indians, too strong for Grant's detachment. Grant, arriving near the fort on September 13, thought only 200 enemy were inside and sent 50 men forward; they saw no enemy outside, burned a storehouse, and returned. Grant then attempted to deceive the French and Native force but fatally split his own force, allowing defeat in detail.

A company of the 77th under Capt. McDonald approached the fort as a decoy, while 400 men lay in wait to ambush the enemy, and several hundred more under Maj. Andrew Lewis were concealed near the baggage train. The French and Indian force, much larger than anticipated, moved swiftly, overwhelming McDonald's decoy and overrunning the ambush party. Lewis's force left its positions to help but the enemy gained high ground and forced them to retire.

The Indians used the forest to their advantage; concealed by thick foliage, their fire could not be effectively returned. The British and American force suffered 342 casualties, 232 from the 77th Regiment, including Grant taken prisoner.

Of eight officers in Lewis's Virginian contingent, five were killed, one wounded, and Lewis captured. Most of Grant's force escaped to rejoin the main army. The Franco-Indian force suffered only 8 killed and 8 wounded.

Aftermath

Major Grant was taken prisoner and the British survivors retreated fitfully to Fort Ligonier. Though the French had beaten off the initial attack, Lignery understood his force of about 600 could not hold Fort Duquesne against the main British force of more than ten times that number.

Deserted by some native allies, the French blew up their magazines and burnt Fort Duquesne on November 24, leaving under cover of darkness. The British found the heads of decapitated Highlanders impaled on stakes with their kilts displayed. They rebuilt the fort, naming it Fort Pitt after the British prime minister William Pitt. A plaque on the Allegheny County Courthouse, erected in 1901, commemorates the battle site; the hill is today called Grant Street.