Fort Juniata Crossing, also known as Fort Juniata or simply Juniata Crossing, was a British

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

era fortification located along the

Forbes Road The Forbes Road, a historic military roadway in what was then British America, was initially completed in 1758 from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to the French Fort Duquesne at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now down ...

. The fort was located along a strategic

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

of the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River about west of the current site of

Breezewood, Pennsylvania Breezewood is an unincorporated town in East Providence Township, Bedford County in south-central Pennsylvania. Along a traditional pathway for Native Americans, European settlers, and British troops during colonial times, in the early 20th ce ...

. It was constructed in the summer of 1758 as part of a string or forts located along the line of supply and communication westward from the British Army's forward base at the frontier settlement of

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

as General Forbes’ army pushed westward toward the French garrison at

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...

. Located about halfway between the British fortifications at Fort Littleton to the east and Fort Bedford to the west, Fort Juniata Crossing protected a vital ford across the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River. As the Juniata was the only major river ford along the road between Carlisle and Fort Duquesne, the site was of particular strategic importance. Smaller and with a smaller garrison than larger forts such as

Fort Bedford Fort Bedford was a French and Indian War-era British military fortification located at the present site of Bedford, Pennsylvania. The fort was a star-shaped log fortress erected in the summer of 1758. Background Fort Bedford was constructed duri ...

and

Fort Ligonier Fort Ligonier is a British fortification from the French and Indian War located in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, United States. The fort served as a staging area for the Forbes Expedition of 1758. During the eight years of its existence as a garrison, Fo ...

, Fort Juniata Crossing consisted of fortified storehouses on each side of the river along with a main stockade on the west side of the river. The stockade was a log star shaped fort with five bastions enclosing an area of about 1.7 acres (6,900 square meters). Colonel

Henry Bouquet Henry Bouquet (born Henri Louis Bouquet; 1719 – 2 September 1765) was a Swiss mercenary who rose to prominence in British service during the French and Indian War and Pontiac's War. He is best known for his victory over a Native America ...

, General Forbes' principle lieutenant on the campaign, chose the site of the fort. He wrote..

''" The Road from Littleton to Seydeling Hill icis good but the Juniata still has 4 1/2 feet of water. We can ford it in a few days, but as a precaution we will build a bridge. The farther I go away from the settlements the more I see that this expedition, which is believed so easy, is full of almost insurmountable difficulties. "''

The fort was of little use to the British Army after the campaign and immediately went into a state of decline. In 1763 Fort Juniata Crossing along with the nearby stockade at Stony Creek were abandoned and the personnel and stores were transferred to Ford Bedford. The road continued to be in use however by army supply wagons to the newly constructed Fort Pitt and later by settlers traveling west. A proper bridge was eventually constructed at the ford for use by road travelers. By 1790 the road was moved to a location near the present site of Route 30 and the bridge and this portion of the roadway fell into disuse. The bridge's stone piers are still visible however. In 1952, the state of Pennsylvania erected a historical marker along Route 30 about 1/2 mile south of the fort's location.

Fort Martin

A Revolutionary War era stockade, named Fort Martin, was constructed on or near the site in the late 1770s. The exact location of the stockade has been lost to history but it is described as being near the "chain bridge" at the site of the former Fort Juniata Crossing. It was a small blockhouse structure constructed by local civilians and designed as a haven for local settlers against raids by hostile Native American war parties. It fell into disuse after the war ended and the threat of raids was over. {{Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War Juniata Juniata Juniata Juniata