Fort Prince George
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Fort Prince George (sometimes referred to as Trent's Fort) was an incomplete fort on what is now the site of
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, at the confluence of the Allegheny and
Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , ), sometimes referred to locally as the Mon (), is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in nor ...
s in
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. The plan to occupy the strategic forks was formed by Virginia Lieutenant Governor
Robert Dinwiddie Robert Dinwiddie (1692 – 27 July 1770) was a Scottish colonial administrator who served as the lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1751 to 1758. Since the governors of Virginia remained in Great Britain, he served as the ''de facto'' head o ...
, on the advice of Major
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
, whom Dinwiddie had sent on a mission to warn French commanders they were on English territory in late 1753, and who had made a military assessment and a map of the site. The fort was still under construction when it was discovered by the French, who sent troops to capture it. The French then constructed
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 ...
on the site.


Background

In 1749 the British Crown awarded the
Ohio Company The Ohio Company, formally known as the Ohio Company of Virginia, was a land speculation company organized for the settlement by Virginians of the Ohio Country (approximately the present U.S. state of Ohio) and to trade with the Native Ameri ...
a grant of 500,000 acres in the Ohio Country between the Monongahela and the
Kanawha River The Kanawha River ( ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi (156 km) long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, its watershed has been a significant industrial region of th ...
s, provided that the company would settle 100 families within seven years. The Ohio Company was also required to construct a fort and provide a garrison to protect the settlement at their own expense. The Treaty of Logstown was intended to open up land for settlement so that the Ohio Company could meet the seven-year deadline, and to obtain explicit permission to construct a fort. On 29 May 1751, at a council meeting at Logstown between
George Croghan George Croghan (c. 1718 – August 31, 1782) was an Kingdom of Ireland, Irish-born fur trader in the Ohio Country of North America (current United States) who became a key early figure in the region. In 1746 he was appointed to the Onondaga Cou ...
, Andrew Montour and representatives of the Six Nations, Croghan reported the following statement from Iroquois speaker Toanahiso: :"We expect that you our Brothers will build a Strong House on the River Ohio, that if we should be obliged to engage in a war that we should have a Place to secure our Wives and Children...Now, Brothers, we will take two months to consider and choose out a place fit for that Purpose, and then we will send You word. We hope Brothers that as soon as you receive our Message you will order such a House to be built. Brothers: that you may consider well the necessity of building such a Place of Security to strengthen our arms, and that this, our first request of that kind may have a good effect on your minds.Samuel Hazard, ed. ''Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania: From the Organization to the Termination of the Proprietary Government, Mar. 10, 1683-Sept. 27, 1775,'' Vol 4 of Colonial Records of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Provincial Council, Pennsylvania Committee of Safety; J. Severns, 1851.
/ref>" Governor Hamilton used this statement as evidence to the
Pennsylvania Provincial Council The Pennsylvania Provincial Council helped govern the Province of Pennsylvania from 1682 to 1776. The provincial council was based on the English parliamentary system and was analogous to the Upper House or House of Lords. From the Frame of Govern ...
that they should pay for the construction of a fort at a site selected by the sachems at Logstown, arguing that unless the fort were built, the English might lose not only Indian support, but control over the fur trade in Ohio.Wainwright, Nicholas B. "An Indian Trade Failure: The Story of the Hockley, Trent and Croghan Company, 1748-1752." ''The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography,'' vol. 72, no. 4 (1948): 343-75
/ref> However, the Provincial Council decided not to provide funding for a fort, arguing that fair dealings and occasional presents would hold the Indians as allies. At the Treaty of Logstown in June 1752, Tanacharison agreed to the construction of a fort upriver from Logstown, and Virginia's
Ohio Company The Ohio Company, formally known as the Ohio Company of Virginia, was a land speculation company organized for the settlement by Virginians of the Ohio Country (approximately the present U.S. state of Ohio) and to trade with the Native Ameri ...
began construction of a road from Will's Creek to the Monongahela River where they built a storehouse at the mouth of Redstone Creek.Cherry, Jason A. ''Pittsburgh's Lost Outpost: Captain Trent's Fort.'' Charleston, SC: HISTORY Press, 2019.
/ref> At a meeting in
Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the northwesternmost Administrative divisions of Virginia#Independent cities, independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Frederick County, Virginia, Frederi ...
in September 1753, Native American leaders expressed willingness to cooperate with the British and repeated their request that a fort be built on the Ohio.Doug MacGregor, "The Shot Not Heard Around the World: Trent's Fort and the Opening of the War for Empire." ''Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies,'' Summer 2007, Vol. 74, No. 3, State College: Penn State University Press pp. 354-373
/ref> The following summer, the Ohio Company obtained permission from the Six Nations to build Fort Prince George.


Washington's journey

Governor Dinwiddie decided to warn the French that they were occupying British-claimed land. He assigned the 21-year-old Major
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
to carry the message to French commander
Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre (October 24, 1701 - September 8, 1755) was a Canadian colonial military commander and explorer who held posts throughout North America in the 18th century, just before and during the French and Indian War. Famil ...
at Fort Le Boeuf. Washington left
Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...
on October 31, 1753. On his way to Logstown to meet with Native American allies, he stopped at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, noting that "I spent some Time in viewing the Rivers, and the Land in the Fork, which I think extremely well situated for a Fort, as it has the absolute Command of both Rivers."Hunter, William Albert. ''Forts on the Pennsylvania Frontier: 1753–1758,'' (Classic Reprint). Fb&c Limited, 2018; pp 313-19
/ref> Washington met with the French commander, who refused to acknowledge that the British had any claim over land in the
Ohio Country The Ohio Country (Ohio Territory, Ohio Valley) was a name used for a loosely defined region of colonial North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and south of Lake Erie. Control of the territory and the region's fur trade was disputed i ...
. On January 6 1754, near Will's Creek, while Washington was on his way back to Williamsburg, he met "17 horses loaded with Materials and stores for a fort at the Forks of the Ohio." These supplies were intended for Fort Prince George.


Trent's orders

On January 26, Governor Dinwiddie issued a captain's commission in the Virginia militia to fur trader William Trent, with orders to raise one hundred men who would "keep possession of his Majesty's land on the Ohio, and waters thereof, and to dislodge and drive away, and...to kill and destroy, or take prisoners, all and every person and persons whatsoever, not subjects of the King of Great Britain, who now are, or shall hereafter come to settle, and take possession of any lands on the said Ohio." A second letter informed Trent that he should proceed to the Ohio River to assist in the building of a fort there and defend it against any French actions. George Washington was ordered to raise an additional one hundred men to garrison the fort.


Construction

According to the 1756 deposition of Ensign Edward Ward, on February 17 Trent met
Christopher Gist Christopher Gist (1706–1759) was an explorer, surveyor, and frontiersman active in Colonial America. He was one of the first white explorers of the Ohio Country (the present-day states of Ohio, eastern Indiana, western Pennsylvania, and nort ...
and Seneca leader Tanacharison and his followers, at the Forks of the Ohio. Construction was initiated by 33 Virginia militia, with 8 fur traders and trappers recruited by Trent with the assistance of his friend, Indian trader John Fraser, to whom Trent gave a lieutenant's commission. Trent accepted on condition that he be permitted to remain at his plantation, where he was engaged in fur trading, and come to the fort only once a week or whenever necessary.Clark, Howard Glenn. "John Fraser, Western Pennsylvania Frontiersman, Parts 1 & 2" ''Western Pennsylvania History Magazine,'' Vol. 38, No 3-4, Fall-Winter 1955; pp 83-93
/ref> Within 10 days they had "finished a Store House, and a large quantity of timber hew'd, boards saw'd, and shingles made." The fort was referred to as "Trent's Fort," and the title of Fort Prince George, (named for the
crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...
and later
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
), was not attached to the fort until September 1754, when Governor Dinwiddie proposed it in a letter to his London superiors."Fort Prince George," historical marker placed May 8, 1959, explorepahistory.com
/ref>


Capture

On March 4 1754, a French detachment under Ensign Michel Maray de La Chauvignerie discovered the fort under construction. Chauvignerie immediately reported to Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur at Venango,''Papiers Contrecoeur: Le Conflit Anglo - Français Sur L'Ohio de 1745 à 1756.'' English translation of documents in the Quebec Seminary by Donald Kent, 1952
/ref>Henry Wilson Temple, "Logstown," ''The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine,'' vol. 1, no. 1, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania., 1918. Pp 248-258
/ref> that "The scouts...took notice fan advanced house almost made, which is to serve as a
Magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
, but because of the distance they could not know in what manner they were constructing their fort, since it was still only marked out."Cherry, Jason A. ''Pittsburgh's Lost Outpost: Captain Trent's Fort.'' Charleston, SC: HISTORY Press, 2019.
/ref> Governor-General Duquesne wrote immediately to Contrecœur: "From the letter from Sieur La Chauvignerie of March 11, it appears that the English are planning to settle at the mouth of he Allegheny River since there is already a storehouse built there. You must hasten, Sir, to interrupt and even destroy their work from the start, because their consolidation would lead us to a siege...which it would be wise to avoid, considering the bad state of the finances of the King." At that point, only a storehouse had been built, as Trent's men were still clearing the land and preparing stakes for the palisade. They had been subsisting on flour and corn they brought with them, along with meat traded to them by Native Americans from Logstown, but their supplies were running low. They were anticipating the arrival of now Lieutenant Colonel Washington and his troops, but on March 17, Trent decided to travel to Wills Creek to obtain more supplies, leaving Ensign Edward Ward in command, as Lieutenant Fraser was at his own plantation at Turtle Creek, tending to personal business. On April 13, Ensign Ward received word via Robert Callender that a French military force was descending the Allegheny and would arrive within days. Alarmed, Ward went to inform Lieutenant Fraser, but there was nothing they could do except abandon the fort, in violation of their orders. Fraser refused to return to the fort, leaving Ward to confront the French. Ward returned to the construction site and had his men erect a
stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...
wall around the storehouse, completing it on April 16. Ward was determined to "hold out to the last extremity before it should be said that the English had retreated like cowards before the French forces appeared" as that "would give the Indians a very indifferent opinion of the English ever after." In his deposition of June 30, 1756, Ensign Ward reported that "there was no Fort but a few
Palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...
s he ordered to be cut and put up four days before the French came down." In April, a force of more than 600 men under the command of Captain Contrecœur traveled in pirogues and batteaux down the Allegheny River from Venango, landing at Shannopin's Town. On April 18 the French Commander sent Captain Francois Le Mercier, two drummers and an interpreter to present Ensign Ward with a
summons A summons (also known in England and Wales as a claim form or plaint note, and in the Australian state of New South Wales as a court attendance notice (CAN)) is a legal document issued by a court (a ''judicial summons'') or by an administrative ag ...
stating that the French Army intended to lay siege to the fort, and commanded Ward to "retreat peaceably with your troops" and "not to return." Ward and his men were given one hour to leave. Ward, on advice from Tanacharison, who was present, requested that the French wait until Ward's commanding officer, Captain Trent, returned, but Contrecœur refused. Ward then asked if the British might wait until the following day to leave, and Contrecœur agreed. He then invited Ward to dine with him, and Ward accepted. At dinner, Ward politely refused to discuss military or political matters, and declined Contrecœur's offer to buy Ward's carpentry tools.ndsaid it might be their fate ere long to surrender it again so they would set sa good example. They however immediately went to work removing some of the logs as they complained the fort was not to their liking, and by break of day next morning 50 men went off with axes to hew logs to enlarge it." Tanacharison "stormed greatly at the French and told them it was he Order'd that Fort and laid the first Log of it himself, but the French paid no Regard to what he said." The British withdrew, and the French destroyed the partially built fort in order to construct their own.


Aftermath

Captain Trent's men marched to Washington's camp at Wills Creek. They were mostly Indian traders and Trent's employees, but still considered themselves militia and therefore not under Washington's command. Washington ordered them to wait for the Governor's instructions, but the men ignored this and disbanded. Tanacharison wrote immediately to Washington, stating that he was "ready to fight them as you are yourselves...if you do not come to our aid soon, it is all over with us, and I think that we shall never be able to meet together again." Washington regarded the capture of Trent's Fort as an act of war, and prepared to advance, writing on April 20 to Governor Dinwiddie to request artillery. Counting on Tanacharison to support him with Native American warriors, he prepared to attack French troops in what would become the first battle of the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
, the
Battle of Jumonville Glen The Battle of Jumonville Glen, also known as the Jumonville affair, was the opening battle of the French and Indian War, fought on May 28, 1754, near present-day Hopwood, Pennsylvania, Hopwood and Uniontown, Pennsylvania, Uniontown in Fayette Co ...
. On May 1, Governor Dinwiddie, unaware that the fort had been captured, wrote to Governor Horatio Sharpe of Maryland that "The Plan of the Fort is not yet Drawn, as the Ground is not fix'd on being left with discretional Power to the Engineer." When Ensign Ward returned from
Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...
, he brought letters dated May 4, expressing anger with Trent and Fraser to Colonel
Joshua Fry Colonel Joshua Fry (1699–1754) was an English-born American adventurer who became a professor, then real estate investor and local official in the colony of Virginia. Although he served several terms in the House of Burgesses, he may be best kn ...
: "I am advis’d that Capt. Trent, and his Lieut., Fraser have been long absent from their duty...Which Conduct & Behaviour I require & expect You will enquire into at a Court Martial, & give Sentence accordingly." Lieutenant Fraser was almost court-martialed at Williamsburg for desertion, but he was released after Washington reminded Governor Dinwiddie that Fraser had accepted his lieutenant's commission with reservations. He later served as Chief of Scouts in General
Edward Braddock Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe and Canada as ...
's army,
Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...
of Virginia Forces, and Captain of guides in the army of Brigadier-General John Forbes. The French erected
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 ...
after seizing Fort Prince George, and maintained control of traffic on the Ohio River until November, 1758. This had a devastating impact on British trade with Native Americans in the Ohio Country, leading many to side with the French at the beginning of the French and Indian War. Fort Prince George was the first of five forts to be built to control the strategic "Forks of the Ohio". Following the capture of Fort Duquesne in the 1758
Forbes Expedition The Forbes Expedition was a British military campaign to capture Fort Duquesne, led by Brigadier-General John Forbes in 1758, during the French and Indian War. While advancing to the fort, the expedition built the Forbes Road. The Treaty of Eas ...
, the British built Fort Pitt. Mercer's Fort was a temporary British fort built to defend against a French counterattack while Fort Pitt was being constructed. The final fort in what is now downtown Pittsburgh was an American post called
Fort Lafayette Fort Lafayette was an island coastal fortification in The Narrows of New York Harbor (New York Bay), built offshore from nearby Fort Hamilton at the southern tip of what is now the Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Bay Ridge neighborhood in the New York City ...
, built in 1792 and located farther up the Allegheny River.


Memorialization

A historical marker commemorating Fort Prince George was placed in
Point State Park Point State Park (locally known as The Point) is a Pennsylvania state park which is located on in Downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, US, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River. B ...
in downtown Pittsburgh on May 8, 1959. A
diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes dioramas are enclosed in a glass showcase at a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies like mili ...
depicting the fort's surrender to the French can be seen at the Fort Pitt Museum in Pittsburgh.Rusty Glessner, "Exploring Point State Park in Pittsburgh"
/ref>


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince George French and Indian War forts Forts in Pennsylvania Colonial forts in Pennsylvania British forts in the United States History of Pittsburgh George Washington Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania French military occupations Pre-statehood history of Pennsylvania