Battle of Fort Duquesne

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Battle of Fort Duquesne
Part of the French and Indian War
This engraving by Alfred R. Waud depicts the British occupation of the remains of Fort Duquesne on November 26.
Date September 14, 1758 Location Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Result French victory
Combatants
France	Britain
Commanders
François-Marie Le Marchand de Lignery	James Grant
Strength
500 militia and natives	400 regulars 350 militia
Casualties
16 dead or wounded	300 dead 100 captured

Seven Years' War in North America: The French and Indian War
Jumonville Glen – Great Meadows – Fort Beauséjour – Monongahela – Lake George – Fort Bull – Fort Oswego – Fort William Henry – Louisbourg - Fort Carillon – Fort Frontenac - Fort Duquesne – Fort Ligonier – Ticonderoga – Fort Niagara – Beauport – Quebec – Sainte-Foy – Restigouche - Thousand Islands – Montréal - Signal Hill

The Battle of Fort Duquesne was a failed attempt by elements of General John Forbes's British-American army to harass French Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War. John Forbes had a total of 6,000 men that he had recruited in Fort Cumberland in Maryland, including a contingent of 2,000 Virginian and Pennsylvania militia led by George Washington.

On September 14, 1758, Major James Grant of the 77th Regiment of Foot led 750 men (regulars and American provincials) to Fort Duquesne as part of the overall British invasion of the Ohio Valley. He ordered an ambush to be set up consisting of 100 regulars and 150 Virginians, while a further 100 British troops would attack the surrounding troops of the fort itself. De Lignery, aware of these movements, dispatched some 500 men who repeatedly encircled and attacked the British troops. Surrounded, the Scots fought viciously but inflicted little real damage to the French militia, while 100 of the Pennsylvanians deserted without a shot being fired. The Virginians on the other hand, fought well with 100 men until forced to retreat. Grant was taken prisoner along with eighteen of his officers. The Highlanders were impaled with their heads displayed on stakes with their kilts displayed below.

Though the French had won a stunning victory, nearly annihilating part of the 77th Highlander Regiment, de Lignery understood that his meagre army, built atop a rapidly-crumbling network of alliances with native tribes, could not hold Fort Duquesne against the bulk of the British invasion force totalling 6,000 men under General Forbes. The French continued to occupy Duquesne until November 26, when its retreating garrison burnt it and left under the cover of darkness. Once the British took over the smoldering remains, they were appalled by the impalement of the ambushed Highlanders. Anglo-American armies rebuilt Fort Duquesne, naming it Fort Pitt after the contemporary Prime Minister William Pitt.

[edit] External Lnks

• The French Army 1600-1900