Battle of Fort Duquesne

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

On September 14, 1758, Major James Grant of Ballindalloch, acting commander of the 77th Regiment of Foot (Montgomerie's Highlanders), led 750 men (regulars and American provincials) to Fort Duquesne on a nocturnal reconnaissance mission ahead of Forbes's main column. For some reason, Grant ordered his pipers to play. When they got near the Fort, Grant 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. Warned by the sound of the bagpipes, Captain François-Marie Le Marchand de Lignery, the commander, dispatched some 500 men, mostly Indians, who repeatedly encircled and attacked the British troops. Surrounded, the Scots fought desperately but inflicted little real damage on the Indians, who were firing from behind trees. 100 of the Pennsylvanians deserted without a shot being fired. The Virginians fought on with 100 men until forced to retreat. Grant was taken prisoner along with eighteen of his men. Out of 342 British casualties, 232 were from the 77th Regiment .

Though the French had won a stunning victory, nearly annihilating part of the 77th Highland Regiment, de Lignery understood that his meagre army, built atop a rapidly-crumbling network of alliances with native tribes, could not hold Fort du Quesne against the bulk of the British invasion force totaling 6,000 men under John Forbes. The French continued to occupy Duquesne until November 26, when its retreating garrison burnt it and left under the cover of darkness. As the British marched up to the smoldering remains, they were confronted with an appalling sight. The Indians had cut off the heads of many of the dead Highlanders and impaled them on the sharp stakes on top of the Fort walls, with their kilts displayed below. British-American armies rebuilt Fort Duquesne, naming it Fort Pitt after the contemporary Prime Minister William Pitt who had told them to attack

References

Further reading

• Stewart, David, Sketches of the Character, Manners and Present State of the Highlanders of Scotland(John Donald Publishers Ltd., Edinburgh, 1977 - originally published in 1822)

External links

• The French Army 1600-1900

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Last updated on Wednesday March 12, 2008 at 15:19:13 PDT (GMT -0700)
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