Everything about Fort Le Boeuf totally explained
Fort Le Boeuf was a
fort established by the
French in
1753 on a fork of
French Creek, near present-day
Waterford, in northwest
Pennsylvania. The fort was part of a line that included
Fort Presque Isle,
Fort Machault and
Fort Duquesne.
The fort was located about from the shores of
Lake Erie. The French portaged trade goods, war materiel, and supplies from
Lake Erie overland to Fort Le Boeuf. From there they traveled in rafts and canoes down French Creek to the
Allegheny River, the
Ohio and the
Mississippi.
Captain Le Mercier began construction on
11 July 1753 and
Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre took command of the fort on
December 3,
1753.
Robert Dinwiddie, the governor of
Virginia, sent the 21-year-old
George Washington to Fort Le Boeuf in order to deliver a message to the
French demanding that they leave the
Ohio Country. Dinwiddie's initiative was in response to the French building forts in the Ohio Country. Washington took
Christopher Gist along as his guide; during the trip Gist earned his place in history by saving the young Washington's life on two separate occasions. Washington and Gist arrived at Fort Le Boeuf on
December 11,
1753. The French ignored Dinwiddie's demands.
During his stay, Washington noted that the fort had one hundred men, a large number of officers, 50 birch canoes and 70 pine canoes, many unfinished. He described the fort as on a south or west fork of French creek, near the water, and almost surrounded by it. Four houses composed the sides. The bastions were made of piles driven into the ground, standing more than high, and sharpened at the top. Port holes for cannon and loop-holes for small-arms were cut into the bastions. Each bastion mounted eight six-pound cannon and one four-pound cannon guarded the gate. Inside the bastions stood a guard-house, chapel, doctor's lodging and the commander's private stores. Outside of the fort were several log barracks, some covered with bark, others with boards. In addition, there were stables, a smithy and other buildings.
The
French and Indian War began on
1754-05-28 with the
Battle of Jumonville Glen. Some four years later, on
1759-07-25, the French surrendered
Fort Niagara. In August 1759, the commander of
Fort Presque Isle sent word to
Fort Machault and Fort Le Boeuf to abandon their forts. After the French abandoned the forts, the British took possession of their sites. It is unclear whether the French burned down Fort Le Boeuf when they abandoned it. If so, the British rebuilt it.
During
Pontiac's Rebellion, on
1763-06-18, a war party of
Native Americans burned down Fort Le Boeuf. The survivors escaped to
Fort Venango, but it too was burned, so they continued to
Fort Pitt.
On
1794-08-01, Major E. Denny reported to
Governor Thomas Mifflin from Le Boeuf. He described a fortification with four blockhouses, manned by riflemen. The two rear blockhouses had a six-pound cannon on the second floor, as well as swivel guns over the gates.
When Judge Vincent settled in Waterford in 1797, he wrote, "There are no remains of the old French fort excepting the traces on the ground..."
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