Duquesne, Fort

erected at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers in Pennsylvania by the French under Captain Contrecoeur in 1754. It became at once the center of French military operations in that section. In 1755 Braddock was sent to capture it. He was defeated July 9 by the French and Indians. Major Grant and 800 men were defeated and cut to pieces in a second expedition against the fort October 15,1757. In the summer of 1758 General Forbes with 6,000 men moved against it. His march was slow. The rains ruined roads as soon as constructed. A reconnoitering party under Grant was cut off. At length the whole force advanced. On the evening of September 24 the fort was evacuated and blown up. By Forbes’ slow advance the patience of the Indians in alliance with the French had been exhausted and the garrison reduced to le than 1,000. The place was named Fort Pitt (Pittsburg) in honor of the English Minister, and a strong fort erected there the next year.