Fort Ligonier: Staging Ground for the Forbes Expedition

In seventeen fifty-eight, British General John Forbes hacked a road through the Pennsylvania mountains toward the French stronghold at Fort Duquesne, what is now Pittsburgh. His staging ground was Fort Ligonier, built that summer in this valley in Westmoreland County. By November the fort had swelled to roughly four thousand soldiers and others, making it the second largest settlement in Pennsylvania behind Philadelphia.

The French attacked on October twelfth of that year, and the assault was beaten back after four hours. Fort Ligonier never fell to an enemy during its eight years as an active garrison. From here Forbes launched the final push that drove the French from the Forks of the Ohio for good.

A reconstructed fort stands on the original site today.