The 1758 Forbes Campaign and its Influence on the Politics of the Province of Pennsylvania

Youhas, Troy

Although it often gets overlooked, the French and Indian War, or the War for Empire as it is now becoming known, was a very important turning point in United States History. While it was only a small part of a much larger scale war between Great Britain and France, it would bring about many changes on the North American continent. The immediate results of the war included the British acquisition of Canada and an almost immediate end to French presence in the North American colonies. The war also had the long term effects of establishing British dominance in the colonies and planting the seeds for the American Revolution. In the grand scheme of the war, the state of Pennsylvania would prove to be immensely important. While the war was being intensely debated among the assemblymen in the State House in Philadelphia, many important military events were taking place across the state. Not only did the French and Indian War establish places like Fort Duquesne and Fort Necessity as key historical sites, but it also involved some notable men in Pennsylvania and American history, such as Edward Braddock, James Abercrombie, and a then little known 21 year old Colonel by the name of George Washington. The major turning point of the war, and American history for that matter, was led by a Scottish-born General by the name of John Forbes, whose expedition across the state in 1758 forced the French to retreat from Fort Duquesne, a feat unsuccessfully attempted by Braddock three years earlier, and ultimately set the British on a course towards victory.