Original Document

Pittsburgh, 27th November. 1758

Sir,

I do myself the Honour of acquainting you that it has pleased God to crown His Majesty's Arms with Success over all His Enemies upon the Ohio, by my having obliged the Enemy to burn and abandon Fort Du Quesne, which they effectuated on the 25th, and of which I took possession next day, the Enemy having made their Escape down the River towards the Mississippi in their Boats, being abandoned by their Indians, whom I had previously engaged to leave them, and who now seem all willing and ready to implore His Majesty's most Gracious Protection. So give me leave to congratulate you upon this great Event, of having totally expelled the French from this prodigious tract of Country, and of having reconciled the various tribes of Indians inhabiting it to His Majesty's Government. . .

I should have carried the troops up the River to the Lake Erie, and destroyed the French posts at Venango and Presque Isle, but the Season of the Year, and the Scarcity of my Provisions, does by no Means admit of it, this last inconvenience (being obliged to carry every bit of my Provisions for Men and horse for betwixt 3 & 400 Miles thro' almost impracticable roads and Mountains) renders it extreamly difficult for me to leave a sufficient Garrison here for the Protection of this Country, as all Manner of Communication with the inhabited parts of the provinces will be cut off during the Winter for at least four Months, notwithstanding that I have built Forts, and erected Posts at proper distances, to have kept the Communication open if possible. . .

I have used the freedom of giving your name to Fort Du Quesne, as I hope it was in some measure the being actuated by your spirits that now makes us Masters of the place. Nor could I help using the same freedom in the naming of two other Forts that I built (Plans of which I send you) the one Fort Ligonier & the other Bedford. I hope the name Fathers will take them under their Protection, In which case these dreary deserts will soon be the richest and most fertile of any possest by the British in North America. I have the honour to be with great regard and Esteem, Sir,

Your most obedient & most humble servant

Jo: Forbes



Credit: Hugh Cleland, George Washington in the Ohio Valley (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1956), 220.