C. Frederick Post
Taylor Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Sent by Provincial officials to draw Indian friendship away from the French, the Moravian missionary held councils at Kuskuskies Towns, August to November, 1758. His work, and the threat of Gen. Forbes' army, forced the French to leave present-day Pittsburgh on November 24, 1758.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In the autumn of 1758, during the French and Indian War, the Moravian missionary Christian Frederick Post carried out a delicate diplomatic errand: winning Native allies of the French over to the British side. Holding councils at the Kuskuskies towns from August to November, his negotiations helped erode French support among the region's Indian nations. Combined with the advance of General Forbes's army, that pressure led the French to abandon and burn Fort Duquesne at present-day Pittsburgh on November 24, 1758.
Why it matters
Post's mission shows that the contest for the Ohio Country was won as much by diplomacy with Native nations as by armies, a turning point that opened the forks of the Ohio to British control.
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Related people
- · Christian Frederick Post
- · General John Forbes
Related events
- · French and Indian War
- · Forbes Expedition
- · Abandonment of Fort Duquesne
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
George Washington
Forward Township, PA · est. 1970
In December 1753, a young George Washington passed through this region on his return from Fort Le Boeuf, where he had carried a British demand that the French withdraw from the Ohio Country. Traveling the Venango Indian Trail, he came close to death here on December 27, 1753, when an Indian fired at him from less than fifteen paces. The perilous mission helped ignite the imperial struggle that became the French and Indian War.
Logstown
Harmony Township, PA · est. 1946
Logstown was one of the great Native towns of the upper Ohio, home between 1727 and 1758 to a mix of Iroquois, Delaware, Shawnee, and other peoples. Its council fires drew British and French agents alike, each competing for Indian alliances as the two empires maneuvered for control of the Ohio Country. The conferences held here helped set the stage for the French and Indian War.
Venango Path
Irwin Township, PA · est. 1987
Long before wagon roads, an Indian path threaded the wooded ridges of western Pennsylvania, linking the Forks of the Ohio at present Pittsburgh to the native town of Venango near Franklin. It was along this route that a young George Washington rode north in 1753, carrying a British ultimatum to the French at Fort Le Boeuf on the eve of a continental war. Decades later the trail was broadened for troops and then for commerce, and the crossroads at Mayes Forks grew a busy hotel and stagecoach stop where travelers changed horses and collected the mail.
Fort Venango
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