Forbes Road - The Clear Fields
Jenner Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Good forage found at open camps such as this on the Raystown Path led General Forbes to prefer this route to Braddock's Road. Site of Fort Dudgeon (Tomahawk Camp) is a short distance to the north.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
When General Forbes weighed how to reach Fort Duquesne in 1758, open meadows like the Clear Fields along the Raystown Path tipped the balance. Ample forage for cavalry and draft animals led him to favor this northern route over Braddock's older road to the south — a logistical choice that shaped the whole campaign. Fort Dudgeon, known as Tomahawk Camp, stood a short way to the north.
Why it matters
The decision to blaze a new road rather than follow Braddock's shaped the settlement patterns of western Pennsylvania and demonstrated how logistics, not just battles, decided frontier warfare.
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Related people
- · General John Forbes
Related events
- · Forbes Expedition of 1758
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Forbes Road, 1758, Fort Bedford to Fort Duquesne - Tomahawk Encampment (PLAQUE)
Jenner Township, PA · est. 1930
Part of the 1758 Forbes Road built during the French and Indian War, this point at the foot of Laurel Hill marks the Tomahawk Encampment on the army's push toward Fort Duquesne. Each such camp was a measured stage in General John Forbes's methodical advance, guarded and provisioned as the troops climbed the Alleghenies. The marker fixes the spot along the road running toward Fort Ligonier.
Forbes Road, 1758, Fort Bedford to Fort Duquesne - Fort Ligonier (PLAQUE)
Ligonier, PA · est. 1930
Fort Ligonier was raised in 1758 by order of General John Forbes as the last major stronghold on the road to Fort Duquesne during the French and Indian War. Officers including Colonel Henry Bouquet and Colonel John Armstrong distinguished themselves here, and young Colonel George Washington, Colonel James Burd, and Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Mercer all served in the campaign that passed this way. The fort anchored the British advance through the Pennsylvania wilderness.
Forbes Road - Stony Creek Encampment
Quemahoning Township, PA · est. 1951
During the French and Indian War, British General John Forbes cut a military road across Pennsylvania toward Fort Duquesne, and along it his army built fortified supply depots to feed the advance. The Stony Creek encampment stood just north of here, a stockaded storehouse on the route that then climbed toward Laurel Hill and the site of Tomahawk Camp. These depots kept Forbes's 1758 campaign supplied through the rugged Alleghenies.
Forbes Road, 1758, Fort Bedford to Fort Duquesne- Stony Creek Encampment (PLAQUE)
Quemahoning Township, PA · est. 1930
On the 1758 Forbes Road, the Stony Creek Encampment served as a fortified supply headquarters — its "Ovens" baking bread for the army — during the French and Indian War campaign against Fort Duquesne. Fortifications rose just north of this site as General John Forbes staged men and provisions for the mountainous advance. The marker records its distance along the road from Fort Bedford.