Squaw Campaign
Union Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
800 unruly militia, under command of Gen. Edward Hand, left Pittsburgh to attack British at present Cleveland, February 1778. At an Indian town in the river-fork below here, they killed a man and an old woman; then returned home.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In the bitter winter of 1778, with the Revolution raging on the frontier, General Edward Hand marched some 800 militia out of Fort Pitt intending to strike a British supply depot near present-day Cleveland. Weather and poor roads doomed the expedition before it reached its target, and the frustrated force instead fell upon a small Native settlement in the river fork below this spot, killing a man and an elderly woman before turning home. The dismal, aimless outcome earned the venture a mocking name that has clung to it ever since.
Why it matters
The episode captures the grim, often indiscriminate violence of the Revolutionary frontier, where campaigns against distant British targets frequently ended in tragedy for Native communities caught in between.
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Related people
- · Edward Hand
Related events
- · Squaw Campaign
- · American Revolution
Themes & tags
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