Fort Pitt

Fort Pitt was a British fortification established in southwestern Pennsylvania at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, which form the Ohio River. The site was strategically important during the French and Indian War (1754–63). In 1758, General John Forbes led British and colonial forces to expel the French from Fort Duquesne, which they had built on the site. Forbes then named the location Pittsburgh in honor of William Pitt the Elder. The British constructed Fort Pitt in 1761 to secure their control over the headwaters of the Ohio River. Following the defeat of Native American forces led by Chief Pontiac in 1763, the area opened to settlers. Pittsburgh later became a crucial outfitting point for westward expansion after the American Revolution.12