This feat had been accomplished in 1758 by an expedition under
General Forbes. The troops made a terrible march over a new
route, cutting a road as they went. It was November when they
approached their objective. The wastes of snow and their
diminished supplies caused such depression among the men that the
officers called a halt to discuss whether or not to proceed
toward Fort Duquesne, where they believed the French to be
concentrated in force. Extravagant sums in guineas were named as
suitable reward for any man who would stalk and catch a French
Indian and learn from him the real conditions inside the fort.
The honor, if not the guineas, fell to John Rogers, one of
Waddell's rangers. From the Indian it was learned that the French
had already gone, leaving behind only a few of their number. As
the English drew near, they found that the garrison had blown up
the magazine, set fire to the fort, and made off.
Thus, while New France was already tottering, but nearly two
years before the final capitulation at Montreal, the English
again became masters of the Ohio Company's land--masters of the
Forks of the Ohio. This time they were there to stay. Where the
walls of Fort Duquesne had crumbled in the fire Fort Pitt was to
rise, proudly bearing the name of England's Great Commoner who
had directed English arms to victory on three continents.
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