Wednesday, August 24 (7:30 PM) thru Saturday, August 27 (9 PM)
Headquartered in Cranberry Township, PA
Led by Douglas Cubbison, Walter Powell, and Bruce Venter
Registration Fee: $775.00 (double occupancy) – $795.00 (single occupancy)
An often overlooked event of the colonial period is Pontiac’s Rebellion in 1763. Faced with English settlers streaming across the Appalachian Mountains following the French and Indian War, various tribes, loosely led by the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, rose up to save their native lands. Bloodshed was rampant on the Ohio and Pennsylvania frontiers as British outposts fell like dominos. Likewise, Great Britain’s coffers were drained as the cost of troops, sent to quell the rebellion, added to an already staggering national debt from the last war with France. One of Britain’s solutions, the Proclamation of 1763 was a vain attempt to keep colonists east of the mountains; it failed and quickly became one of several causes of the American Revolution. Our historians will discuss the entire scope of Pontiac’s Rebellion, including incidents and battles we will not see on this tour.
On our first day we will visit the reconstructed Fort Ligonier. The original fort was built in 1758 by Maj. Gen James Forbes during his campaign to capture Fort Duquesne (later renamed Fort Pitt.) Fort Ligonier was the jump off site for Col. Henry Bouquet’s expedition to relieve Fort Pitt during Pontiac’s Rebellion. The reconstructed site is an extraordinary example of 18th century fortifications. Its museum displays a set of pistols owned by Lafayette and given to George Washington. Our lead historian, Doug Cubbison, a former artillery officer will provide an in-depth explanation of the fort’s magnificent reproduction of a British artillery train. After lunch at a historic restaurant in Ligonier, we will visit the Bushy Run Battlefield for an extensive walking tour of Bouquet’s Highlanders’ great victory over some 400 Delaware, Mingo, Shawnee and Huron tribesmen. The 200+ acre battlefield sits pristinely against a rural landscape.
Our second day will start with a visit to the Fort Pitt Museum in downtown Pittsburgh where the Monongahela and Allegany rivers join to form the historic Ohio River. An excellent new museum gallery was opened for the 250th Anniversary of the French and Indian War. We’ll also see the Fort Pitt Block House, built by Bouquet in 1764 and the only original structure left at the Fort Pitt site. After leaving Pittsburgh, we’ll travel north along the Historic Washington and Indian Trail, the route the young Virginian took to Fort LeBoeuf in 1753. We’ll stop in Franklin, PA at the site of Fort Venango which fell to the Indians on June 16, 1763. Our next stop will be the Fort LeBoeuf Museum. This fort likewise fell to Pontiac’s allies two days after Fort Venango. We’ll have dinner and spend the night near Erie, PA.
Our first stop on day three will be the site of Fort Presque Isle, another Indian victory in 1763. Then it’s on to Devil’s Hole battlefield, the scene of a double massacre on September 14, 1763. A returning supply convoy was attacked by Senecas along the Niagara portage with only three survivors; a British relief column was likewise massacred with no one left alive. After lunch we’ll stop at Old Fort Niagara, another outstanding example of 18th century fortifications. The fort is unique with its 1726 “French Castle” facing the parade ground. During Pontiac’s war, Fort Niagara would be the staging point for a new expedition led by Col. John Bradstreet. Throughout the spring and summer of 1764, British and provincial regiments gathered at Niagara. The troops improved the defenses of the portage by building redoubts along the road from the Lower Landing to Fort Schlosser. A new post, named Fort Erie, was established on the shore. In early August, Bradstreet led his expedition from Niagara to relieve Detroit. In addition, a huge peace council between Sir William Johnson and the Great Lakes Indians was held at the fort. We will return to our headquarters hotel, having dinner along the way.
Registration Fee: $775.00 (double occupancy) – $795.00 (single occupancy)
What’s included: Two nights lodging, two dinners, three lunches, motor coach transportation, beverage and snack breaks, a map and materials package, all admissions and gratuities, and the services of three experienced tour leaders/historians. Our hotels will provide a complimentary breakfast each day. Tour participants are responsible for transportation to the headquarters hotel, and securing a room reservation, if necessary, on August 24 and 25. Dinner is on your own except on August 26 and 27. Tour goes out rain or shine. Please see our policy page for information about cancellations.
Hotel: We have arranged with the headquarters hotel for a group room rate of $89.00 per night plus tax. Please call the Holiday Inn Express, 20003 Route 19, Cranberry Township, PA 16066 at 724-772-1000 and ask to reserve your room at the America’s History group rate for August 24 and 25. Accommodations for August 26 and 27 are included as part of the tour registration cost. This rate will be guaranteed up to 30 days prior to the tour, so please make your reservations early.
Our Tour Leaders/Historians:
Douglas R. Cubbison, a native of western Pennsylvania is author of three books, including The British Defeat of the French in Pennsylvania in 1758, A Military History of the Forbes Campaign against Fort Duquesne. He is a U.S. Army veteran of Afghanistan, and former historian with the U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York and U.S. Army Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His study is the first book-length work ever prepared for the 1758 Forbes Campaign, and presents an exhaustive, in-depth military analysis of this campaign. He is a popular speaker at Fort Ticonderoga’s War College and an experienced leader of staff rides.
Dr. Walter L. Powell is the president of the Braddock Road Preservation Association, and has studied the French and Indian War in Pennsylvania for over twenty years. He is author of a book on Fort Ligonier: entitled: Ghosts and Legends of Fort Ligonier.
Dr. Bruce M. Venter, CEO of America’s History, LLC is an experienced tour leader of the Colonial and Revolutionary War period. His article, “Behind Enemy Lines: Americans Attack Burgoyne’s Supply Line” will appear in the May/June issue of Patriots of the American Revolution magazine.
Register Online:
If you need to make payment arrangements for an amount other than the full price, please use the phone option to register.
Double Occupancy
Single Occupancy
Register By Phone:
Phone: 1-855-OUR-HISTORY (687-4478)
Register by e-mail:
info@AmericasHistoryLLC.com
Register by Postal Mail:
America’s History LLC, P. O. Box 1076, Goochland, VA 23063
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