Fort Granville
Encyclopedia
Fort Granville was a militia stockade
located in the colonial Province of Pennsylvania
. Its site was in what is now Granville Township
near Lewistown
. Active from 1755 until 1756, the stockade briefly sheltered pioneer settlers in the Juniata River
valley during the French and Indian War
.
After the French victory in the Battle of the Monongahela
on July 9, 1755, English settlers on the Pennsylvania frontier were exposed to hostile hit-and-run raids from their adversaries of the Franco-Indian alliance
. As the wheat
fields of the Juniata valley were exposed, the province attempted to defend itself by raising a stockaded fort near the Juniata River water gap at Shade Mountain. According to historian Walter O'Meara:
The French military leader Louis Coulon de Villiers
, the victor of the Battle of the Great Meadows
, led a 55-man column eastward against Fort Granville in July 1756. When the column attacked the fort on August 2 "most of the garrison was away, protecting harvesters in the vicinity; but a Lieutenant Armstrong and 24 men held off the attackers until the next morning."
By early August 3, 1756, Coulon's men apparently succeeded in setting Fort Granville on fire, perhaps with fire arrows
, and Armstrong was killed. That morning Sergeant John Turner surrendered the fort, garrison, and civilians who had taken refuge inside the stockade. The unfortunate sergeant was put to the torture by the victorious French and Native Americans, who completed the burning of the fort and retired to their base area around Fort Duquesne
. The French and Indian raid led to retaliation in the form of the Kittanning Expedition
, led by Lt. Armstrong's brother, John Armstrong.
Fort Granville does not appear to have been rebuilt, and the stockade site played no further role in the French and Indian War.
Stockade
A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide security.-Stockade as a security fence:...
located in the colonial Province of Pennsylvania
Province of Pennsylvania
The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as Pennsylvania Colony, was founded in British America by William Penn on March 4, 1681 as dictated in a royal charter granted by King Charles II...
. Its site was in what is now Granville Township
Granville Township, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania
Granville Township is a township in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,895 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water.-Demographics:As of the census of...
near Lewistown
Lewistown, Pennsylvania
Lewistown is a borough in and the county seat of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies along the Juniata River, northwest of Harrisburg. The number of people living in the borough in 1900 was 4,451; in 1910, 8,166; and in 1940, 13,017. The population was 8,998 at the 2000 census,...
. Active from 1755 until 1756, the stockade briefly sheltered pioneer settlers in the Juniata River
Juniata River
The Juniata River is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long, in central Pennsylvania in the United States. The river is considered scenic along much of its route, having a broad and shallow course passing through several mountain ridges and steeply-lined water gaps...
valley during the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
.
After the French victory in the Battle of the Monongahela
Battle of the Monongahela
The Battle of the Monongahela, also known as the Battle of the Wilderness, took place on 9 July 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War, at Braddock's Field in what is now Braddock, Pennsylvania, east of Pittsburgh...
on July 9, 1755, English settlers on the Pennsylvania frontier were exposed to hostile hit-and-run raids from their adversaries of the Franco-Indian alliance
Franco-Indian alliance
The Franco-Indian alliance was an alliance between American Indians and the French, centered on the Great Lakes and the Illinois country during the French and Indian War . The alliance involved French settlers on the one side, and the Abenaki, Ottawa, Menominee, Winnebago, Mississauga, Illinois,...
. As the wheat
Winter wheat
Winter wheat is a type of wheat that is planted from September to December in the Northern Hemisphere. Winter wheat sprouts before freezing occurs, then becomes dormant until the soil warms in the spring. Winter wheat needs a few weeks of cold before being able to flower, however persistent snow...
fields of the Juniata valley were exposed, the province attempted to defend itself by raising a stockaded fort near the Juniata River water gap at Shade Mountain. According to historian Walter O'Meara:
This fort was an important link in the chain of strongpoints on the west side of the SusquehannaSusquehanna-In Pennsylvania:*Susquehannock tribe, Native American tribe of Pennsylvania*Susquehanna Bank*Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania*Susquehanna Depot, Pennsylvania, a borough in Susquehanna County...
, commanding the point where the Juniata falls through the mountains.
The French military leader Louis Coulon de Villiers
Louis Coulon de Villiers
Sieur Louis Coulon de Villiers was a French Canadian military officer during the French and Indian War . Perhaps his greatest claim to fame is the fact that he is the only military opponent to force George Washington to surrender.Coulon was born into a prominent French Canadian family...
, the victor of the Battle of the Great Meadows
Battle of the Great Meadows
The Battle of Fort Necessity, or the Battle of the Great Meadows took place on July 3, 1754 in what is now the mountaintop hamlet of Farmington in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The engagement was one of the first battles of the French and Indian War and George Washington's only military surrender...
, led a 55-man column eastward against Fort Granville in July 1756. When the column attacked the fort on August 2 "most of the garrison was away, protecting harvesters in the vicinity; but a Lieutenant Armstrong and 24 men held off the attackers until the next morning."
By early August 3, 1756, Coulon's men apparently succeeded in setting Fort Granville on fire, perhaps with fire arrows
Fire Arrow
Fire arrows are an early form of gun powder rocket which were attached to a stick. The Chinese are credited with the first use of fire arrows in a military application, they may have developed fire arrows from their use of fireworks.- Design :...
, and Armstrong was killed. That morning Sergeant John Turner surrendered the fort, garrison, and civilians who had taken refuge inside the stockade. The unfortunate sergeant was put to the torture by the victorious French and Native Americans, who completed the burning of the fort and retired to their base area around Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
. The French and Indian raid led to retaliation in the form of the Kittanning Expedition
Kittanning Expedition
The Kittanning Expedition, also known as the Armstrong Expedition or the Battle of Kittanning, was a raid during the French and Indian War that led to the destruction of the American Indian village of Kittanning, which had served as a staging point for attacks by Delaware warriors against...
, led by Lt. Armstrong's brother, John Armstrong.
Fort Granville does not appear to have been rebuilt, and the stockade site played no further role in the French and Indian War.