The Fort Shirley Site: A Nexus of Archaeology and History on Pennsylvania’s Colonial Frontier

Abstract

Abstract By 1753 Irish-born trader and land speculator George Croghan’s luck was waning in the shadow of French incursions into the Ohio and Allegheny valleys. In 1754 he found himself at his Aughwick plantation, the steward of a refugee group of Mingo Seneca Natives supportive of British aspirations to drive the French from their homes in the Ohio Country. Croghan fortified this post after Braddock’s defeat at the Battle of the Monongahela on July 9, 1755. The fortification, dubbed “Fort Shirley,” would serve as the advance post for John Armstrong’s raid on the Native town of Kittanning on September 8, 1756. Archaeology at the site is bringing new evidence to bear on the historic narrative of backcountry Native American diplomacy. The examination of material culture from the Fort Shirley Site calls attention to ethnic diversity on the Pennsylvania frontier at the outbreak of the French and Indian War alluded to in the written record.