Fort McIntosh (3)

 (1778-1788) - A Patriot Revolutionary War era fort established in 1778 near present day Beaver, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Named Fort McIntosh after Brig. General Lachlan McIntosh. The first United States Army post and site of the Treaty of Fort McIntosh (1785). Abandoned in 1788.

History
Built in 1778 under the direction of Lt. Colonel Louis Antoine Cambray-Digny, a French engineer, who directed the construction of Fort McIntosh as chief engineer. Located near the former site of King Beaver's Town, an important Delaware native town at the junction of the Ohio River and the Beaver River. The fort was constructed as a 50-yard square stockade with four bastions on a site that was 130 feet above the river. It was initially armed with one gun in each bastion, increased by 1785 to six guns total.

Fort McIntosh became the first United States Army post (except for small detachments at West Point and Fort Pitt) after the end of the revolution. The first American regiment was garrisoned at Fort McIntosh between 1784 and 1785 under the command of Lt. Colonel Josiah Harmar.

The Treaty of Fort McIntosh was signed here in January 1785. Over 400 chiefs and warriors of the Delaware, Wyandot, Chippewa and Ottawa tribes met at Fort McIntosh with the American Treaty Commissioners George Rogers Clark, Richard Butler and Arthur Lee. The tribes surrendered all future claims to the lands north of the Ohio River. This made possible the settlement of Western Pennsylvania and Northwestern Ohio.

Abandoned as a fortification in 1788 as the frontier moved further west.

Current Status
Site excavated in 1974. A memorial plaza and eight assorted historical markers.

See Also:
 * Treaty of Fort McIntosh

Sources:
 * , page 686.

Links:
 * North American Forts - Fort McIntosh
 * Wikipedia - Fort McIntosh
 * HMDB - Fort McIntosh Commanding Officers
 * HMDB - Fort McIntosh Site Marker
 * HMDB - General Lachlan McIntosh
 * HMDB - Fort McIntosh Outline
 * HMDB - Fort McIntosh 1778-1788
 * HMDB - Fort McIntosh Historical Marker
 * Report Of The Commission To Locate The Site Of The Frontier Forts Of Pennsylvania, V-2, 1896 - Fort McIntosh, Pages 485-509.
 * Thwaites, Early Western Travels, Vol. IV - Fort McIntosh