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by zabelle
Portland, Connecticut
June 30, 2008
From journal Positively Pittsburgh
by kjlouden
, West Virginia
June 21, 2005
Don’t pass up this museum because of preconceived notions that it resembles a frontier fort. It doesn’t.
You will find no blacksmiths, coopers, or guides in historic garb. Think of it as a history museum that tells the story of an important war that shook four continents for 7 years and longer and changed their borders and futures. As British statesman Horace Walpole remarked, "A volley fired by a young Virginian in the backwoods of America set the world on fire."
As a result of the Seven Years’ War in Europe, France surrendered to England colonial holdings not only in America, but also in Africa and India, allowing the British to proceed with empire. Russia emerged as a power. Hapsburgs’ borders were altered, and so were Prussia’s. It was the first world war (without the capital letters) and one focus of it was Fort Pitt, which guarded the American West from this point on the Forks of the Ohio. We begin our tour with the model of the Fort on first floor.
Lights and audio explain the layout.
I recommend a visit to Duquesne or West End Overlook before coming here so that you see the expanse of the rivers and imagine their importance to the development of this country. However, if you miss that, the film at the beginning of the second-floor exhibit should set you right, and illustrations create the mood.
You can read about the war at home, but come here to enjoy artwork and artifacts. Even though much literature is posted, this museum owns some impressive items, such as early maps and journals of George Washington. The journals were published in Williamsburg in 1754 to popularize land acquisition by Virginia planters on the east bank of the Ohio River. Governor Dinwiddie’s proclamation ordering such is also here.
Artwork on Braddock’s Wounding, Braddock’s Defeat, Braddock’s Retreat, etc. is impressive. I especially like Edwin Willard Deming’s 1904 oil of Braddock’s Defeat and Robert Griffing’s more recent The Wounding of General Braddock that occurred just 7 miles east of here at Turtle Creek on the banks of the Monongahela. A Charles Wilson Peale portrait, Washington in the Uniform of a British Colonial Colonel, dates from 1772. My favorites, those of Braddock, include renderings of the smoky primeval forest of the Monongahela.
The Blockhouse, one of four ordered by William Pitt, remains and is the oldest structure west of the Alleghenies.
After a look at it, we enjoy walking in the park to appreciate land coveted by English, French, and Indians. Today, locals are enjoying it, the site of the Three Rivers Arts Festival.
From journal Three Rivers: Stages for Empires and Arts