The failure of Braddock's campaign to take Fort Duquesne at the forks of the Ohio River was a setback, but not the loss of the war. In 1758, British General John Forbes renewed the campaign, and he decided to build another road toward Fort Duquesne. Forbes had Colonel Washington lead a diversionary force on Braddock's Road, while Forbes and his men built another road through central Pennsylvania from Harrisburg. The route that he chose is roughly the same as today's Pennsylvania Turnpike. There were major challenges in this route, including Laurel Hill, where four thousand troops were employed in road building at one time. When Forbes did arrive at Fort Duquesne, he found that the French had abandoned it. Forbes renamed it Fort Pitt after his Commanding General.
Though the continuation of the war prevented any civilian use of Braddock's and Forbe's Roads, it was not long until the civilians were traveling over these roads seeking new lands. From Culpeper and Fauquier Counties in Virginia, we are aware of several families that migrated to that part of Virginia now known as southwest Pennsylvania. Some of the families were the Hupps, the Rowes, the Thomases, the Smiths, the Holtzclaws, and the Hardins.
Besides the benefit of providing a new outlet to the west, the construction of the roads, and the battles with the French and Indians, had other important considerations. Col. Washington gained his early military experience here and saw that it was an effective tactic to avoid a direct frontal attack on the British.
The new frontier of English control after the end of the war was the Mississippi River, as the French withdrew to the far north and far south. From the east, there were now two roads to the forks of the Ohio River; then water transportation down the Ohio River was the route to the West. This was the start of a hundred years of westward expansion; however, European migration was temporarily blocked by a declaration that no English settlements were to be made west of the Appalachian Mountains. This area was designated as " Indian Hunting Grounds ", and was a reward to the Indians who helped defeat the French.
If one remembers that Braddock's Road was initially started to serve the needs of the Ohio Land Company in developing the western lands, then one sees the potential for conflict between the Crown and the Colonials. This conflict between those in England and the people in the Colonies was one of the causes of the Revolution. In spite of the Crown's proclamation, individuals were exploring the area to the west of the Appalachian Mountains. Most of the attention was focused on the land to the south of the Ohio River, in that part of Virginia known now as Kentucky.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.