Fort Machault (, ) was a fort built by the French in 1754 near the confluence of French Creek with the Allegheny River, in northwest Pennsylvania. (Present-day Franklin developed here later.) The fort helped the French control these waterways, part of what was known as the Venango Path from Lake Erie to the Ohio River. It was one of four forts designed to protect French access to the Ohio Country and connections between its northern and southern colonies. From north to south the forts were Fort Presque Isle (at Lake Erie), Fort Le Boeuf (at the south end of the portage leading to the head of French Creek), Fort Machault (at the confluence noted), and Fort Duquesne. In January 1759 the British launched an expedition to attack Fort Machault, but had to turn back after encountering resistance from French-Allied Native Americans. The fort was abandoned by the French in August 1759, and burned so that the British could not use it. It was replaced by the British in 1760 with Fort Venango.
Description Fort Machault was built on a hill, 60 yards west of the Allegheny River. The fort was in the form of a parallelogram, about 75 by . The curtain was made of hewed timber, stacked lengthwise. The four corners had bastions in the form of polygons. The bastions were built of saplings, thick, and in height. The gate fronted the river. Inside the fort were a gunpowder magazine and several officer's barracks, built in two stories with stone chimneys. The soldiers' barracks consisted of 45 buildings outside the fort.George Dallas Albert, Report of the Commission to Locate the Site of the Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1, State Printer of Pennsylvania, 1896
History
Establishment
In 1753, Governor General Michel-Ange Duquesne de Menneville ordered construction of a fortified trading post at the confluence of the Allegheny River and French Creek at Venango, a Lenape village. Originally, Paul Marin de la Malgue had planned to build a fortified blockhouse and trading post named Fort D'Anjou, but Governor Duquesne put the plan on hold.Hunter, William Albert. Forts on the Pennsylvania Frontier: 1753–1758, (Classic Reprint). Fb&c Limited, 2018 In August 1753, Philippe-Thomas Chabert de Joncaire was sent up the Allegheny River by canoe to explore the area, and found activity by English traders with local Native American communities. The French felt that they would lose influence in the area and decided to build a chain of fortresses from Lake Erie south. Mauchault was the last of four forts intended to protect French access to waterways connecting the Great Lakes and Ohio River, and ultimately the Mississippi River.
Prior to the arrival of the French in 1753, John Fraser, a Scots immigrant, blacksmith, and trader from Pennsylvania, had set up shop on this site. He supplied Native Americans in the region with trade goods and repaired their guns and other metal wares in exchange for furs. His business was an example of the western expansion of Pennsylvania's fur trade that prompted the French to fortify the Ohio Country, for fear of losing their trade and influence among the Indians there.Fort Machault Historical Marker In August 1753, the French decided to occupy Fraser's trading post, from which Fraser was absent at the time.George Washington, "Journey to the French Commandant: Narrative," Founders Online, National Archives. Original source: The Diaries of George Washington, vol. 1, 11 March 1748 – 13 November 1765, ed. Donald Jackson. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1976, pp. 130–161. The Lenape chief Custaloga assisted the French by capturing and handing over two traders who had just arrived at the trading post.Charles Augustus Hanna, The Wilderness Trail: Or, The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path, Volume 1 The Wilderness Trail: Or, The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path, Putnam's sons, 1911 Fraser and his employee William were forced to flee, and 75 French soldiers took over Fraser's cabin, allowing Custaloga to confiscate Fraser's trade goods. Fraser's cabin was occupied by Philippe-Thomas Chabert de Joncaire.
Visit by George Washington, 1753
In December 1753, Major George Washington of the Virginia militia used the Venango Path to reach Fort Machault during his first expedition into the Ohio Country."The French Creek Valley Conservancy: Cultural History," The French Creek Valley Conservancy, 2019 Washington, with an escort of seven men, including Christopher Gist, Guyasuta and Tanacharison, carried a letter from Governor Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia, protesting the French invasion of lands claimed by Great Britain and demanding their immediate withdrawal.William John Eccles, France in America, Toronto: Fitzhenry and Whiteside Ltd, 1972O'Meara, Walter. Guns at the Forks. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005. Washington wrote: "We found the French Colours hoisted at a House which they drove Mr. John Fraser, an English Subject, from; I immediately repaired to it, to know where the Commander resided: There were three Officers, one of whom, Capt. Joncaire, inform'd me, that he had the Command of the Ohio, But that there was a General Officer at the near Fort, which he advised me to for an Answer. He invited us to sup with them, and treated us with the greatest Complaisance." Joncaire provided Washington's men with wine and brandy, and when intoxicated, Washington's Native American companions declared their loyalty to the French. It took Washington three days to persuade them to move on to Fort Le Boeuf, where they met the French commander Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre. The French refused to withdraw, and Washington returned to Williamsburg on January 16.
Construction
By the next year Fraser's cabin and his forge had been incorporated by the French into the new fort. Initially, Fraser's buildings were simply enclosed in a crude stockade during the early months of 1754, but the structure was improved over time, so that by April 1755 Governor General Vaudreuil described it as "a little stockaded fort at the mouth of the Rivière au Boeuf, merely to surround the storehouses which we are using as a supply post."
Joncaire was replaced in 1754 by Michel Maray de La Chauvignerie as the officer in charge of constructing the fort, which eventually was named Fort Machault, in honor of prominent financier, Jean-Baptiste Machault d'Arnouville, the French Minister of the Marine at the time of its construction. It was also known as "Venango," from "Weningo," the name of the nearby Delaware (Lenape) village. Captain Pierre Pouchot, chief engineer of the forces in Canada, wrote: "At the mouth of Rivière Le Boeuf, called in English Venango, the French have a very poor, mean fort, called Fort Machault." The French intended to build a larger fort nearby, but La Chauvignerie's construction efforts were set back by shortages of manpower and wood, resulting in sporadic construction.
Attempted rebuilding
In 1755, plans were made to rebuild Fort Machault at another nearby location. An escaped prisoner, John Adam Long, reported that a number of square logs had been "got together at that place sufficient to build a large fort on a pretty, rising ground in the Forks of Ohio and French creek." Captain Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu was assigned to supervise the construction, but a letter from another officer indicates that the work was interrupted by the Braddock Expedition: "He continued on his way to...Camp Machaut, at the mouth of this river, where...he had orders to have a fort constructed, which they were not able to do; having learned that the English were marching on Fort Duquesne, they were content to leave carpenters to prepare the necessary wood and went on to the aid of that place."
However, in June, La Chauvignerie reported being unable to locate trees large enough for the construction: "Beginning tomorrow, Sir, I am going to send all my men to search the surrounding woods for places where we can find an abundance of construction wood for the above-mentioned fort." By mid-July, he had not succeeded, writing, "I searched carefully through all the surrounding woods and I found almost no wood suitable for constructing the fort according to the plan which was set up and the kind of wood that was to be used. This will force us perhaps to go about it differently or to decide to obtain wood from a great distance." He eventually managed to find trees, but did not have enough men or horses, and the project was again delayed. La Chauvignerie then requested that Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry, an engineer, take over the construction, but de Léry found that tools and other supplies were insufficient, and felt that the location selected for the fort was "disadvantageous." Although the land had been cleared and a large quantity of wood cut and transported to the site, the new fort was never built.
Renovations continued on the existing fort. As late as March, 1758, a French deserter reported in Philadelphia that "they are now working at Fort Machaull in great numbers & propose to make it as strong as Fort Duquesne." In November 1758, La Chauvignerie was replaced by François-Marie Le Marchand de Lignery.
Capture of Michel Joseph Maray de La Chauvignerie
On October 12, 1757, a French officer appeared at Fort Henry asking to surrender.Weiser, Clement Zwingli. The Life of (John) Conrad Weiser, the German Pioneer, Patriot, and Patron of Two Races. Reading, PA: Daniel Miller, 1876. Under questioning, he identified himself as Enseigne en second Michel Joseph Maray de La Chauvignerie, 15-year-old son of Michel Maray de La Chauvignerie,Michel-Joseph Maray de La Chauvignerie (1741 - 1778) commander of Fort Machault. He had left the fort on October 1 with a raiding party of Native American warriors, had become separated from them after five days, and had lost his way. He wandered in the forest for a week before reaching Fort Henry. In reference to Fort Machault, he reported: "the Fort there is very strong, pallisadoed round, has a Glacis with a dry Ditch three Foot deep." He described the fort as "A Fort of wood, filled up with earth. It has Bastions and 6 Wall-Pieces, or Swivel Guns; and the whole Works take up about 2 Acres of Grounds. [The garrison consists of] Fifty regulars & forty Canadians."Samuel Hazard, ed. Pennsylvania Archives, vol II, May 1748-September 1756; Philadelphia: Joseph Severns & Co, 1853 He was detained in Philadelphia and released in a prisoner exchange in April 1759.
Garrison