Teacher Resources
Pittsburgh
Inquiry Question
How does geography determine military strategy? What does Fort Pitt teach us about this relationship?
Primary Sources
What Teachers and Students Use
Fort Pitt Garrison Orderly Books and Correspondence, 1775-1781
PRIMARY · Pennsylvania State Archives
5 analysis prompts
Papers of Generals Edward Hand and Daniel Brodhead: Fort Pitt Commands, 1777-1781
PRIMARY · Historical Society of Pennsylvania
5 analysis prompts
The American Revolution in Indian Country: Crisis and Diversity in Native American Communities
SECONDARY · Cambridge University Press (Colin G. Calloway)
5 analysis prompts
Council Fires on the Upper Ohio: A Narrative of Indian Affairs in the Upper Ohio Valley until 1795
SECONDARY · University of Pittsburgh Press (Randolph C. Downes)
5 analysis prompts
Fort Pitt Museum: Research Collections and Interpretive Materials
INSTITUTIONAL · Fort Pitt Museum / Senator John Heinz History Center
5 analysis prompts
Downloads
Ready to Print
Student packet, teacher guide with answer key, and quiz — each formatted for classroom printing.
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Lesson Plan
In the Classroom
Learning Objectives
- 1Students will explain why the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers made Fort Pitt strategically essential
- 2Students will trace the connection between Fort Pitt's supply function and George Rogers Clark's Illinois campaigns
- 3Students will analyze frontier warfare from at least two different perspectives, including Native American nations
- 4Students will evaluate the relationship between logistics and military outcomes using the McIntosh expedition as a case study
Explore Further
Pittsburgh in the Knowledge Graph
The lesson packet draws from these pages. Use them to extend the lesson or give students primary source context.
Comparative Study
Connected Towns
The corroborate prompts in the student packet point to these towns. Teachers can assign cross-town comparisons.
Carlisle
SHARED EVENT
Carlisle served as the primary eastern supply depot on the road to Fort Pitt. Men, weapons, and provisions moved from Carlisle through the mountains to Pittsburgh throughout the war, making the two towns nodes in the same Continental western logistics chain.
Marietta
SHARED EVENT
Marietta was founded in 1788 at the mouth of the Muskingum River on the Ohio — directly downstream from Pittsburgh — as the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory that Fort Pitt's wartime presence had helped secure. The two towns share the Ohio River as a common axis and the western campaign as a common historical context.
Philadelphia
SHARED PERSON
Continental Army command and the Continental Congress in Philadelphia directed western operations, supplied Fort Pitt through appropriations, and received reports from Fort Pitt commanders. Washington, whose correspondence with Fort Pitt commanders was extensive, connects both cities to the same command structure.
Assessment
Pittsburgh in the American Revolution
Answer the following questions based on our study of Revolutionary history. · 5 questions · Answer key in Teacher Guide PDF
What makes Pittsburgh significant in Revolutionary history?
multiple choice
Primary sources are documents or objects created during the time period being studied.
true false
Name one event that occurred in Pittsburgh during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.
short answer
+ 2 more in the full quiz PDF
Ready to Print?
All three documents below — student packet, teacher guide, and quiz — are formatted for letter-size classroom printing.