Forbes Road, 1758, Fort Bedford to Fort Duquesne - Turtle Creek Defile

Not much is known about the Turtle Creek Defile on Forbes Road, aside from it being a stopping point on the historic road cut across the Pennsylvania wilderness from Carlisle to the Forks of the Ohio.

Firsthand accounts from those who experienced the long journeys of the French and Indian War mention the treacherous crossing of defiles, which are tight, tiny passages between mountains or hills, where soldiers can only march in a narrow formation. They often exist near water sources, such as Turtle Creek.

It is possible that this site warrants significance because an Indian ambush took place here. A portion of a journal kept by John Michael Lindenmuth, a German native and Pennsylvania soldier, describes an Indian attack somewhere between Nine Mile Run and Pittsburgh. In the entries, he mentions stopping near Turtle Creek for a meal, and noticing footprints and a brand new tomahawk at the encampment, which were signs that Indians had been nearby recently.

He then describes the caregul march that had to be made in single file, which is consistent with information known about soldiers marching through defiles. Furthermore, the Indians attacked an advanced party of seven men sent out to scout, scalping them. The Indians then attacked the rest of the soldiers, a battle which lasted three hours and killed eight soldiers and four Indians.

For more information about this battle at Murrysville, read Bob Cupp's article "Young soldier's journal chronicles Indian ambush."

The Turtle Creek Defile plaque was dedicated in 1930. It reads: "Two and one-half miles to the eastward was located the Washington Camp. The Forbes Road leads northwestward to the Bouquet Encampment."