Fort Machault

Fort Machault
Venango County, Pennsylvania near Franklin, Pennsylvania
Map showing Fort Machault and its outbuildings.[1]: 48 
Fort Machault is located in Pennsylvania
Fort Machault
Fort Machault
Location of Fort Machault in Pennsylvania
Coordinates41°23′52″N 79°49′53″W / 41.39778°N 79.83139°W / 41.39778; -79.83139
TypeMilitary fort
Site history
Built1754
In use1754–1759
Battles/warsFrench and Indian War
Garrison information
Past
commanders
Philippe-Thomas Chabert de Joncaire
Michel Maray de La Chauvignerie
François-Marie Le Marchand de Lignery
Garrison6-100 French and Canadian marines
Designated1969[2]
French Forts, 1753 and 1754

Fort Machault (/mɑːˈʃɔːl/, French: [maʃol]) 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.

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