Fort Prince George

This article is about the frontier fort in Pennsylvania. For Fort Prince George in South Carolina, see Fort Prince George (South Carolina).
Fort Prince George
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (present day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Fort Prince George is located in Pennsylvania
Fort Prince George
Fort Prince George
Location of Fort Prince George in Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°26′23″N 79°58′35″W / 40.43972°N 79.97639°W / 40.43972; -79.97639
TypeMilitary fort
Site history
Built1754
Garrison information
Past
commanders		Captain William Trent
Lieutenant John Fraser
Ensign Edward Ward
DesignatedMay 8, 1959
Miniature of Fort Prince George with French troops approaching. Ensign Edward Ward (in red) can be seen talking to Captain Mercier, with an interpreter and two drummers. Diorama in the Fort Pitt Museum, Pittsburgh.

Fort Prince George (sometimes referred to as Trent's Fort) was an incomplete fort on what is now the site of Pittsburgh, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The plan to occupy the strategic forks was formed by Virginia Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie, on the advice of Major George Washington, whom Dinwiddie had sent on a mission to warn French commanders they were on English territory in late 1753, and who had made a military assessment and a map of the site. The fort was still under construction when it was discovered by the French, who sent troops to capture it. The French then constructed Fort Duquesne on the site.

George Washington's 1754 map of the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers, showing the spot he felt would be an ideal location for a fort. Fraser's plantation is just south of the forks, on Turtle Creek.