Along
Laurel Ridge by John Buxton
In this, John
Buxton's first print, we see troops of the British Royal American
Regiment seeking a moment of sanctuary from exhaustion and thirst.
It is September 1758 along the high ledges of Laurel Ridge approaching
Loyalhanna Creek, where Fort Ligonier will eventually be constructed.
An army commanded
by General John Forbes with his Second-in-Command Lieutenant Colonel
Henry Bouquet are constructing an inland road through the Pennsylvania
wilderness. Their objective is to capture the French stronghold
located at the forks of the Ohio River known as Fort Duquesne. This
"Forbes Road" was a different route than that made by Braddock's
army which was unsuccessful in its attempt to remove the French
from the Fort three years earlier. The Forbes Road however was successfully
completed and led to the eventual reward of capturing Fort Duquesne.
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