Battle of Bushy Run

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Coordinates: 40°27′N 80°0′W / 40.45°N 80°W / 40.45; -80

Battle of Bushy Run
Part of Pontiac's Rebellion
Charge of the Highlanders at the Battle of Bushy Run . Oil on canvas.
Date August 5 – August 6, 1763 Location near present-day Harrison City, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Result British victory
Belligerents
Ohio Country natives	Great Britain
Commanders
Guyasuta Keekyuscung †	Henry Bouquet
Strength
Unknown	500
Casualties and losses
~60 killed	50 killed, 60 wounded, 5 missing

The Battle of Bushy Run occurred on August 5-6, 1763, in western Pennsylvania, between a British relief column under the command of Colonel Henry Bouquet and a combined force of Delaware, Shawnee, Mingo, and Huron warriors during Pontiac's Rebellion, 1763-65.

[edit] The battle

In July 1763, a British relief column of 500 British soldiers, including the 42nd Highlanders, 60th Royal Americans, and 77th Highlanders, left Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to relieve Fort Pitt, then under siege. Indian scouts observed Bouquet's army marching west along Forbes Road and reported this to the Indians surrounding Fort Pitt. On August 5, at about 1PM,^[1] a group of the force investing Fort Pitt ambushed the British column one mile east of Bushy Run Station, at Edge Hill. The British managed to hold their ground until after sunset, when the natives withdrew. Bouquet ordered a redoubt constructed on Edge Hill, and the British placed their wounded and livestock in the center of the perimeter.

Concrete flour bags at the Bushy Run Battlefield monument on Edge Hill.

The following morning, the allied tribes attacked, but were themselves ambushed by the sentries relieved from their evening duty. With the surprise attack of the sentries, from a flank, and a frontal assault by the main British column, the outnumbered Indians fled in a disorganized retreat. The column dispersed the attackers before it headed to Bushy Run, a mile along the Forbes road, where there was badly needed water. The battle has since been attributed to the Bushy Run location, despite the main fighting taking place in Edge Hill. Bouquet then marched to the relief of Fort Pitt.

[edit] Aftermath

The battle cost the lives of 50 British soldiers, including 29 of the 42nd Highlanders, 7 of the 1/60th Royal Americans dead, 6 of the 77th Highlanders, and 8 Civilians and volunteers dead) ^[2] The confederacy of the Delaware, Shawnee, Mingo, and Huron also suffered an unknown number of casualties, including two prominent Delaware chiefs; estimates from contemporaries place the total of Indian losses at 60.^[3]

The site of the battle is now Bushy Run Battlefield Park.

[edit] References

• Nester, William R. "Haughty Conquerors": Amherst and the Great Indian Uprising of 1763. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2000. ISBN 0-275-96770-0.

"Colonel Henry Bouquet a biographical sketch:" Lieut-General Sir Edward Hutton Warren and son 1911

[edit] External links

• "Broken Promises, Broken Dreams: North America's Forgotten Conflict at Bushy Run Battlefield" (article originally from Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine)
• "Battle of Bushy Run" from mohicanpress.com