PITTSBURGH \u2014 The Fort Pitt Museum unveiled a new long-term exhibition on March 5, 2026, highlighting Western Pennsylvania\u2019s role in the Revolutionary War.<\/p>\n
Titled \u201cPittsburgh\u2019s Revolution,\u201d the exhibit is part of a year-long commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we want people to understand who are coming here for the 250th in 2026 or the NFL Draft that\u2019s happening later here in April is the importance of Fort Pitt to the war efforts in general, in winning the American Revolution and the importance of the revolution to Pittsburgh in the chapter that follows after this,\u201d said Mike Burke, the museum\u2019s assistant director.<\/p>\n
Located at the headwaters of the Ohio River in Point State Park, Fort Pitt served as a frontier stronghold where American leaders negotiated with Native nations and defended the Ohio Country. <\/p>\n
The exhibition explores these complex relationships with nations, including the Delaware, Shawnee and the Iroquois Confederacy, detailing a conflict that was critical to the American victory.<\/p>\n
The exhibition features the original Westmoreland Battalion Flag, which is considered one of the rarest objects from the American Revolution. <\/p>\n
Created in 1775 for Col. John Proctor\u2019s 1st Battalion of Westmoreland County, the flag displays a rattlesnake and the motto \u201cDONT. TREAD. ON. ME.\u201d The artifact predates the Stars and Stripes and serves as a symbol of the revolutionary spirit in the region.<\/p>\n
Visitors can view a 1777 letter written by Patrick Henry that stresses the necessity of defending Fort Pitt. <\/p>\n
Other military artifacts on display include a rare Spanish musket restocked in Pennsylvania and the trunk used by John Boreman, a Continental Army paymaster. Boreman used the trunk and a tea canister to secretly transport funds to pay American troops stationed at the fort.<\/p>\n
The exhibition also includes archaeological discoveries from Hanna\u2019s Town in Westmoreland County. A force of British soldiers and Native Americans destroyed the settlement near the end of the war in 1782. <\/p>\n
Additionally, the display includes the sword and pistols belonging to Gen. William Irvine, who served as the commander of Fort Pitt from 1781 to 1783.<\/p>\n
The narrative of the exhibition is told through the stories of various historical figures involved in the conflict. These characters include George Washington, Simon Girty, Guyasuta, Caesar, Nonhelema, George Morgan and White Eyes. The museum uses these perspectives to bring the Western theater of the fight for independence to life.<\/p>\n
This initiative is part of the Sen. John Heinz History Center\u2019s commemoration of the U.S. Semiquincentennial. The project is conducted in partnership with America250PA, an organization established by the Pennsylvania state legislature in 2018 to coordinate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. <\/p>\n
Support for the programming is provided by the Nimick Forbesway Foundation, Richard King Mellon Foundation, Visit PA and the Allegheny Regional Asset District.<\/p>\n
The Fort Pitt Museum will begin its Speaker Saturday series on March 14 at 1 p.m. with a presentation from assistant director Burke.<\/p>\n
Throughout the duration of the display, the museum will also host living history programming on its lawn, including 18th-century demonstrations and artillery firings at Point State Park.<\/p>\n
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