BPA S03E08: The Key to the Continent: The Battle of Fort Duquesne

The Iraq War came about following a moment of crisis – September 11th, 2001. In real-time, the world watched our leaders react and made decisions based on fast-paced information presented to them, not unlike the moment we are currently facing in our country today. However, the response to the Iraq War led to an all-time low level of public trust in government and media, which is something we never fully recovered from. Each season of The Fault Line will cover defining moments in our history that shook our foundation. On the first season of The Fault Line: Bush, Blair and Iraq, renowned journalist, David Dimbleby, explores the 18 months between 9/11 and the start of the war and how the distrust in leadership response to crisis effects our world today.    The Fault Line: Bush, Blair and Iraq – premieres on September 29th on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Hello everyone! Starting January 6th Brady will now be the host of Dispatches: The Podcast of the American Revolution. Tune in now for the latest in 1776 each week, every week! Our feed will still update with new episodes of Battlefield Pennsylvania starting this summer, but to hear Brady every week search "Dispatches" in your podcast service or visit www.AllThingsLiberty.com

While the British army occupied Philadelphia, the insurgent General George Washington was determined to starve it of supplies. Lead by Patriot raider-extraordinaire John Lacey, militiamen burned and terrorized Pennsylvania crops and farms to ensure that their wares could not be sold into the city. In an attempt to reopen supply lines British dragoons took to the countryside to find Lacey's Patriot militia in a seek and destroy mission. This week our guests are Historian Dennis Cook and the National Park Service's Andrew Zellers-Frederick...spared no expense. 

In 1877 America was in peril. As Federal troops struggled to maintain order in the South and defend the rights of freed African-Americans, labor uprising swept across the North and West. Considered part of the "Red Scare," a massive uptick in labor violence saw cities across the north burn, Pittsburgh worst of all. On this episode we discuss the Great Railway Strikes of 1877. Guests are retired Professor Charlie McCollister and author Ken Kobus...spared no expense. 

On the eve of the American Revolution, the northeast prepared for war. After both claiming much of modern northeastern Pennsylvania, Connecticut settlers poured into the Wyoming valley. After taming the soil and organizing communities, these "Yankees" established a veritable New England colony within the modern boundaries of Pennsylvania. Feeling slighted, the Penn family waged a partisan war against the Yankees, leading to a civil war between the colonies known as the "Yankee-Pennamite War." On this episode our guests are lawyer Steven Killian and Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commissioner Bill Lewis...spared no expense. 

In 1778 the true brutal nature of the American Revolution was revealed when Iroquois warriors and Loyalist rangers attacked the Patriot settlement of Wyoming. Known as the breadbasket of the Revolution, the settlers of Wyoming were betrayed by a local loyalist family and subsequently massacred by their attackers. The bloodshed and violence at the Wyoming Valley remains one of the most terrible moment of the American Revolution. On this episode are guests are Bob Mischak and author Mark Dziak...spared no expense. 

On July 2nd, 1863 the battle for Lee's left flank was on. While the Army of the Potomac and Army of Northern Virginia tangled at Gettysburg, the two sides squared off four miles away at Hunterstown. Pitting Wade Hampton against George Armstrong Custer, Hunterstown represented the most leftward action of the battle, and many consider it a smaller battle in its own right. This week marks the return of four-time guest JD Petruzzi...spared no expense. 

In 1779 George Washington launched what would be his most successful campaign of the entire American Revolution: the destruction of Iroquoia. A three pronged attack from all directions, the Sullivan-Clinton-Brodhead Campaigns reduced the Haudenosaunee world to ashes and ended a centuries' old way of life. On this episode our guest is the devilishly handsome, brilliant, and endlessly funny Brady Crytzer...spared no expense. 

In 1754 the armies of New France descended upon the North American frontier. After building a series of forts connecting the Great Lakes to the Ohio River, the post named Fort Duquesne stood as the key to continent. By connecting vital rivers and lakes, Fort Duquesne was the great beacon of French power in the Western Hemisphere, and united an empire larger than the distance from Paris to Moscow. On this episode our guest is Fort Pitt Museum's Alan Gutchess...spared no expense. 

In 1756 the French Empire allied with the disaffected warriors of the Ohio Country. As the Seven Years' War began, these Mingo, Delaware, and Shawnee warriors began raiding the Scots-Irish settlers of the Pennsylvania backcountry. In one of their first raids, McCord's Fort was attacked and destroyed revealing a new level of violence yet unseen along the North American frontier. On this episode our guests are US Army Historian Andrew Newman anf Jonathan Burns of Juniata College...spared no expense.