Fort Venango
Fort Venango, a small British fort built in 1760 near the site of Franklin, Pennsylvania, replaced Fort Machault, a French fort burned by the French in 1759 near the end of the French and Indian War. About June 16, 1763, during Pontiac's War, the fort was captured by Seneca and Mingo warriors. The 12 to 16 soldiers of the fort were killed outright, except for the commander, Lieutenant Francis Gordon, who was forced to write a letter detailing why the Indians had risen against the British. He transcribed two complaints: the scarcity of gunpowder for the past two years and the fact that the English, contrary to their promises, were keeping forts, and building new forts, in Indian territory. He was then slowly tortured and roasted to death at the stake, and the fort was burnt to the ground.
The fort was named after the nearby Delaware/Munsee Indian village, Venango.
