Pittsburgh Celebrates America’s 250th Birthday
- Hilary Daninhirsch
- 23 hours ago
- 4 min read
They grow up so fast! This year is America’s 250th birthday, also called its semiquincentennial, which will mark the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
When you consider the founding of our country, if your mind automatically goes to Boston or Philadelphia, you would be correct, as many important Revolutionary War events took place in those cities.
But did you know that Pittsburgh also played an important role in the Revolutionary War? Fort Pitt was a significant frontier outpost back then, built during the French and Indian War, which predated the American Revolution. Fortunately, much of this history is preserved at the Fort Pitt Museum in Point State Park.
Mike Burke, assistant director of the Fort Pitt Museum, which is a division of the Heinz History Center, said that he and the staff have been thinking about how to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday for close to ten years. “We knew that Pittsburgh has this very rich revolutionary history, and we wanted to focus on that and on stories that people may not have heard about Pittsburgh’s role in the revolution.”
The exhibit, Pittsburgh’s Revolution, opened at the Fort Pitt Museum in March, and it will be a permanent exhibit. The goal is to shed light on the important role that Pittsburgh played in the war, not as a side story but as a key player in the outcome.
Burke alluded to some relevant artifacts that will be on display. “The first thing you see when you walk in the exhibit is the flag of John Proctor’s First Battalion of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, made in 1775, which is one of the only surviving rattlesnake flags from the Revolution.” He explained that the rattlesnake was an emblem for the American colonies. “She gives a warning before she strikes. It has a beautiful, painted rattlesnake on a British flag, made before independence was declared, above the motto ‘Don’t Tread On Me.’ This is an extraordinary surviving artifact,” Burke added.
The museum also recently acquired a Spanish musket for the Heinz History Center collections. “It relates to this little-known alliance with Spain. Spain was one of the Americans’ main supporters in the early years of the Revolutionary War. There were several expeditions from Fort Pitt to New Orleans to get gunpowder and supplies through the course of the war. A lot of people may be aware of our alliance with France in 1778 — that was very important as well — but this alliance with Spain was even more important to the war in the West,” said Burke.
Regarding Pittsburgh’s strategic military role in the war, Burke pointed to the fact that Captain James Willing led an expedition from Fort Pitt that helped distract the British forces far down the Mississippi River. During the Revolution, a territorial dispute was also resolved about whether Pittsburgh would belong to Virginia or Pennsylvania. And once it was determined that Pittsburgh would be part of Pennsylvania, Burke said that it became subject to the laws of the commonwealth, including a 1780 act that gradually abolished slavery within its borders. “It also became a template for states north of the Mason-Dixon Line,” said Burke. Following the victory over the British in 1783, Fort Pitt was seen as the gateway to the West.
These are just some of the many pieces of historical information that visitors to the Fort Pitt Museum can learn about Pittsburgh’s important contribution to the Revolutionary War. “I hope that this exhibition makes people think of Pittsburgh differently, and I hope people come away with a new understanding of the Revolutionary War. Maybe this is the story you haven’t heard. We hope that the exhibition gives a sense of how vast the frontier was that Fort Pitt was overseeing and how important it was to that western theater of the war,” said Burke.
Visitors to the Fort Pitt Museum can check out the Pittsburgh’s Revolution exhibition, on view now, along with the annual Fourth at the Fort celebration on July 4. Beginning at 11 a.m., activities will include the annual flag-raising in the yard of the Fort Pitt Block House, operated by the Daughters of the American Revolution, along with cannon firings, fife-and-drum music and costumed reenactors on the museum lawn.
In addition to visiting Fort Pitt Museum, check out other goings-on that will be happening throughout the region. VisitPittsburgh, the official tourism site for the city, will have a complete catalog of events taking place in different communities around town. “Pittsburgh is certainly steeped in history, and we have incredible programming lined up for visitors and residents alike to commemorate the nation’s milestone 250th year,” said Jerad Bachar, president and CEO of VisitPittsburgh.
For example, Adams Township will have a celebration on July 1; Mars is celebrating on July 3-4; Zelienople will have an America250 Fourth of July parade on July 4; and Allegheny County will sponsor a summer concert series on July 5 at Hartwood Acres entitled “America’s 250th Anniversary Celebration,” featuring patriotic music by the award-winning Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, followed by 200 drones that will light up the sky in synchronicity with the music.
Mayor Corey O’Connor has said that this year, Pittsburgh will have the biggest fireworks display in the city’s history, calling it “massive,” and that is saying something for a city that loves its fireworks. In fact, USA Today just named the City of Pittsburgh’s Independence Day Celebration the No. 1 such celebration in the country!
For more information, visit www.visitpittsburgh.com/america-250/, www.heinzhistorycenter.org/visit/fort-pitt/, and www.america250pa.org.