Forbes Road Powder Horn

Text from the display: People across Colonial America used ox and cow horns to store gunpowder. The curved, pointed, lightweight, water-tight, hollow horns were ideal for loading muskets to fire, and carrying slung tight to the waist. Also, the smooth, blank surfaces became canvases for carving personal stories, artwork, and maps. The large, ornate etching on this powder horn is Great Britain's Coat of Arms. Also carved are routes through the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys in New York, as well as the "MONONaHALaH" and "ALegaNy" rivers merging with the "OHIO" in western Pennsylvania. The main route depicted is the Forbes Road from "PHeLIDeLPHIA" to "PIttSBURg". This was the passage General Forbes' army built in 1758. His campaign aimed to take Fort Duquesne from the French and secure the British western frontier at Fort Pitt. Towns, landmarks and forts shown along the road include "LaNCaSteR", "SHiPiNSBURg", "LItLetoN", "CROSINgS" (uniata River), "SIDLINgHILL", "BEDFORD", "ALegaNy MOuNt", "LORaLHILL", and "LagoNOR" (Fort Ligonier).