John Forbes (5 September 1707-11 March 1759) was a Scottish-born general of Great Britain during the War of the Austrian Succession, The 45, and the Seven Years' War.
Biography[]
John Forbes was born in the Pittencrieff Estate of Fife, Scotland in 1707. In 1735 he joined the Scots Greys and served as Quartermaster-General for William Augustus (the Duke of Cumberland) during his campaigns in Scotland and in Europe during the War of the Austrian Succession/the 45 Jacobite uprising. Forbes also commanded British troops during the Seven Years' War in North America (the French and Indian War), and in December 1757 he led an assault against Fort Duquesne, a French fort in present-day Pennsylvania, United States. Forbes and Major James Grant (a fellow Scotsman) led assaults against the fort, but the militia disobeyed orders. But before a second attack could come, the French destroyed the fort and withdrew. Forbes built Fort Pitt and named the new colony "Pittsburgh", now a major city of the United States. At the same time, Forbes grew gravely ill and died in Philadelphia in 1759.