Robert Stobo Papers
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The entire collection is scanned and online.
What’s in the entire collection?
This collection contains the original letter written by Robert Stobo on July 28, 1754 during his captivity at Fort Duquesne to Colonel Innes. The letter, delivered to Innes by an Indian, describes the concerns of the Shanoe (Shawnee) Indians about the alleged imprisonment of two of their "kings and 300 warriors." Stobo communicates the plight of the Shanoe left in the villages who are vulnerable to raids from Cheroquees (Cherokees) and Cotabes. Stobo describes the competing English and French attempts to ally themselves with the Shanoe. At the time of writing, the Shanoe council is deliberating on the matter.
The remainder of the letter describes the number and movement of French troops at Fort Duquesne. On the reverse of the letter is a map of the fort and its environs.
The collection also contains an undated manuscript copy of the 1754 letter, and transcriptions of the letter.
About Robert Stobo
Robert Stobo was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1727. Following the deaths of his parents in the 1740s, Stobo moved to the Virginia colony to seek his fortune as a merchant. In Virginia, Stobo became a favorite of Governor Dinwiddie. As the conflicts of the French and Indian War escalated, Stobo joined the Virginia Regiment. He served as an engineer at Fort Necessity under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Washington. After Fort Necessity fell to the French on July 3, 1754, Stobo was captured and became a prisoner of war at Fort Duquesne. The French occupied Fort Duquesne until November 1758 when they burned and abandoned the site; a year later, the British built Fort Pitt on the ruins.
