Fort Bedford was a French and Indian War-era British military fortification located at the present site of Bedford, Pennsylvania. The fort was a star-shaped log fortress erected in the summer of 1758. Background Fort Bedford was constructed during the French and Indian War by British troops under the command of Colonel Henry Bouquet by order of General John Forbes. The fort was one of a string of British forts and blockhouses designed to protect British supply lines on the Forbes Road, a pioneer trail built by the British during their invasion of the Ohio Country and campaign against the French garrison at Fort Duquesne, modern day Pittsburgh. After General Edward Braddock's campaign to take the forks of the Ohio River ended in disaster, General Forbes was placed in command of a new expedition to capture the strategic point guarded by Fort Duquesne. Forbes vowed not to make the same mistakes as his predecessor. Braddock had led a small invasion force launched from western Maryland. His poorly defended lines of supply and communication were soon compromised. Forbes intended to launch a large invasion from eastern Pennsylvania by hacking a new pioneer wagon road over the Allegheny Mountains. His plan called for a string of forts and blockhouses to guard the supply road from hostile bands of Native Americans. After constructing Fort Juniata Crossing near present Breezewood, Pennsylvania, Colonel Bouquet began planning Fort Bedford as the next step towards the Ohio Country. Location and construction Bouquet chose a spot adjacent to the Juniata River west of a strategic gap in the mountains called "the narrows". Keeping with the overall plan, the new site was about one day's march from the previous fort. After briefly being referred to simply as the "camp at Raystown", the new encampment was dubbed Fort Bedford in honor of John Russell, the 4th Duke of Bedford. Bouquet searched the area for some time to find a site that was both defensible and had access to fresh water. Since he could find no spot in the area with both these characteristics, the builders placed the fort on a high spot and devised an innovative fortified elevated gallery that provided access to and water from the Juniata River. It is believed that Fort Bedford was the only fort ever constructed in America with this arrangement. The exact location of the fort has been lost to history. Several archaeological digs have