Battle of Point Pleasant

Battle context

The Battle of Point Pleasant was the only major action of Dunmore's War, a conflict between Virginia and Shawnee and Mingo forces over control of the Ohio Valley. Cornstalk's attack on Colonel Andrew Lewis's militia along the Ohio River was an attempt to halt Virginia's advance into that territory. After a long engagement, Cornstalk retreated, and the battle's outcome proved decisive at the strategic level: combined Virginia forces under Lewis and Royal Governor Lord Dunmore subsequently marched into the Ohio Valley and compelled Cornstalk to accept a treaty, ending the war. The battle thus secured Virginia's position in the Ohio Valley and neutralized organized Shawnee resistance for the duration of the conflict.