PERRYSBURG – Dr. Matt Schumann of Eastern Michigan University will speak Jan. 20 at Fort Meigs in
Perrysburg on "The Strategic Importance of Pickawillany."
Pickawillany (present day Piqua, Ohio, on the Great Miami River) was a British trading station
established by George Croghan in 1749, among the Miami Indians. It was also a significant hurdle in the
French river route from the Great Lakes basin to the Mississippi River prior to the French and Indian
War, 1754-1766. The town was destroyed in 1752 by French and allied Indian forces.
Schumann will discuss Pickawillinay’s key roles in relation to British and French strategies both
regarding trade and expansion and in limiting the influence of "the enemy" in the region.
Schumann teaches U.S., Western, and World history at Eastern Michigan University and Washtenaw Community
College. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Exeter in 2005 with a thesis entitled
"British Grand Strategy in the Atlantic System, 1754-1761." He is author of "The Seven
Years War: A Transatlantic History," and is currently writing another book on the geopolitics in
the inter-war period, 1748 to 1756.
The lecture will be presented at Fort Meigs in the Visitor Center, 29100 W. River Road in Perrysburg, at
7:30 p.m. The program is sponsored by the Anderton Bentley Fund in memory of Christopher Perky, who
served at Fort Meigs during the War of 1812.