Reliving the Battle of La Belle Famille

On Monday evening, the Old Fort Niagara Association and Town of Porter Historical Society collaborated for the Battle of La Belle Famille 2010 Walking Tour, held on the Village of Youngstown streets. Attendees, accompanied by costumed British and French re-enactors, learned of the events of the Battle of La Belle Famille and the significance of the battle on the outcome of the French and Indian War.

The battle took place the morning of July 24, 1759, on the site of what is now Falkner Park on Youngstown's Main Street. The battle sealed the fate of Fort Niagara and also directly led to the French defeat in the French and Indian, or Seven Years War.

In the photos:

• Tour guide Toby Jewett leads the group to Bloody Run Creek, where the first shots in the battle were fired.
• Fife and drum music accompanies the French soldiers and the tour group as they follow the route the French took the morning of July 24, 1759.
• Fort Niagara Director Bob Emerson, left, and artist Geoff Harding, unveil Harding's painting of the Battle of La Belle Famille in the Visitors Center at Old Fort Niagara. The fort was able to acquire the painting through the donations of WNY members of the Society of Colonial Wars, Robert J. A. Irwin, Appleton Fryer and the Baird Foundation. (photos by Wayne Peters)