A multi-cultural group of natives called the Mingo has settled the Ohio Valley in the eighteenth century.

They lack a central government and, like all other natives within the region at this time, are subject to the control of the Iroquois Confederacy (comprising the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, and Tuscarora people) headquartered in Upstate New York.

The Mingo originally lived closer to the Atlantic Coast, but European settlement had pushed them into western Virginia and eastern Ohio.

During the French and Indian War, the Mingo had sided with the French.

When the French lost and subsequently ceded their holdings to Britain, intensified settlement of the Ohio valley by their former enemies has led to conflicts.

By 1774, tension between the settlers and the native tribes has increased; there had been killings on both sides.

The rivalry between Pennsylvania and Virginia over the site of Pittsburgh increases these unsettled circumstances.

Scouts returning to Fort Pitt report that war is inevitable, and John Connolly sends word for settlers in outlying settlements to be on their guard for an attack.