The Battle of Point Pleasant took place in October 1774 between Virginians, led by Andrew Lewis, and the Shawnee, led by Cornstalk. In response to Indian attacks along the Ohio River, Virginia's Governor Lord Dunmore sent two armies to strike Shawnee villages in southern Ohio. One army, led by Dunmore, went to Fort Dunmore (formerly Fort Pitt in Pittsburgh), while Lewis's army headed to Point Pleasant. Cornstalk attacked Lewis’s forces first, but the Shawnee's surprise assault was foiled by two Virginia scouts who spotted them before the attack.

After intense fighting, the Shawnees retreated, and Cornstalk agreed to a peace treaty. Though some consider it the first battle of the Revolutionary War, most historians disagree, as the war in New England started six months later.