Ephraim Douglass was a carpenter, trader and eventually a
soldier in the Revolutionary War. In 1769, he was employed in a
variety of occupations at Fort Pitt, including carpenter,
blacksmith, and clerk. Douglass spoke several American Indian
dialects and in 1771 began trading with local tribes. Later that
year, he established a business with Devereaux Smith that
included trading outposts in the Indian Territory surrounding
Pittsburgh. The partners opened another store in Kittanning,
Pennsylvania, in 1776, where a fort was under construction.
Later that year, Douglass joined the Eighth Pennsylvania
Regiment at Fort Kittanning and was appointed quartermaster. In
January of 1777, he marched across Pennsylvania with the
regiment to join the Continental Army in Amboy, New Jersey,
leaving his business in the care of his brother, Joseph.
Douglass became aide-de-camp to Major General Benjamin Lincoln,
but was captured by British forces just four months after
leaving Fort Kittanning. He spent three years as a prisoner