YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Bought with the income
of the
WILLIAM C. EGLESTON FUND

Fort Loudon Monument Dedicatory
Services

OCTOBER 20, J9J5

EDITED BY REV. CYRUS CORT, D. D.
Oveilea. Baltimore Co., Md.

PRICE 30 CENTS

BEADING, PA.:
A. U. BBATBR. PR114TS]It.
1916.

Fort Loudon Monument.

LIST OF CONTENTS

Pagk
Introductory Article  5
Presentation by Rev. Stonesifer   8
Acceptance by Dr. Cyrus Cort  9
Inscription on Bronze Tablet  10
Prayer by Chaplain Rev. James M. Mullan  10
Opening Remarks by Judge Gillan  12
Dedicatory Address by Dr. Cyrus Cort, of Overlea, Md  13
Address by Rev. Dr. George P. Donehoo, of Condersport, Pa  30
AFTERNOON SESSION
Judge Gillan's Remarks  37
Address by Hon. Wm. S. Stenger, of Philadelphia  38

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Granite Monument in Fort Loudon Village, with Inscription  2
Col. John Armstrong, Sr., Builder of Fort Loudon, 1756  7
Col. James Bard, Builder of Forbes Road from Fort London to Loy-
alhannah, 1758  20
Col. Henry Bouquet, Right-Hand Man of Gen. John Forbes and Suc
cessor for Seven Years  16

FORT LOUDON DEDICATION.

The following notice of the Fort Loudon Dedicatory Ser
vices, October 20, 1915, appeared in several papers:
The Enoch Brown Association, with the assistance of citi
zens of the village of Fort Loudon and relatives of former
residents, like Thos. A. Scott (President of the Pennsylvania
Railroad), etc., have erected a massive granite monument in-
•dicating the location and salient facts in the history of the fort
-erected by Col. John Armstrong, Sr., late in the fall of 1756.
In addition they erected a granite marker on the site of the fort
^ mile distant, and one at the point on the Lincoln Highway,
-a mile east of the village, pointing to the site of the fort. These
blocks are of Woodstock granite from Maryland and together
Tveigh over thirteen tons. The one in the village weighs six
i,ons, the one on the site of the fort weighs four tons and the
one with pointer on the Lincoln Highway weighs three tons.
The Pennsylvania Historical Commission furnished a beautiful
^bronze tablet in the shape of a keystone, with suitable inscrip
tion, giving facts in regard to the erection of the fort and the
prominent part it played in the Forbes campaign of 1758 and
Bouquet campaigns of 1763-4.
The program, as prepared by the local committee, was
•carried out entire. Gen. W. D. Dixon, the distinguished
¦colonel of the Sixth Penna. Reserves during the Civil War, and
a momber of the Enoch Brown Association for over 31 years,
-served with efficiency as chief marshal!. An ancestor of Gen.
Dixon served under Col. Bouquet in 1764. Rev. J. B. Stone
sifer, pastor of the Reformed church in Loudon, who collected
half of the cost of the three massive granite blocks from citizens
of Loudon and children of former residents, presented the mon-
€iment to Rev. Dr. Cyrus Cort, the president of the Enoch
-Brown Association, which is an incorporated body and has

charge of Enoch Brown Park with two monuments near Green-
castle, and the Fort McCord monument erected eight miles^
west of Chambersburg a year ago. The Enoch Brown Associa
tion also furnished one-half of the cost of the three granite-
blocks and their erection.- The monument was unveiled by a
little girl, Claire Rotz, whose parents Hve in front of it..
Owing to the inclemency of the weather, the assemblage then.
proceeded to the Reformed church of Loudon, near by, where-
the remaining services took place. Rev. James M. Mullan, of
Baltimore, Md., a native of Fort Loudon, acted as chaplain.
The Reformed church choir sang, "0 God, Our Help in Ages^^
Past," "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and "Auld Lang Syne,"^
etc; The brass band of McConnellsburg discoursed patriotic
music repeatedly outside of the church. Hon. W. Rush
Gillan presided. After introductory remarks he introduced
Rev. Dr. Cyrus Cort.
Dr. Cort dwelt upon the history of Col. John Armstrong,.
•who built the fort for the Province of Pennsylvania a few
months after his expedition against the Indian rendezvous at
Kittanning, whence marauding expeditions under Chiefs
Shingas and Capt. Jacobs issued to destroy pioneer settlers and-
forts in the Juniata and Cumberland Valleys. Dr. Cort also
dwelt upon the exploits of Capt. James Smith and his "Black,
Boys" in 1765 and 1769 at Fort Loudon and Fort Bedford-
against traders who sought to supply Indians with powder,.
lead, tomahawks, etc., which pioneer settlers expected them^
to use in future massacres. Dr. Cort spoke for about an hour,
giving historical details in addition to the remarks here given,.
and closed amid hearty applause.
Rev. Dr. Geo. P. Donehoo, of Coiidersport, Pa., secretary-
of the Pennsylvania Historical Commission, made an elaborate
and earnest address largely in favor of the Indians who, he-
claimed, were unjustly treated by the Scotch-Irish pioneers andi
by the general government of the United States in treaty ne
gotiations. Dr. Donehoo is an eloquent speaker and welli
versed in provincial history.

The large audience then adjourned for dinner. The
speakers, Enoch Brown Association, Hon Milton Embick, of
Carlisle, etc., dined at the hospitable home of Joseph S. Rotz.
The ladies of Loudon furnished fine meals in a vacant house,
to visitors, for twenty-five cents. The band^discoursed music

Col. John Armstrong, Sr.

at the monument. Quite a number of prominent people came
from Chambersburg, Mercersburg and even from Greensburg,
Pa., in their autos, after dinner, who had failed to appear in
the forenoon on account of the threatening condition of the
weather.

Hon. Wm. S. Stenger, former secretary of Pennsylvania
and Congressman, was introduced by Judge Gillan as one of
the distinguished former residents of the village of Fort Lou
don. Mr. Stenger spoke of "Then and Now" and contrasted
present advanced conditions of national and social affairs with
those obtaining among our pioneer ancestors several genera
tions ago. Mr. Stenger had not ppoken publicly before his
old friends and neighbors for twenty-five years and received a
hearty ovation. His wife and many other ladies who were
present are descended from pioneer settlers. She was a Cul-
verson. He "'as a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College
in the class of 1858 and Dr. Cort in the class of 1860. Mr.
Stenger is one of the proprietors of the Philadelphia Record at
present. If the weather had been favorable an immense audience
would have greeted the speakers in front of the Rotz mansion.
Dr. Cort read a letter from George Washington to Col. Arm
strong in 1770, preserved in a glass case by a great-grandson of
Armstrong and sent by Mr. Embick. Both Col. Armstrong,
of Carlisle, and a great-grandson, .John Armstrong Herman,
Esq., of Harrisburg, were obliged to attend to legal business
in Washington, D. C. ; otherwise they would have been at
the dedication October 20, 1915.
In addition to Hon. W. Rush Gillan as President of the
dedicatory service, October 20, 1915, the following persons were
named among the Vice Presidents, viz. : Seth Dickey, William
S. Hoerner, John P. Sikes, John Rider, S. 0. McLaughlin,
John A. Diehl, .Jos. S. Rotz, Dr. Wm. M. Irvine, Alfred E.
Rupp, Rev. E. G. Rose, Dr. Thos. L. Montgomery. Hon.
Milton Embick and Prof. Finafrock, Franklin county editors,
were named as secretaries. The Enoch Brown Association
was represented by Rev. Dr. C. Cort, Capt. Robert Boyd, Gen
eral Dixon and Samuel Z. Hawbecker, Esq., (Trustee).

Presentation Remarks of Rev. Stonesifer.
The unveiling of this memorial to defenders of old Fort
Loudon reflects credit upon the public spirit of the Enoch

Brown Meniorial Association, the Pennsylvania State Histori
cal Commission and the citizens and former residents of oui:
town. We wiJJ never know the great sacrifices of tho'^e people,
who first planted the settlement of our community for the
benefit of our forefathers and our future posterity.
We therefore this day do ourselves honor when we honor
them by these memorials.
There are present today noble sons and daughters of these
worthy ancestors to take part in these historic services and to
hear our representative men and noble sons of our own com
munity. And now to you, Dr. Cort, I may say, is largely due this
splendid memorial. It was at your suggestion that I became
interested and solicited funds from our citizens nnd former
residents toward this wortliy worli. As you are President of
the Enoch Brown Memorial Association, which is a chartered
organization of our county, I deem it proper tliat in behalf of
our citizens I present this memorial, to be kept for all time in
proper repair and condition by tlie Enoch Brown Association,
which you represent.

Acceptance of Rev. Dr. Cyrus Cort.
In behalf of the Enoch Brown Association, created by the
action of the Franklin County Convention, April 22, 1884, I
thankfully accept this massive granite monument with bronze
tablet. During the past thirty years it has been my privilege
to take part in the dedication of five monuments in this county.
On August 4, 1885, we dedicated two in the Enoch Brown Park;
on June 22, 1886, we dedicated one near Greencastle in honor of
Corporal Rihl, the first Union soldier killed on northern soil,
and on October 29, 1914, we dedicated one at the site of Fort
McCord. Today we dedicate memorial structures to mark the
site of Fort Loudon. By her memorial activities Franklin
county has given an inspiration to other parts of our grand old
Keystone Commonwealth.

10
The Enoch Brown Association will carefully guard these
liistoric shrines with the help of the good people in whose
midst they are located. As I expect in a few moments to de
liver a more formal address, telling about the builders and hls-
ioric characters connected with Fort London over one hundred
.and fifty years ago, I will say nothing more at present.

Inscription.
The following is the inscription on the bronze tablet en-
-cased in the massiye granite boulder in the village of Fort
Loudon : FORT LOUDON.
Erected by Colonel John Armstrong in the winter of 1756,
by the order of the Province of Pennsylvania, was situated a
mile southeast of this spot.
The Fort was built for the protection of the frontiers
against the Indians, and took the place of the Fort at McDow
ell's Mills, which was situated at Bridgeport. Fort Loudon was
the scene of many thrilling events during th« Indian raids in
this region. During the expedition of General John Forbes
in 1758, and that of Colonel Henry Bouquet in 1763-4, this
Fort was used as a rendezvous for troops and as a base of sup
plies. It was the scene of the exploits of Captain James Smith
and his "Black Boys" in 1765. Before the building of the
state road to Pittsburg it was th" point of departure of great
trains of pack horses loaded with goods for the West and the
South. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical Commission, the
^noch Brown Association and the citizens of this place, 1915.

Prayer of Rev. James M. MuUan.
0 God, we acknowledge and worship Thee as the supreme
Jluler of the universe and our only Lord. We humbly yield
ito Thee the obedience of our lives, for Thy laws are perfect,
find in keeping them there is great reward.

11
We lift up our hearts unto Thee and give Thee thanks for
the land which we fondly call our own, and for the nation
'which has been established in freedom by the people's will.
"We thank Thee for the unselfish devotion to the ideals of
KJemocracy on the part of our fathers, for which they faced
•dangers, and bore hardships, and endured sufferings, and
dnade sacrifices. Cause us as a people to be worthy of them,
and, as they saw our day and were glad, may we see of the tra
vail of our souls and be satisfied, in the vision of the coming
-day, when the freedom which they conquered shall avail for
all men. Enable us, O God, to dedicate ourselves to the un
finished task of building a nation wherein the sons of men
shall ptand side by side, equal in opportunity, and in the
«pirit of a common service.
We rejoice today as sons and daughters of the fathers and
¦mothers who gave us being, who toiled and suffered for us, and
loved us the more for the pain we gave them, who built their
lives into ours and into the common life of this community,
and who now rest from their labors while their works do follow
them. We realize that the very ground on which we tread is
holy ground, and may the occasion that brings us together at
this time give us new courage to live our lives in godly sincerity
«ll our days, not taking counsel of the world or of the flesh,
but aiming and endeavoring in all things only to know and to
¦do Thy will.
Bless, 0 Lord, we pray Thee, with Thy continued favor,
this community — object of our love and pride. We rejoice in
the beauties of nature with which we are surrounded. We
thank Thee for the arching skies, for the towering mountains,
for the everlasting hills, for the running water, for the fruitful
fields, for the trees and the flowers and for the grass under our
leet. We are glad in the possession of the wide-open heart to
appreciate all this and to see that every common bush is
-aflame with the glory of God. But still more do we rejoice in
the glow of neighborly good- will that here prevails, in the
thrill of simple pleasures and common joys, in the sharing of
one another's burdens of sorrow and pain. We thank Thee

12
for a deeper sense of the truth, as we meet together here, that
true wealth does not consist in the abundance of the things-
that we possess, but in pure lives, and happy homes, in honest
toil and just rewards,— in doing justly, in loving mercy, in
walking humbly with Thee our God. Keep us mindful, we
entreat Thee, of these things, and may Thy favor shown toward
our fathers, and Thy faithfulness, be continued unto their
children and their children's children as long as time shall last.
Meet us, 0 Lord, in this gathering to-day, and in all our
doings, with Thy most gracious presence, and further us with
Thy continual help, that in all our works begun, continued
and ended in Thee, we may please Thee and best serve the in
terests of Thy kingdom on earth, through Jesus Christ our
Lord, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Opening Remarks of Jwdge Gillan.
Ladies and Gentlemen : — It affords me great pleasure to be
called upon to preside at this meeting. I deem it quite an
honor to be engaged in the work of marking the historic spots
of the county, as in doing this we are doing much to perpetuate
our history and teach the younger generation of the hardships
and trials of their ancestors. Such events as this should bring
keener and more hearty appreciation of the governmental
blessings which we enjoy. Pennsylvania has been derelict in
this matter and in not marking more of the many historic
spots and historical events. Traveling about Boston one can
not turn a corner without encountering a monument or statue
which has been erected in memory of some historical event or
in honor of some historic person.
Franklin county has done something in this regard ; much
more needs to be done. A monument now marks the site of
old Fort McCord, where there was a terrible massacre of whites
by the Indians. A few miles from where we now stand
a monument marks the spot where the only Pennsylvanian who
ever reached the office of President of the United States was
born. Through the energy and patriotic endeavor of the

13
Grand Army Post at Greencastle the site where fell the first
federal soldier on Northern soil in the great conflict for the
preservation of the Union has been marked by a handsome
monument. The Kittochtinny Historical Society has marked
the place of the capture of Captain Cook of John Brown's
Army of Invasion. The ladies of Mercersburg have marked
the place where Dr. Agnew, who became famous as a physician,
once practiced medicine in this county. By the untiring
energy of him who was the pioneer in marking historic spots
in Franklin county the place of the brutal massacre of Enoch
Brown and school children has been marked. It is perhaps
the most interesting historical spot in the county and now,
through the energy of that same pioneer, though bent with age
¦and hoary with the frosts of more than eighty winters, this
great historic spot where stood Fort Loudon has been marked,
and it aft'ords me great pleasure to present to you the Rev. Dr.
Cyrus Cort, to whom we are indebted for the fostering of a pa
triotic spirit which now pervades the people of this county.
Dr. Cort will now address you.

Dedicatory Address of Rev. Dr. Cyros Co»t at Fort Loudon,^
Pa., October 20, t9J5.
Friends and Fellow attend! Ladies and Gentlemen :
In my address at the Enoch Brown Park in commemora
tion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the mas
sacre of schoolmaster and scholars during the Pontiac War, I
expressed the hope that with the aid of the Pennsylvania His
torical Commission and public-spirited citizens our Enoch
Brown Association would not only be able to dedicate a monu
ment at the site of Fort McCord in the near future, but that
Fort Loudon and other places of historic interest might soon be
marked with suitable memorial structures. On the 29th of
October, 1914, it was our grateful privilege to dedicate a beau
tiful and substantial monument on the site of Fort McCord.
To-day it is our glad privilege to perform a similar service for
Fort Loudon. With the help of patriotic citizens of the village

14
and the descendants of former residents, under the leadership
of Rev. Jas. B. Stonesifer, this memorial work has been accom
plished by the united efforts of the Pennsylvania Historical
Commission and the Enoch Brown Association. I congrat
ulate the good people of this village and all who have aided in
this worthy achievement.
As a result of this movement, we believe. Fort Loudon has
teen placed on the map as never before. It will henceforth
be one of the historic shrines where many travelers over the
Lincoln Highway will stop, look and learn lessons in the school
of American patriotism. Around this place cluster some of the
most stirring events of pioneer provincial days.
Fort Loudon was built by one of the founders of Church
and State, by one who helped mightily to lay broad and deep
the foundations of Christian civilization in our grand old Key
stone Commonwealth. It was erected under the supervision of
Col. John Armstrong, Sr., by the Province of Pennsylvania to
protect the Conococheaque settlements from the marauding ex
peditions of bloodthirsty Indian savages. The disgraceful and
disastrous defeat of General Braddock on the banks of the
Monongahela river, July 9, 1755, and the cowardly retreat of
his successor. Col. Dunbar, to Philadelphia from Fort Cumber
land with 1500 veteran troops, left the borders in a defenceless
condition. It was the worot calamity that ever came upon the
British provinces. Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia were
exposed to destructive raids of the French and a vast horde of
Indian allies, including the Delawares, the Shawnese and a.
large part of the Iroquois, or Six Nations, previously in alli
ance with the British and their provinces. On ' the 1st of
April, 1756, Fort McCord, a few miles northeast of here, was
-destroyed and its twenty-seven inmates, men, women and
children, ruthlessly slain or darried into captivity. Captain
Alexander Culbertson and thirty odd provincial soldiers, who
went in pursuit, were killed or wounded in a gallant effort to
recover the captives on Sideling Hill.
Four months later a French officer with a large body of
French soldiers and Indians, under Shingas and Capt. Jacobs,

15
assaulted and captured Fort Granville on the Juniata (where
Lewistown is now located.) They captured also upwards of
twenty Provincial soldiers after mortally wounding Lieutenant
Armstrong, its brave commander. Four weeks later Col. John
Armstrong set out from Carlisle with 280 Provincial soldiers
under Captains Steele, Potter, Hugh Mercer, etc. After a 200-
mile march through the wilderness they surprised and de
stroyed the Indian rendezvous at Kittanning, on the Allegheny
Tiver, twenty odd miles above Fort Duquesne. Captain Jacobs
was killed and about 40 Indian warriors. A large quantity of
f)Owder, lead, rifles, etc., and military stores, furnished to the
Indians by the French, was destroyed. Eleven English pris
oners, including some taken at Fort McCord, were rescued
from captivity. But the Provincials had fifteen of their
aiumber killed and the same number wounded. Among the
wounded were Col. Armstrong and Dr. Hugh Mercer. Both of
them afterwards became Major Generals in the war of Amer
ican independence.
By this bold movement of carrying the war into Africa,
¦or attacking the enemy in their native haunts, like the brave
Roman general of old, Col. Armstrong put a check upon their
-depredations. It was felt, however, that to afford proper se-
-curity for the future a line of forts should be erected at salient
points in the Cumberland valley, as Col. Armstrong had advised
valready in 1754, in a plan submitted to the Provincial authori
ties. Fort McDowell had been erected by John McDowell and
was a great rendezvous for military stores during the Braddock
¦campaign of 1755. In November of that year Capt. Hance
Hamilton with 400 men congregated at Fort McDowell and
went to Path valley to recover live stock not destroyed by the
Indians. But because Fort McDowell was not well located for
defense. Col. Armstrong, as agent for the Province of Pennsyl
vania, erected Fort Loudon two miles farther north, near
Parnell's Knob, late in the fall of 1756 and near the new road
which was subsequently completed to Fort Bedford. It was
built on land owned by a Mr. Patton. A new house, lately
^erected by Patton, was utilized as part of the fort for storage

16
purposes. So Col. Armstrong wrote to Governor Denny of
Pennsylvania, November 19, 1756. A few weeks later, De
cember 22, 1756, a Mr. Stephens wrote, "The public stores
are safely removed from McDowell's mill to Fort Loudoun.
The barracks for the soldiers are built and some proficiency
made in the stockade, the finishing of which will doubtless be
retarded by the inclemency of the weather."
Col. Henry Bouquet, Sir John St. Clair, Col. George

y^^^ yO^^^-^^''

Washington and Governor Horatio Sharpe, of Maryland, held
a conference here in June, 1758. Bouquet wrote to General
Forbes that 27 Catawba Indians and 100 Cherokees were at
Fort Loudon and 100 hogsheads of rum and whiskey were-
wanted. He does not say that it was advisable to supply that
want. On July 11 he wrote again to General Forbes that the
Cataw has had left and that they were "great rascals." At a
later period, when in command at Fort Pitt, Bouquet forbade

17
the traders to sell liquor to the Indians, and thereby incurred
the hostility of Ormsby, a prominent trader who later became
a wealthy resident of Pittsburgh. As in 1755 Colonel Conrad
Weiser and Benjamin Franklin had supplied Braddock's army
with Pennsylvania wagons to transport baggage, which Vir
ginia was unable to do, so in 1758 Col. Bouquet applied to
Col. Weiser again for transportation in the campaign against
Fort Duquesne. He wrote that Col. Chambers would repair
the road from his house to Fort Loudoun, Gov. Sharpe would
open the road from Fort Frederick to Fort Cumberland, and
Ool. Burd that between Fort Bedford and Ligonier.
Col. Armstrong was one of the commanders of Pennsylva
nia troops in the Forbes campaign of 1758 and praises Bouquet
in a letter to Richard Peters, October 3, 1758, from Fort Bed
ford, as a very able and sensible officer. At the same time he
censures the partisan conduct of Washington and his Virgin
ians, who insisted on the army marching from Fort Bedford to
Fort Cumberland, and proceeding against Fort Duquesne by
the old Braddock route of 1755, instead of delaying to cut a
new road directly over the Allegheny mountains to the Loyal-
hannah. Forbes himself in a letter to Bouquet tells him to
argue the matter with Washington, without yielding his posi
tion, and adds that Washington had been acting in a very un-
soldierly manner. The logic of events vindicated the views of
Forbes and Bouquet.
The direct route was forty miles shorter than the old
Braddock road. Pennsylvania farmers, after their rough ex
perience in the campaign of 1755, refused to furnish transpor
tation over the Braddock road again. In a military and strat
egic point of view, the Forbes road was far superior because of
its greater nearness to Philadelphia and New York', military
headquarters. Washington got over his provincialism by the time of the
war of American independence and Col. Armstrong, in the
army and in Congress, became one of his most loyal supporters
in later years. In fact, owing to his valuable and varied ser
vices to our Keystone commonwealth, both as a province and

18
state, in its early days, Col. Armstrong, the builder of Fort.
Loudon in 1756, has been called the "Washington of Pennsyl
vania." His son and namesake, Col. John Armstrong, Jr. , rose-
to great distinction, also. First as aid to Major General Hugh
Mercer, whom he and others nursed for nine days after being
mortally wounded at Princeton. Later on he became Secretary
of State for Pennsylvania, United States Minister to France,,
United States Senator from New York, and Secretary of War
under President Madison. While the father was a strong:
Federalist, the son was an ardent Republican, as the political
followers of Thomas Jefferson were called.
Fort Loudoun was a great rendezvous in the Forbes cam
paign of 1758 for troops and warlike stores, as Fort McDowelB
had been in the Braddock campaign of 1755.
After the capture of Fort Duquesne General Forbes recom
mended that a permanent force of 100 soldiers should be sta
tioned at Fort Loudoun. That indicates its importance in a
military point of view. In the Bouquet campaigns of 1763.
and 1764 it was also a great rendezvous. After his brilliant
victory over the Eastern Confederates of Pontiac, August 6v.
1763, at Bushy Run, Colonel Bouquet begged Pennsylvania,
Maryland and Virginia to furnish him with 500 additional
troops. With these and his Scotch Highlanders and German
Swiss Royal Americans he would drive the savages across the-
Mississippi River. Benjamin Franklin was about the only-
Pennsylvania official that favored Bouquet's reasonable request.
Only Captain McLellan of western Maryland went to Fort Pitt
with a picked company of Provincial soldiers. The result was
as Bouquet predicted; the Indians soon recovered from the-
effects of their severe defeat amid the wilderness of western..
Pennsylvania. Marauding bands slipped past Forts Pitt, Ligo
nier, Bedford and Loudoun, and massacied pioneer settlers in.^
Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Almost a year after
the Bushy Run battle schoolmaster Enoch Brown and scholar*
were massacred a few miles east of Fort Loudoun, betweeik
here and Greencastle, July 26, 1764. Then these three prov
inces realized the necessity of employing the tactics of Colonefi

19
John Armstrong, Sr. , after the destruction of Fort McCord in the
summer of 1756. They gave Bouquet eight times more troops
than he had asked for the year before. With this force he
cut a road into the Ohio wilderness and compelled the savages
to sue for peace on the banks of the Muskingum River. Th&
first condition laid down was that all prisoners taken during
the French and Indian wars and the Pontiac war should be
brought in and restored to their Christian homes. 216 were
brought back with the army — T16 Pennsylvanians and 100-
Virginians. Others were restored to their homes later on.
The Pennsylvania troops engaged in this campaign numbered
2,700. They assembled at Fort Loudoun, but, we are very
sorry to say, a couple hundred of them deserted, taking along-
horses and arms. Bouquet reported this fact to Governor
Robert Morris, who sent others in their place. At Fort Bed
ford a number more deserted in spite of warnings. At Fort
Pitt they began the same game, but after a couple deserters had
been captured and hung, desertions came to an end. This
campaign of Colonel Bouquet's brought peace and tranquility
to the afflicted frontier after the terrible Pontiac war, during
which the Indian savages slew 50 white people to every one-
lost of their own number.
CAPTAIN JAMES SMITH AND THE "bLACK BOYS."
But it was chiefly as the scene of the exploits of Captaia
James Smith and his famous "Black Boys" that FOrt Loudon
was noted in Provincial days. This is important as a harb
inger or sort of precursor of the conflict that occurred a dozen-
years later between the Colonists and Great Britain, which re
sulted in the establishment of our American Independence.
Captain James Smith, born in Peters township, near here^
was a remarkable character. He was captured in 1755 near
Raystown (afterwards called Bedford) by Indians. At that time
the province of Pennsylvania had 300 men employed under Colo
nel Burd building a road from Fort Loudon to Bedford. For
some reason this work was discontinued, and the road was not
completed until 1758. Smith was taken to Fort Duquesne^

20
where he saw the victorious French and Indians return from
the defeat of Braddock and witnessed the terrible torture of
British prisoners. After running the gauntlet he was adopted
by the Indians, and finally in 1760 he was exchanged at
Quebec and returned home. In 1765 some traders brought a
large supply of warlike goods, such as powder, tomahawks,
-etc., from Philadelphia on wagons to Henry Fallens (Pawlins),

Col. James Burd.

near Greencastle. They loaded seventy pack horses with these
goods, to convey them over the mountains to the Indians to
trade for valuable furs, etc. This was unlawful, for the king
had forbidden any more trading with Indians until peace was
fully concluded, which was not done until the following year,
when Pontiac met Sir William Johnson on the Mohawk and
settled its terms. Besides being unlawful, it was very danger-

21
•ous for the pioneer settlers. They felt persuaded that those
warlike stores would be used by the savages to massacre them
and their neighbors. William Duffield, with fifty armed men,
met the pack-horse train near Mercersburg and entreated them
-not to proceed with their dangerous supplies to the savages.
They were jeered and hooted by the traders and their hire
lings. So, also, after they followed them to the Cove, where
McConnellsburg now stands. This aroused the anger of Capt.
Smith. He collected ten of his old warriors whom he had
trained to fight in Indian style and went off privately after
night to Sideling Hill, where he stationed his men along the
road behind trees. When the pack-horse train came along
next day they opened fire, killing some of the horses loaded
with goods. This frightened the traders and caused them to
change their tune. They called out, "Pray, gentlemen, what
would you have us to do?'' They were told to unload the
-goods and place them on a pile and retire to the rear.
When they left Smith and his "Black Boys," whose faces were
fpainted black to disguise them, set fire to the goods and de
stroyed them.
The traders went back to Fort Loudoun and got Capt.
¦Orant, then in command, to arrest a number of citizens on
suspicion and, without consulting with the civil authorities,
confined them in the guard house. Smith then raised three
hundred (300) riflemen and encamped on a hill near Fort
Loudoun. They soon had more Highlanders captured than
Grant had men in prison. He then sent them a flag of truce
and agreed to exchange prisoners. This exploit put an end to
the work of supplying Indians with warlike goods for the time
being. Four years later, in 1769, the Indians again became trou
blesome on the frontier. The selfish and unprincipled traders
were supplying them with warlike stores, in spite of remon
strances from the settlers. As in 1769, the settlers felt justi
fied in waylaying the traders near Bedford and destroyed their
rstock of powder, lead, etc. A number of settlers were arrested
on suspicion and confined in irons by the British commander

22
at Fort Bedford. Although Captain Smith had nothing to do
with the operations of this new club of "Black Boys" and did
not altogether approve of their actions, yet he felt that it was
his duty to rescue the settlers from arbitrary military power.
Accordingly, he collected eighteen of his old "Black Boys'*
whom he had trained in the Indian wars and proceeded to-
Fort Bedford. By a forced march from Juniata Crossing^
after night, they arrived at Fort Bedford at break of day and,,
'with the aid of William Thompson, a resident used as a spy^
he managed to surprise the garrison and capture the fort.
They got a blacksmith and had him take the irons off the^
prisoners. As Smith used to afterwards say, "this was the-
first British fort in America that was taken by American
rebels." For this exploit Smith was arrested. In the scuffle one of
his captors was killed. He was taken ; to Carlisle to be tried
for murder. His "Black Boys*' and other friends went there
in force, 600 in all, to rescue him, but Smith made a
speech, urging them to return to their homes and let the law
take its course. He was triumphantly acquitted. He after
wards held important official positions in Bedford and West
moreland counties. James Smith was one of the Westmore
land county delegates to the convention which met in Phila
delphia, July 15, 1776, to lay the foundations of a government
based on the authority of the people. Before taking their seats
or casting their votes they were required to subscribe to the-
foUowing orthodox statement of Christian doctrine: "I, James
Smith, do profess faith in God, the Father, and in Jesua
Christ, His eternal Son, the true God, and in the Holy Ghost,
one God blessed forevermore, and do acknowledge the Holy
Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be by divine in-
'spiration." That convention adjourned September 28, 1776,
after framing an excellent form of government by the people
and for the people. In fact, their work has largely formed the-
ba^is of all the state constitutions since adopted. Smith was a-
colonel in the Revolutionary army and finally died in Ken
tucky, where he rendered service against hostile Indians. With

23
36 men he captured 200 Hessians in New Jersey and induced
some of them to settle at Strassburg, Franklin county. Pa.
After 1769 robberies were committed in Bedford county
and parts aqljacent which were unjustly blamed against the
Black Boys,'' who had nothing whatever to do with them.
It is supposed that the British flag that floated over Fort Bed
ford in the days of Col. Bouquet and which was presented by
the Duke of Bedford was captured by the "Black Boys" in
1769. I had some experiences with the flag apropos to this
occasion. In the latter part of August, 1884, 1 spent a couple
weeks with Rev. J.- Spangler Kieffer and several other clerical
Jriends at Old Point Comfort and Virginia Beach. The second
meeting of the Centennial Convention of Franklin County,
August 26, 1884, cut short my vacation at the Virginia seaside
resorts. Having a week or more of vacation at my command,
I resolved to spend it at White Sulphur Springs, near Mann's
Choice, Bedford county. With my son Ambrose I crossed the
mountains with horse and buggy. On the top of Sideling Hill
we killed a large rattlesnake with twelve rattles. This vividly
reminded us of Capt. Hugh Mercer's tramp over the mountains
in 1756 when he lived on the flesh of a rattlesnake. A mile
below Juniata Crossing we visited the remains Col. Bouquet's
chain bridge acrose that romantic river. At Bedford we were
hospitably entertained by my very good old friend, John P.
Reed, Esq. Learning that the old British flag was in posses-
, sion of a client of Mr. Reed's, I got Mr. Reed to go along to
see it at the home of Mr. Hugh Moore, one of Bedford county's
substantial yeomen, who resided a mile or so in the country.
I wrote an accbunt of our visit and a description of the flag for
the Greencastle Press, which I will quote in part:
"We were shown a magnificent British flag, which is said
to have floated over old Fort Bedford in the days of King
George III. This flag is made of fine crimson brocade silk.
It is six feet 8 inches long by five feet 9 inches wide, and is ar
ranged with worked eyelets, for hoisting on a flag staff. St.
George's Cross appears between four squares of white and blue
silk of finest texture sewn into the field at the upper corner

24
next to the staff. The flag is in elegant state of preserva?.
tion, neither faded nor soiled, except at one corner next the
staff. The flag is supposed to have been presented originally
to the British garrison by the Duke of Bedford, after whom
the fort and town of Bedford were originally named. Anthony
Nagle (sometimes spelt Nawgle) belonged to Captain Smith's
Regulators, who captured Fort Bedford before the Revolution
and released some friends unjustly confined there on suspicion
of having taken part in the destruction of stores intended for the
Indians. It is thought that the flag came into his possession
as color-bearer at that time. During his life, after American
independence was achieved, he and his comrades, who gloried
in capturing the first British fort, used to meet annually on
the anniversary of that exploit. They would raise the flag in
front of his home and then become jolly over a jug of wine.
Mr. Frederick Nagle, a son of Anthony, died only a year or
two ago, aged 82 years. In his old age Anthony Nagle mar
ried for his second wife the widow Stiffler. A step-son of hi*
by this marriage (Anthony Stiffler) came into possession of
the flag at the death of his mother in 1831, to whom the elder
Nagle had left it at his death in 1819. The widow of Anthony
Stiffler (who died in 1863) had possession of the flag by com
mon consent of the heirs until 1865, when she was induced to
sell it to Mr. E. G. Morse, of Bedford, Cuyahoga county, Ohio.
Some of the heirs and the community at large were indignant
at this proceeding, and Mr. Hugh Moore, the administrator of
the Anthony Stiffler estate), was induced to follow Mr. Morse
to Somerset county, Pa., where, with the aid o.f Messrs. Shan
non, of Bedford, Herman J. Baer and Mr. Colburn, of Somer
set, he recovered the flag by writ of replevy after considerable
litigation. The flag has since remained in possession of Mr.
Moore at his house, in trust for the heirs. From the Bedford
Gazette of January 13, 1865, belonging to Mr. Reed, attorney
for Hugh Moore, I learned these facts 31 years ago concerning
this rare and interesting relic of the olden time. Mrs, Stiffler
died in 1883.

25
Two years ago I had a somewhat similar experience with
that old British flag, captured by Captain James Smith and
his "Black Boys" in 1769.
I was anxious for many reasons to have that flag present
at the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Colonel Henry
Bouquet's great victory at Bushy Run over the Eastern Con
federates of Pontiac. To this end I wrote Dr. Enfield and
Dr. A. C. Daniels, of Bedford, to get the flag from the family
vt Hugh Moore and bring it along to the Bouquet Celebration
in Westmoreland county, when lo ! and behold ! it turned out
that a son of Mr. Moore had moved to Nebraska some. .years
•go and had taken the famous flag along without the consent
of the rest of the family or the Bedford county authorities a^
recognized by the Somerset County Court 50 years ago. The
present holder of the flag in Nebraska failed to send it on after
having promised to do so.
That flag ought to be here today as a vivid reminder of
Colonel Bouquet, Colonel Burd, Colonel Washington and
Colonel Armstrong, who served under General Forbes in 1758,
and to remind us especially of Captain James Smith and his
"Black Boys," who resided in this Conocheaque settlement
150 years ago and were more anxious to save the lives of pio
neer settlers than to promote the profits of selfish and unprin-
•ipled traders. It can have no memorial or historical signi
ficance away off in Nebraska, but would be a precious heir
loom in the town and state where it proudly waved in the
brave days of old.
On July 13, 1882, I took part along with United States
Senator Edgar Cowan, Congressman Turney, etc., in the Cen
tennial of the Burning of Hannastown, the first county seat of
Westmoreland county, by Indians and Tories.
Mrs. Margaret Craig, a granddaughter of a Revolutionary
officer, was present with the Rattlesnake flag of General Proc
tor's Westmoreland Brigade, borne before the adoption of the
Star Spangled Banner as our national ensign. Admiral Preble
-describes it as the oldest of American flags. But the Bedford
flag was more than a dozen years older. A granddaughter of

26
ijrs. Qraig told me at the unveiling of a memorial tablet at
Hannastown two years ago by the D. A. R. that she still had
charge of that magnificent Rattlesnake flag. She has since
turned it over to the State authorities at Harrisburg. So the
Bedford flag of Provincial days ought to be safely preserved
and accessible to the public at Bedford or Harrisburg.
My great-grandfather Jacob Byerly, a soldier of the Thir
teenth Virginia Regiment under Colonel John Gibson at Fort
Pitt during the Revolution, was born in Fort Bedford under
the shade and shelter of that flag in 1760. Hence I am spe
cially interested in its preservation as a grand historical relic
•of our Keystone Commonwealth.
My Christian friends ! I have dwelt upon the services of
Colonel John Armstrong, Sr. , the founder of Fort Loudon in
1756, and the exploits of Captain James Smith and his "Black
Boys" in 1765 and 1769. They deserve to be held in grateful
remembrance. Colonel Armstrong, besides being a brave and
patriotic soldier and statesman, is spoken of by Judge Cham
bers as a Christian gentleman of sterling character. He was
for many years a faithful elder of the Presbyterian church in
Carlisle, Pa.
Many historic associations cluster around old Fort Lou
don, as we have seen, full of inspiration and instruction.
But apart from these matters which bind all patriotic Ameri
cans to the heroic past, there are special personal reasons that
constrained me to engage in this memorial work to give Fort
Loudon its proper place on the map.
A few miles south of here I studied theology under the
distinguished Church Historian, Dr. Philip Schaff, at the fa
mous Mercersburg School of the prophets. Seventeen and a
half years of student and ministerial life were spent in this
grand old county of Franklin. When a student in Turtle
Creek Academy sixty years ago I first met one of your most
worthy citizens, Seth Dickey. When I came to Mercersburg
five years later we renewed our acquaintance. While at the
Academy^ we blistered our hands along with our beloved Pi;o-
fessor Joseph C. Nevin in an effort to find an entrance to

27
Tonnaleuka's Cave described by Kennedy in his "Wilderness"
novel as not far from Braddock's battle-field. Seth and I used
to hunt betimes through these mountains. One Saturday we
footed it to the top of Parnell's Knob and indulged in the
pastime of sending immense rocks thundering down the moun
tain side. Very shortly after graduating at Mercersburg Semi
nary and before I was licensed to preach the Gospel I took a
•company of Westmoreland yeomen to Harrisburg in response
to the call of Governor Curtin for 50,000 emergency men to
prevent the invasion of Pennsylvania. The battle of Antietam
bad been fought, and our services were not needed. I visited
Seth and his comrades on the Antietam battle-field, where we
«lept under the same blanket one night. Th'rty years ago Seth
gave me a very liberal donation to help erect monuments at
Enoch Blown Park in memory of the massacred schoolmaster
and scholars. He helped us at our Fort McCord memorial
work a year ago. I knew that he was anxious to mark the
site of Fort Loudon, where his great-great-grandfather and
family found refuge from time to time when Indian savages
were seeking scalps in this region over 150 years ago.
It is peculiarly gratifying to me that we have been able to
realize his hopes and dedicate this Fort Loudon 'Memorial to-
¦day. Other pleasant memories made this memorial service a
grateful duty apart from patriotic and historic associations.
As a student I preached some of my first sermons in the Re
formed church across the street in Fort Loudon village. In
February and March, 1862, I preached three times as supply
in the absence of Pastor Ault. I was kindly entertained at the
Stenger home. Miss Mattie, the mother of our friend, W. S.
Hoerner, esq., the owner of the site of Fort Loudon, and the
sister of our friend, Hon. W. S. Stenger, who will address you
today, dispensed the hospitalities of the Stenger home with
queenly grace.
One of my sermons was on the text, I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salva
tion to every one that believeth, to the Jew first and also to
the Greek" — Rom. 1: 16. The sentiment of that text has

28
been the keynote of my preaching for over fifty- three years,.
whether among the mountains of the old Keystone state or on.
the prairies of the mighty West beyond the Father of Waters.
I preached to your parents and grandparents before the most"
of you were born. "Your fathers, where are they? And the-
prophets, do they live forever? ' ' exclaims the inspired writer.
Like the leaves of the forest, or the waves of the sea, we come
and we go, for here have we no continuing city.
Parnell stands forth in majestic grandeur as in days of
old. The historic Conococheaque still laves the site of Fort
Loudon as it did when Indians and pioneer settlers roved along
its banks. But what mighty changes have taken place in the
sphere of human activity! The steamboat, the locomotive, the
telegraph, the telephone and automobile and hundreds of other
useful inventions have wrought wondrous changes since our
ancestors wended their toilsome way over these mountains
with pack-horse and Conestoga wagon. The 3,000,000 Colon
ists, one-third of them slaves, have increased to one hundred'
million freemen occupying an ocean- bound republic^ But we
must not forget that in spite of all material changes the foun
dation principles of truth and righteousness remain the same
from generation to generation. There is a principle that will
outlast the wreck of matter and the crush of worlds. There is-
a foundation that will abide sure and steadfast when the hills
shall depart and the mountains be removed. Jesus Christ is
the incarnation and personal embodiment of truth and right
eousness — "the same yesterday, today and forever." The-
wise man will build his intellectual and spiritual house on the
Rock of eternal ages and cherish the teachings and worthy ex
amples of the good, the brave and true-hearted founders of
Church and state. He will be both conservative and progres
sive. He will remember the days of old, prove all things and
hold fast that which is good. A reverent historic spirit is an
element alike of true religion and patriotism. We are ahead
of our ancestors in many respects. But in all that is noblest
and best pertaining to the aristocracy of heaven we have mucfc
to learn from the pioneer settlers of this new world. They"

29
faced all manner of privations that they might have freedom
to worship God according to the dictates of conscience enlight
ened by the Word of God. Only as we cultivate the same
spirit of conscientious devotion to the claims of truth and duty
can we make a success of life in this fleeting world. Yea, only
as our lives are hid with Christ in God by a true faith can we
attain to the real perfection of our being in a glorified immor
tality. I am glad that the Pennsylvania Historical Commission
has generously co-operated with us in this memorial work to
mark in an enduring manner the site of Fort Loudon, as well
as to erect a beautiful and enduring monument on the site of
Fort McCord. They are doing a noble work in behalf of our old
Keystone commonwealth. Not only along the Conococheaque,
but along the Juniata, the Susquehanna, the Lehigh, the
Schuylkill they are helping to erect memorial structures to
mark historic events of pioneer days. It is to the lasting honor
of Franklin county that und^r the auspices .of our Enoch
Brown Association she has led the van in this noble work.
Before I am gathered to my fathers I hope to see them mark
the historic field of Bushy Run, where Col. Bouquet won the
greatest victory ever won over Indian savages. By his cam
paigns of 1763 and 1764 he put an end to the destruction of
Christian homes in the Juniata, the Cumberland, the Lehigh
and Shenandoah Valleys. He established Anglo-Saxon su
premacy in the great Mississippi Valley. For over forty years
I have advocated such a measure of grateful remembrance to
the heroic man who rescued my ancestors and hundreds of
ether pioneer settlers from Indian massacre.
In conclusion, Christian friends, we dedicate this Fort
Loudon memorial structure with the fond hope that it shall
prove a notable landmark and precious historic shrine as long
as glorious old Parnell, the king of this magnificent mountain
range, shall greet the morning sun and cast its evening shad
ows athwart the great Cumberland Valley. I thank you for
your kind attention to my lengthy remarks.

30
Judgre Gillan's Remarks.
Ladies and Gentlemen :
We have present with us today a member of the Pennsyl
vania Historical Commission. This Commission has taken
great interest in this event, and has contributed to its expense.
I know of no one who has a better knowledge of the Colonial
history of this section or who can tell it more entertainingly
than the Secretary of the Historical Commission, Rev. Dr.
George P. Donehoo, who I now have the pleasure of presenting
to you as the next speaker.
Address by Rev. Dr. George P. Donehoo.
When I first commenced to study the history of Pennsyl
vania in a systematic manner, and before I began my tramps
over the trails and roads of the state, there were a number of
historic sites which I desired to visit, in order that I might
more fully understand the facts of their historv. These were:
Port Ligonierf Fort Bedford, Fort Cumberland, Fort Augusta,
Standing Stone, Harris Ferry, Carlisle, Chambersburg and
Fort Loudon. It has been my great privilege to visit all of
these, and many more.
Fort Duquesne was the center of effort, but all of these
places were the springs from which these efforts were started.
One cannot undarstand the struggle for the possession of the
Ohio without knowing the history of all of these points and the
various streams of influence which passed from them.
In order of importance and real historic value of the forts
west of the Susquehanna, or on it, during the period of the
French and Indian War, the conspiracy of Pontiac and the
Revolution, I would place Fort Duquesne first. Fort Augusta
second and Fort Loudon third. Fort Duquesne was the point
of objective during the French, and Indian War. Fort Au
gusta, on the north, and Fort Loudon, on the south, were the
two points in this province from which all of the efforts west
ward were directed and from which they started.
Fort Cumberland, in Maryland, Fort Loudon and Fort
Augusta, in Pennsylvania, for several years after the com-

31
mencement of the struggle for the possession of the Ohio
marked the most westerly points of British occupation. Even
after the capture of Fort Duquesne and the erection of the
chain of forts to the Ohio, Fort Loudon and Fort Augusta
marked the real limits of Anglo-Saxon dominion in this state.
Without these forts it would have been impossible to have held
the Ohio Valley. During the conspiracy of Pontiac these forts
were the last absolutely safe posts on the western frontier. The
others were swallowed up in the vast wilderness beyond the
mountains and were in constant danger from the red man, in
whose territory they had been erected. The uprising of the
Ted men during this so-called "Conspiracy" was an attempt to
-drive out the white invaders — similar to Belgium's present at
tempt. Not a conspiracy. To me there is no more interest
ing or historic spot in Pennsylvania than that at which we
¦meet today. It is surely one of the most beautiful. Here
where the Tuscarora Valley opens into the wider Cumberland
Valley, where these great ridges of "Endless Mountains" throw
-open a natural door-way, has been the scene of many roman
tic and historic events. What a beautiful setting for the drama
which has been, and which is being, enacted in the develop-
inent of civilization.
Long years ago, before the coming of the white man, this
was the pathway of Iroquois as they went southward against
the Catawba and the Cherokee; and later it became the path
way of the Tuscarora when they were driven out of the south
land to seek their related tribes in the "Long House" in west
ern New York.
Then came the years when the white man crossed the Sus
quehanna to seek homes among these mountain ridges. The
romance of Cowan's Gap, of Parnall's Knob, of McDowell's
Mill and of these other spots which bear the name of the
•early pioneers in this region, would make most interesting
Teading, were it possible to fill up the gaps in the development
¦of events. For some years this was the most westerly point at which
the white man built his home in this state. In trying to get

32
the earliest notice of this region in the archives of the state I
discovered that Samuel Blunston, Sr., made application for
land upon the waters of the Conococheaque, "about the great
Marsh where Edmund Cartledge does live." Among those
mentioned as the inhabitants of this region is the name of Ed
ward Parnell. The application came before the Board of
Property, May 20, 1734. So that Edward Parnell, after whom,
the mountain peak is named, was here before that date..
(Arch. 3-1-39.) Parnall's Knob is the only place named in
ibis region upon the Evan's map of 1755.
Before there were any place names given to the various
•ettlements in the southwestern part of Franklin county all of
the various points were included in the general name "Cono-
•ocheaque settlements. ' ' This name applied to all of the points
on all of the branches of this stream to its mouth at Williams-
port. James, Le Tort, Edmund Cartlidge, Samuel Blunston
and other old Conestoga traders no doubt were familiar with
this region long before it was settled. James Le Tort had a
trading house at the mouth of the Conococheaque as early as
1707, and it is almost certain that he and others had trading
houses at Chambersburg, Carlisle, etc. , long before the days
when the Scotch-Irish crossed the Susquehanna. A careful
«tudy of all of the names of the early settlers of this Conoco
cheaque settlement reveals the fact that the moot of them were
from Conestoga and Paxtang, and that the earliest settlera
were Indian traders who had passed through the region in go
ing to the Ohio.
Fort Loudon was built for the protection of these frontier
settlements on the Conococheaque, including Chambersburg^
and the other towns in the lower Cumberland Valley.
In order to trace the history of Fort Loudon it is necessary
to go back to the history of McDowell's Mill and the fort which
was erected there. John McDowell settled at the site which
took his name at an early date in the history of this region,
at about the same time that Blunston, Parnell, Carthdge, etc.,
settled upon the Conococheaque, that is, about 1733, or earlier.
The likelihood is that these settlements were made at about

33
the same time that Benjamin Chambers settled at Falling
Springs, 1730. Before the erection of Fort Loudon, in 1756,
McDowell's Mill was the most known point in all of the re
gion west of Chambersburg.
The fort at McDowell's Mill must have been erected in
1754, as in a "Plan of Defense of Cumberland County in 1754"
it is stated, "And as -John McDowell's Mill is the most im
portant Pass, most exposed to Danger, has a Fort already
made about it, and there provisions may be most easily had,
for these Reasons let the Chief Quarters be there" (Arch. II,
"239). In the plan of General Braddock's campaign against
Fort Duquesne it was thought best to cut a road from McDow
ell's Mill, through Bedford, to unite with the Braddock Road
at Turkey Foot, on the Youghiogheny River. This road was
built, under the direction of Colonel Burd, to the summit of
the Allegheny Mountains, when work upon it was given up be
cause of the defeat of General Braddock. This road ran from
McDowell's Mill up the valley to Fort Lyttleton (or Sugar
Cabins, as the place was then called) , and then westward to
Raystown, or Bedford. The road up the Cumberland Valley
through Culbertson's Row to Shippensburg had been in use be
fore this time.
Gov. Robert Morris, in a letter to General Braddock on
June 3, 1755, says, "A place called McDowell's Mill, situate
upon the new Road, about 20 miles westward of Shippensburg,
is much more convenient for the magazine than Shippensburg"
(Col. Rec. VI, 407). General Braddock says in reply to this
letter, June 18, "I shall signify to Mr. Swain by the Return
of your Messenger my approbation of the Deposits being made
-at McDowell's Mill, instead of Shippensburg" (C. R. VI, 431).
tJovernor Morris then writes to General Shirley, July 30, af
ter telling of Braddock's defeat and of Colonel Dunbar's retreat
to Fort Cumberland, "that he has written to Colonel Dunbar,
.asking him to leave such troops as were not needed at Fort
Cumberland, to be posted at Carlisle, Shippensburg and at
McDowell's Mill, where the new road to the Allegheny Moun
tains begins" (VI, 513). Col. Thomas Dunbar wrote on Au-

34
gust 7th from "Widow Beringer's," near Winchester, "I hope-
to be in Shippensburg on the 17th inst., and as we pass leave
a good guard at McDowell's Mill" (C. R. VI, 561, etc.). Gen
eral Shirley issued orders to Colonel Dunbar on August 12th„
"You are to make the most proper Disposition of hisMajestic's
Forces to cover the Frontiers of the Provinces, particularly at
the Towns of Shippensburg and Carlisle, and at or near the
place called McDowell's Mill, where the New Road to the Al
legheny Mountains begins in Pennsylvania, from the Incursions^
of the Enemy, until you shall receive further orders" (op. cit.)-
The cowardly Dunbar did not follow these orders, but went
on through Shippensburg and Carlisle to Philadelphia, leaving
the entire frontier exposed to the enemy. The road which
General Braddock had built from Fort Cumberland and the-
road which Colonel Burd had built from McDowell's Mill then
became the open pathways over which marched the bands of
hostile Indians, who carried death and destruction into the
entire frontier from the Potomac to the Susquehanna.. Adam
,Hqops wrote to Governor Morris, from Cannogogig," Novem
ber 3, T755, concerning the Indian raid into the Great Cove,
and. of the meeting wbieh had been called "at John McDoole'a
Mill." At this meeting those who were present were startled
upon seeing the smoke arising from two houses, that of Mat
thew Patton and Meshech James. The cattle "was shot down,
and hordes standing bleeding, with Indian Arrows in them,
but the I,ndians fled." Rev. Mr. Steel, John Potter, Adam
Hoops and several other -men of prominence in the region, and
about 100 in all, went in pursuit of the Indians, but could not
• find them (Arch. II, 462-3). In the letter of John Potter to
Richard Peters, concerning this same event, he speaks of the
burning of these same houses, and also says that "We set off
with about 40 Men, tho there was at least one hundred and
Sixty there; our old, officers hid themselves for (ought I know)
to save their Scalps until afternopn, .when. Danger was over"~
(C. R. VI, 674)!
On August 20, 1756, Col. John Armstrong wrote from-
Carlisle, "Tomorrow, God willing, the men marches from Mc-

35
Dowell's for Fort Shirley" (C. R. VII, 231), showing that
the fort at McDowell's Mill was still used as a base for the op
erations in the region. He said in this same message, "Mc
Dowell's or thereabouts is a neaessary post, but the present
fort not defencible." (231.)
This fort had been put into some sort of shape in 1755,
before Braddock's defeat, as Gov. Morris said in a letter to
Gen. Braddock, July 3, "I shall form the magazine at or near
¦McDowell's Mill, and put some stockades about it to protect
the magazine. (Arch. II, 372.)
In the orders to Capt. John Steele, March 2, 1756, in which
he is commissioned as a captain, it is said, "When you have
formed your company you are to take post at McDowell's Mill,
upon the road to the Ohio, which you are to make your head
quarters, and detach patrolling parties frona tiipe to time to
scour the woods," (Arch. II, 601.) (See, also. Arch. II, 604,
618, 716.) During the summer and fall of 1756 a number of
people were killed and captured about this region by the In
dians. (See Arch. Ill, 29, 40.) On November 8, 1756, Col.
Armstrong wrote to Gov. Morris, "This week, God willing, we
begin the fort at Barr's.'' (Arch. Ill, 40.) On November 11,
he wrote, "I thought to have been at McDowell's Mill by this
time to begin the new fort near that place, but was obliged to
send 100 men to escort cattl«, etc., to Fort Lyttleton, and must
wait their return before we can do anything. (Arch. Ill, 48.)
On November .19 he wrote from McDowell's Mill, "According
to. your Honour's orders, I have carefully examined Barr's
place, and could not find in it a proper situation for a fort,
the soil being too strong to admit the ditch, and the spot itself
overlooked by an adjoining hill, but has fixed on a place in
that neighborhood near to Parnel's Knob, where one, Patton
lived; the spot I hope will be very agreeable to your Honour
and, to Mr. Myer, and, as it's near the New Road, will make
the distance from Shippensburg to Fort Lyttleton two miles
shorter than by McDowell's. I'm making the best prepara
tions in my power to forward this new fort, as well as prepare
the barracks, etc.,, all the others for the approaching winter."

36
In this same letter he asks, "May this fort be called Pomfret
Castle, or what will you please to call it?" (Arch. M. Ill, 68.)
On November 30, 1756, Col. Armstrong wrote Gov. Denny,
from Carlisle, "On my return from Philadelphia the men were
called in from the sundry places, whereat they, in small par
ties, had been stationed. At present there is detached from
-each of the other garrisons twenty men and a commissioned
officer to the assistance of the Capts. Potter and Armstrong in
building the new fort. I have not yet hired any person to
that service (except the hauling of loggs, etc.), but one man to
do the duty of stuart, who is also obliged, in the intervals, to
perform some carpenter work. I have wrote Mr. Chambers
-concerning the guns at his fort, according to order, but he
thinks, by going to Philadelphia, he may prevail with your
Honour to let them stay where they are and is to set out for
that purpose in a few 'lays." (Arch. Ill, 79.) Mr. Chambers
¦did not deliver these guns, even when Col. Armstrong sent a
body of men to take them. The Governor then issued an or
der to the sheriff of Cumberland county to arrest Benjamin
Chambers and take him to Philadelphia. (Arch. Ill, 105.)
On Dec. 22, 1756, Col. Armstrong wrote to Gov. Denny,
"The Public Stores are safely removed from McDowell's Mill
to Fort Loudon, the barracks for the soldiers are built, and
some proficiency made in the stockade, the finishing of which
will doubtless be retarded by the inclemency of the weather,
the snow with us being upward of a foot deep." (Arch. Ill,
83-4.) The fort when erected was called Fort Loudon, or
Loudoun, in honor of the Earl of Loudon, the Commander in
Chief of the British forces in North America, appointed by the
King in 1756.
In 1757, when arrangements were being made for the ex
pedition of Gen. Forbes, Fort Loudon was the rendezvous of
the Cherokee and Catawba Indians, which were being collected
by Edmund Atkins, of South Carohna, to aid in the expedi
tion. Col. Stanwix wrote from Carlisle, July 18, 1757, "The
Indians here are on the move, with their presents, to Fort Lou
don to joyn their brothers, when a distribution will be made

37
by the person deputied by Mr. Corghan." (Arch. Ill, 221.)
(C. R. VII, 77.) These Cherokees reached Fort Loudon and
were used as scouts for the country towards Raystown. (Arch.
Ill, 270, etc.) Many of the references in the Archives con
cerning 'Fort Loudoun" during these events have reference to
the Fort Loudoun in Virginia. (367-9.)
On September 9, 1758, Gen. John Forbes wrote to Gov.
Denny, from Fort Loudon, concerning the plans of his expedi
tion. (X 4, VIII, 167.)
Col. Henry Bouquet, at Carlisle, on August 10, 1764,
wrote to Gov. Penn, "We leave this day for Fort Loudon."
•(Arch. IV, 200.) On August 22 he wrote from Fort Loudon to
Gov. John Penn. Was then waiting for troops (206).
The affairs connected with the exploits of Capt. James
Smith.— See Archives IV, 220, 247; Col. Rec. IX, 267, 276,
281, 293, 297, 301, 303, 307, etc. Have been mentioned by
Dr. Cort.
AFTERNOON SESSION.

Jisdgt Gillan's Remarks.
FrankMn county has justly taken great pride in the great
number of distinguished men who were born within her bor
ders. Not far from where we now stand was born the fifteenth
President of the United States; close by was born William
Findlay, who became Governor of Pennsylvania; in this vil
lage was born Thomas A. Scott, who became the greatest cap
tain of industry of his age. I speak only of those who were
born in this immediate vicinity. All of them distinguished
not only for their ability, but for their integrity; not one of
them, however, exceeded the gentleman who will next address
you, in displaying fidelity to duty. The next speaker, who
was born right here, when he had scarcely reached his major
ity was ch0sen as the public prosecutor of the commonwealth
of this county. This jwsi tion he filled for nine years; after
wards he represented this district in Congress for two consecu-

38
tive terms ; when a little over forty years of age he was chosen?
the premier in the Cabinet of the Governor of his state. In
every position he reflected honor upon this the place of his
birth. He comes to us today from the City of Brotherly Love
to mingle with his boyhood friends and acquaintances, and he
has chosen as the subject of his remarks "Then and Now."
I have the honor of presenting to you the Honorable William.
S. Stenger, of Philadelphia.
The Address of Hon. W. S. Stenger.
It is fitting that we commemorate the pioneers of civiliza
tion in this neighborhood. A century and a half has elapsed
since they erected the forts for the protection of the frontier
settlements. The world takes little note of what they did
then. Some historians have even failed to mention Fort
Loudon. It is with great pleasure, therefore, that I acknowledge for
myself and for you, our deep obligation to the gentlemen who,.
with praiseworthy, persistent industry, have gleaned the facts,
from whatever sources are available, which relate to this par
ticular fort and which constitute the authority for the work we
are performing today. They deserve infinite credit for their
-efforts, now happily crowned with success, to pay this long-
delayed, but well-deserved tribute to the memory of the early
settlers of this part of the county. I am especially grateful
for the reason that because of these details my remarks may
take a wider scope.
There is no pen sketch describing the appearance of this
section when this fort was erected. There is no photographic
picture of it. We cannot "view the landscape o'er" as it was
then. The earlier records are lost, and as to the landscape,
historians have relied chiefly upon tradition. One of them.
tells us that "a great part of the best lands in the Conoco
cheaque Valley were, at the first settlement of the county, what
is now called in the western states prairie. The land was
without timber, covered with a rich, luxuriant grass with some-

39
scattered trees, hazel bushes, wild plums and crab apples. It
was then generally called barrens.''
Another cites a letter written in 1748, which says: "in
this neighborhood (on the Cono-go-gig) there are very fine
lande for cultivation and pasture, exceedingly fruitful without
the application of manures. The Turkish corn (Indian maize)
grows to the height of ten feet and higher, and the grasses are
remarkably fine."
In those days there was an old military road from Ship
pensburg to Fort Loudon and thence over the mountains to
Bedford and still further west on which "transportation was
done by pack-horses, each carrying about 200 pounds." In
,1755 the province of Pennsylvania made a broad wagon road
from Fort Loudon westward, which General Forbes and Colonel
Bouquet and others used in their western explorations. Upon
that road, for the greater part of its length, the present Cham
bersburg and Pittsburgh turnpike was built. The means and
opportunities of communication with the outer world by letters
were practically none. Not until 1788 did the government
extend mail facilities to this section, and then it
'^Resolved, That the Postmaster General be and is hereby
directed to employ posts for the regular transportation of the
mail between the city of Philadelphia and the town of Pitts
burgh in the State of Pennsylvania, by the route of Lancaster,
Yorktown, Carlisle," Chamberstown and Bedford, and that the
¦ mail be dispatched once in each fortnight from the said post-
offices respectively."
The first settlers were here twenty or thirty years before
this fort was built, and it is probable that they had cleared
and cultivated much of the land prior to that time and lived
in comparative safety. But certain it is that the period of the
French and Indian War — from 1744 to 1766, and several years
after — was a time that sorely tried the souls of men and women
all through the valley. Here and westward were the moun
tains and great forests through which the Indians roamed and
from which they stealthily emerged to harass the settlements
and maltreat and torture and mercilessly massacre the inhabi
tants.

40
The white men felled the forests, cleared and cultivated
the ground, sowed their grain, harvested their crops, attended
to their cattle and performed their other duties under constant
apprehension of the incursions of their savage foes. The wom
en, with patient endurance, conducted their household affairs
in mortal terror, and when danger threatened both men and
women sprang to arms to safeguard their families and homes.
The forts were their places of refuge for defense.
Pennsylvania was then a colony under the dominion of
¦Great Britain, with a sparsely settled population. The gov
ernment gave little protection to the individual. The means
of subsistence, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness de
pended largely, if not entirely, upon the strong arms and
stout hearts of the settlers. It is to them their descendants
must attribute in no stinted measure the security and prosper
ity they now enjoy, and this tablet is erected in honor of their
virtues and valor and as a perpetual reminder of the trials to
which they were subjocted, the difficulties they surmounted,
the hardships they endured, the sacrifices they made, the
splendid heroism they exhibited, the success they achieved,
the simple lives they lived and the horrible deaths many of
them died.
Some historians and writers of fiction have depicted tha
lot of the Indian in being driven from his happy hunting
grounds as a hard and cruel fate. Admit the fact. But the
atrocities of which he was guilty and the wholesale massacres
in which he vented his blood-thirsty spirit, the undying hatred
which he harbored against the white race, called not only for
the punishment of the individual, but also for the expulsion
of the tribes and the gradual extermination of the race.
It was his own inhuman conduct that formulated the ex
pression of his enemy : "The best Indian is a dead Indian."
Shakespeare says :
"The great King of kings
Hath in the table of His law commanded
That thou shalt do no murder.
Take heed; for He holds vengeance in His hand
To hurl upon their heads who break His law."

41
When I think of the expulsion of the red man who found
his supreme delight in satisfying his taste for human blood by
the persistent murder of unoffending man and innocent women
and children, and then of the coming of the white racp through
which the innumerable blessings of the highest civilization-
have been showered upon this land, I wonder whether this
marvelous change may not be attributed to and its significance
found in the utterance of the Almighty Ruler of the Universe
and Arbiter of the destinies of men and nations when He said :
"Vengeance is mine; I will repay." Whether this be true or
not, the removal of the Indian was a necessity to insure the
onward march of civilization.
What a change in the appearance of the valley today !
One continous stretch of well- tilled, fertile farms from the Sus"
quebanna to the Potomac — beautiful homes dotting the land!-'
scape, villages and boroughs within easy reach of each othefj,.
perfect hives of industry. Roads leading everywhere, railways^
telegraph and telephone wires. No weary waste or dreary
wilderness now, but a smiling land possessed by a happy and
prosperous people. It may be of interest to come down to a
time within the memory of the oldest of living men and note
some of the conditions which obtained in their boyhood days,-
vast improvements on those which confronted the early settlers,
but by no means up to the standard of those of the present
time. I look into many strange faces today and yet I do not
feel that I am a stranger ; this is my birthplace. Many of the
surroundings are familiar. The mountains still skirt the vil
lage. The Conococheague still flows through it. The turnpike
and the school-house lane are the same. The spring on the
mountainside still sends its pure water under the street as it has
done for more than a hundred years. Most of the houses are
the same and many who are in attendance here are descendants
of men and women whom I knew in my youth and early man
hood, in whose hearts love and truth and honor dwelt. NoWjt
alas ! many of them lie in the village churchyard.

42
No doubt many of the boyhood sports and diversions of
those days still continue — playing ball and marbles, hide and
seek and other games, making willow whistles, flying kites,
bathing in the race, fishing in the creek, making sly incursions
into orchards, lighting bonfires on election nights and perhaps
barring out the schoolmaster. And their more useful occupa
tions — picking berries in field or on the mountain, gathering
nuts, driving the cows to and from pasture, learning to ride
and care for the horses, doing innumerable household errands
and chores, and attending school by day, in which the rod was
not spared, and spelling bees at night which lasted until only
one boy or girl stood upon the floor.
And what of the men and women ? Many of the condi
tions and characteristics of their time seem primitive and old-
fashioned now. Permit me to note some of them. The paper
on which their letters were written was folded, superscribed
with the address and sealed with a wafer. They dried the ink
of the le ters with sand. They paid the postage in money on
sending them as well as on their receipt if it had not been paid
by the sender. They read by the light of the tallow candle,
which necessitated the use of the snuffers. They cut their grass
with the sickle or mowing scythe, and threshed their grain with
the flail. Some smoked cigars — "tobies" four or five for a
penny, "half Spanish" two for a penny and "sixes" a cent
apiece ; some chewed and smoked plug tobacco and others
found delight in taking a pinch of snuff". They went to the
local shoemaker to have their shoes made and repaired. A
local tailor made and mended their suits of clothing.
They sought relaxation from work in hunting and shoot
ing squirrels, rabbits, wild pigeons, wild turkeys, and wild cats,
opossums, foxes, bears and deer. They had lighter diversions
too, such as pitching horse shoes and quoits, playing checkers,
chess and dominoes. The women practiced spinning, knitted
socks and mittens, gathered in small parties for quilting, sew
ing carpet rags and indulgmg in a little harmless gossip, took

43
systematic exercise upon the piano to acquire skill in music,
conducted their household affairs in person or with the aid of
willing servants who didn't "give notice" every few days, sent
the children to the Sunday schools, attended churches regu
larly and presided over their homes with the utmost content
ment and with no thought of female suffrage. And "quite a
few" enjoyed smoking the pipe behind the stove or door.
Wives did not sit up late at night waiting for husbands to come
in, because husbands did not stay out late at night. They were
early to bed and early to rise.
A line of stage coaches drawn by four horses ran along
this road morning and evening, their approach signalled by the
blowing of a horn, carrying passengers between Chambersburg
and Pittsburgh. The Conestoga wagons, drawn by six or eight
horses, conveyed merchandise to the storekeepers between these
points. ' The wagoners used the whip, for the making of which
Loudon was once famous. The taverns for their accommoda
tion were many and located very few miles apart. Let me turn
to some of the present conditions. Letters come and go in en
velopes sealed with mucilage. Blotters take the place of sand.
Postage stamps are furnished by the government. The mail is
brought to the village once or twice a day and the Rural Free
Delivery brings the mail to the farmers' doors. The spinning
-wheel has gone to the garret. Sewing is done on the machine.
The piano player and phonograph produce the music without
any skill on the part of the performer and exhibitor. Suits for
both sexes, big or little, thin or fat, young or old, are sold,
ready made, for millions. Cigarettes have supplemented cigars
and prices of cigars and tobacco have gone soaring in company
with the capital of the tobacco trust. Chewing gum has come
into fashion. Oil lamps and electricity furnish the light. Hy
drants are in the yards and bath-tubs in the houses. Reapers
and binders and threshing machines have supplanted the sickle,
mowing scythe and cradle. Wildcats, foxes, bears and deer are
rarely seen. The stage coaches have served their day. The

44
Conestoga wagons are out of date. Railroad? carry passenger*
and freight and the blasts on the mountain foretell the coming:
of the trolley. The bicycle, motor-cycle and automobile are in
constant use. The telegraph and telephone have annihilated
both space and time. The taverns are called hotels, or inns^
and the old turnpike, now free of toll, has become the Lincoln.
highway. Let me take a glance at the progress of the county, com
monwealth and nation. The county has grown in population
until it numbers more than sixty thousand. Its county seat is-
one of the most beautiful, busy, well-regulated and prosperous
boroughs in the commonwealth. It has given to the state a
Governor born within six miles, and to the nation a President
born within three miles of this village. It has furnished the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company with the best equipped presi
dent it ever had, born right here. Its bar has been filled with
able^and distinguished lawyers. It has had a line of Judges
who have uniformly held the scale of justice even, and at this
end of the line, I am proud and glad to recognize my good
friend who presides over this meeting. It has placed upon the
Supreme bench of the commonwealth three Judges, who have
discharged their duties with fidelity and signal ability. Its
physicians and surgeons have been faithful workers in their
field of duty, many of them distinguished for their skill and
knowledge. Its farmers have proved their industry and fit
ness for their occupation by the improved conditions of their
lands^and the products they send to market. It has founded
colleges for girls and boys which have met with extraordinary
success^and gained a wide reputation. It has further extended
the privileges and blessings of education to the masses by the
building of school houses and the establishment of schools
within^the convenient reach of all. Its soldiers proved their
courage and won renown on many battlefields in the War of
1812, the Mexican War and the War of the Rebellion. Many
of them were killed in battle or died of wounds and disease^

45
The survivors of that last great struggle are held in highest
respect and honor, and none more than the veteran commander
of the Sixth Pennsylvania Reserves, who finds a cordial wel-
eome and marshals the assemblage here today. Its churches
are many and of all denominations, and its people, industrious,
intelligent and brave, believe, with the great founder of our
commonwealth, that "religious toleration is essential to the
happiness of the human race." Its ministers are true repre
sentatives of their high calling. God-fearing men who labor
zealously, as did their predecessors from the time of the first
settlements, for the salvation of those committed to their charge.
It is no small privilege to be a citizen of Franklin county.
Taking a survey of the state, what a wonderful change
greets our vision ! The colony of Penn has become a great
commonwealth. The first state census (1790) gave it a popu
lation of 434,373. The census of today would give it more
than eight millions. The province was divided into three
counties. The state contains sixty- seven. The traveler looks
npon a panorama of crowded cities, thriving towns and villages,
variegated scenery of mountains, valleys, rivers and lakes, im
mense rich beds of iron ore and mines of coal, huge manufac
turing plants representing manifold industries, fields of tobacco,
beautiful farms yielding large crops, and tracts of fine timber
land. It has 11,460 miles of railroad, exceeding every other
state in the Union. Its every county is criss crossed by tele
graph and telephone wires. It is educating the people for in
tellectual and industrial pursuits in Universities, Colleges,
Academies and common schools. The legal and medical pro
fessions are being constantly filled by graduates from its law
and medical schools. It is caring for its sick, insane, poor and
helpless in hospitals, sanitariums, asylums and specially pro
vided homes.
A striking demonstration of the patriotic sentiment in the
colony and its growth in the state afterwards is noticeable in the
several seals which have been adopted. The Proprietary Seal

46
was circular with a crescent moon in the centre, the word
"M.eTcj" in the upper part and the word "Justice" in the lower
part, and around it "William Penn, proprietor and governor of
Pennsylvania." It was typical of his kindness and square
dealing with the Indians which resulted in the Sbackamaxon
treaty. The Seal of the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety in
1775 contained a pole in the centre mounted with a liberty cap
and around it the words : "This is my right, and I will defend
it." The early protest against the tyranny of Great Britain.
In the Seal of the Assembly in 1776 was a bundle of sticks,
thirteen in number, and the inscription, "Liberty, Safety and
Peace," the sentiment of the thirteen colonies. On the reverse
side of the present seal is a maiden representing the Goddess of
Liberty, with sword in right hand and pole mounted by Lib
erty cap in her left hand, a lion crouching at her feet, one foot
upon its head and around the circle the motto : "Both can't
survive — typical of the determination to be free or die in the
attempt. On the obverse side there is a shield on which are a
ship in full sail, a plough and sheaves. Around it are a stalk
of corn and branch of fruit, and on the top is an eagle with
wings extended. Around the circle, "Seal of the State of Penn
sylvania." All taken together are typical of the patriotism
and prosperity of the people of the commonwealth.
I cannot speak at length of the changes that have been
wrought in the country at large. The subject is too big for
my time and your patience. I can only take a hasty glance at
them. The colonies were thirteen ; the states forty- eight. The
census of 1790 gave a population of less than four millions.
We now have more than one hundred millions. The colonies
had no railroads. The United States have 250,000 miles of
them. Science and the inventive genius of man have accom
plished wonders at which human belief staggers. In medicine
there is no end of new theories and discoveries. From surgery
there is no escape for any part of the human body, outside or
inside. The x-ray searches every nook and corner of it. By

47
the application of steam, boats ply the rivers and lakes, and
ships sail the ocean. Morse invents the telegraph, and the
gross income of the Western Union for a year is about fifty
million dollars. Field lays the Atlantic cable, and the Old
and New World are brought together in an instant. Along
comes Marconi, and without the aid of wires flashes messages
over land and sea, succoring sinking ships, and vicing with the
cable in the transmission of news from continent to continent.
Bell invents the telephone, and the Bell system in the
United States has over sixteen million miles of wire. Orators,
actors, singers talk or sing into 'phones, and their voices, con
versations, speeches and songs are recorded and reproduced for
the entertainment of the public, and the discs are sold by the
million. And, wonder of wonders, the human voice with its
spoken message clearly recognizable, is carried thousands of
miles through the air by wireless telephony. Moving pictures
are exhibited everywhere for the instruction and delight of
millions, and in the United States alone, at the beginning of
this year, $500,000,000 had been invested in their production.
Electricity is produced to an extent that is phenomenal. It
furnishes light, heat and power, drawn from coal, culm and
waterfalls. It is rapidly becoming the rival of steam, in many
places supplanting it, and this generation is witnessing the
electrification of the railroads, the factories, the farms and the
homes of America. The Panama Canal unites the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans.
Aeroplanes and Zeppelins fly through the air with the ease
and grace of birds, and when on warlike mission bent, drop
bombs from great heights, on forts, cities and towns. If hos
tile machines meet, they fight their battles in the air. Sub
marines sail through the water, down hundreds of feet, for
many miles, and, rising to the surface for observation, launch
their death-dealing torpedoes. Minor inventions for all uses
contain, as sale bills say, "other articles too numerous to men
tion,"

48
And what a change has come since this fort was erected
in the government of the country. Then it was under the rule
and subject to the whims and caprices of a foreign monarch and
the tyranny of his parliament. The Declaration af Independ
ence, framed by the wisest minds of the Revolutionary era,
sundered the ties which bound it to the mother country and
proclaimed liberty throughout the land. The Revolution in
defense of its principles was the birth of a nation. A constitu
tion was formed which has been a model for the world to study
and admire, and the foundation of all the rights, privileges and
blessings we enjoy. It has welded the states into a Union that
the severe test of the Civil War has shown to be indissoluble^
It has proven to all mankind that a democratic form of gov
ernment is the best of all governments, and after the lapse of a
century and a quarter, the Republic still lives.
At this hour, when Europe is rocked to its centre and
deluged in blood by the greatest war of all time, the stars on
its banner shine alike for all the countries of the world, and, as
its crowning achievement, this one great neutral nation of the
world and the defender of the rights of man, has compelled
submission to the law of nations and the law of humanity.
Permit me a few words of a personal nature. I recall my
own happy boyhood days here where I was nurtured with lov
ing parental care and received nothing but kindness and en-
encouragement. I remember, too, my earlier manhood, when
my name was before the public for positions of honor and
trust, and the citizens of Loudon, irrespective of party, gave me
their enthusiastic support, and I cannot fail to mention that,
within the last three years, many strong men of the neighbor
hood generously came twice to my physical assistance in erect
ing buildings to replace those consumed by fire. With all
these recollections crowding upon me, I have come gladly and
-with gratitude in my heart, from the tumults and hurly- burly
of city life, to this dear old village near which some of my au-^

49
oestors and nearest kindred lie, to join in this appropriate
memorial celebration.
"Long, long be my heart with such memories filled,
Like the vase in which roses have been once distilled,
You may break, you may shatter the vase if you will.
But the scent of the roses will hang round it still."
On the Illustrations.
The picture of Col. John Armstrong, Sr., was furnished
by his great grandson, of Harrisburg, Pa., John Armstrong
Herman, Esq. It was copied from the painting in Independ
ence Hall, Philadelphia, Pa., and was evidently taken later
in life than 1756, when he superintended the erection of Fort
Loudon, As stated in the address of Dr, Cort, Col, Armstrong
afterwards became a General in the war of American Inde
pendence. The cut of Col. James Burd was furnished by Burd 8.
Patterson, of Pittsburgh, a descendant of Col. Burd and Sec
retary of the Western Pennsylvania Historical Society. It is
also from a painting of Gilbert Stuart, in possession of Mr.
Patterson, Col, Burd not only built the Forbes road from
Fort Loudon to the region of Latrobe, which Col, Washington
completed through the easier part of Westmoreland county to
connect with the Braddock road at Turtle Creek, He built the
road connecting the Forbes road with the Braddock road at
Brownsville, Red Stone, or Ford Burd, He also completed
Fort Augusta and commanded the troops in the last battle with
the French and Indians at Loyalhannah in 1758, which was of
greater importance than many suppose.
Note. — It is an interesting fact that both military organi
zations, trained by Colonel Bouquet in 1758 and 1763, etc.,
have been continued for over 150 years in the British service.
The Royal Americans are now known as the "King s Royal
Rifle Corps" and the 42d Highlanders as the "Black Watch.
In the Peninsular Campaign under Sir John Moore of the Na
poleonic War and in the battle of the Aisne under General
Kaig in the present European war they won renown by the
heroic courage shown at Bushy Run, August 6, 1763,

,lil'i-'>' .,

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