Shippensburg is a borough in Cumberland and Franklin counties in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Settled in 1730, Shippensburg lies in the Cumberland Valley, 41 miles (66 km) southwest of Harrisburg, and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,478 at the 2020 census.
Fort Pearsall was an early frontier fort constructed in 1756 in Romney, West Virginia to protect local settlers in the South Branch Potomac River valley against Native American raids. The area around present-day Romney had been settled as early as 1725 by hunters and traders in the valley.
Fort Loudoun was a fort in colonial Pennsylvania, one of several forts in colonial America named after John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun. The fort was built in 1756 during the French and Indian War by the Second Battalion of the Pennsylvania Regiment under Colonel John Armstrong, and served as a post on the Forbes Road during the Forbes expedition that successfully drove the French away from Fort Duquesne. The fort remained occupied through Pontiac's War and served as a base for Colonel Henry Bouquet's 1764 campaign. In the 1765 Black Boys Rebellion, Fort Loudoun was assaulted by angry settlers, when their guns were confiscated after they destroyed supplies intended for Native Americans. The garrison retreated to Fort Bedford and the fort was abandoned.
Fort Augusta was a stronghold in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the upper Susquehanna Valley from the time of the French and Indian War to the close of the American Revolution. At the time, it was the largest British fort in Pennsylvania, with earthen walls more than two hundred feet long topped by wooden fortifications. With a garrison of over 300 troops and walls specially constructed to resist artillery, it presented a formidable defense and was never attacked. It served as a refuge for local settlers during the French and Indian War and during the American Revolutionary War. It was abandoned in 1780 and dismantled in 1796.
James Burd was a colonial American soldier in the French and Indian War, during which he played an important role in fortifying the Pennsylvania frontier.
Manada Gap is an unincorporated community in East Hanover Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States, located in the Harrisburg-Carlisle area, near Fort Indiantown Gap.
Fort Granville was a militia stockade located in the colonial Province of Pennsylvania. Its site was about a mile from Lewistown, in what is now Granville Township, Mifflin County. Active from 1755 until 1756, the stockade briefly sheltered pioneer settlers in the Juniata River valley during the French and Indian War. The fort was attacked on August 2, 1756, by a mixed force of French troops and Native Americans, mostly Lenape warriors. The fort’s garrison surrendered the strongpoint to these attackers, who celebrated their victory and destroyed the stockade.
Fort Shirley was a military fort located in present-day Shirleysburg, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1755 by George Croghan and later maintained by the Province of Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War. Fort Shirley was part of a defensive line of forts built in Pennsylvania during 1755 and 1756, at the start of hostilities with the French and their allied Native Americans. Although two French and Native American war parties were sent to capture it, Fort Shirley was never attacked. The fort served as the launching site for the Kittanning Expedition in September 1756, after which it was abandoned.
Fort Hyndshaw was a fort in Middle Smithfield Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, built in 1756. It was the northernmost of a line of Pennsylvania defenses erected during the French and Indian War. The fort was abandoned by its militia garrison in July 1757, but was still used by local settlers as a refuge from Native American attacks, until June 1758 when it was captured by Native American warriors and its inhabitants were taken prisoner.
Fort Depuy, sometimes referred to in contemporary documents as Depui's Fort, Dupui's Fort, and various other spellings, is a fortified homestead located in Shawnee on Delaware, a village in Smithfield Township. It was one of many forts in Colonial Pennsylvania built in 1755 and 1756 during the French and Indian War following a series of attacks on local communities by Native Americans in December 1755. The fort never saw military action and was garrisoned from early 1756 until February 1757. After this, the fort was used only intermittently until the garrison was withdrawn to participate in the Forbes Expedition in May 1758. The fort was formally returned to the Depuy family in 1763.
William Clapham was an American military officer who participated in the construction of several forts in Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War. He was considered a competent commander in engagements with French troops and Native American warriors, but towards the end of his military career he was unpopular with troops under his command. Following his retirement from the army, he and his family were killed by Lenape warriors on his farm in 1763.
Fort Swatara was a stockaded blockhouse built during the French and Indian War in what is now Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Initially a farmstead surrounded by a stockade, provincial troops occupied it in January 1756. The fort safeguarded local farms, but a number of settlers were killed by small Native American war parties. The fort was abandoned in May 1758.
Fort Lyttleton, also known as Fort Littleton, was a militia stockade located in the colonial Province of Pennsylvania. Its site was about a mile from Fort Littleton, Pennsylvania, near Dublin Township, in what is now Fulton County, Pennsylvania. Active from 1755 until 1763, the stockade was initially garrisoned by 75 Pennsylvania troops but at times had as many as 225. It was in use until 1759, then abandoned and reoccupied briefly in 1763 during Pontiac's War.
Fort Allen was a military structure built in Franklin Township, in Carbon County, Pennsylvania in 1756. It was first of several frontier defenses erected by Benjamin Franklin for the Province of Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War. The garrison was rarely more than fifty men, and the fort never saw combat, however it became a center of contact and trade with Native Americans and served as a stopping point for Indians traveling to and from Bethlehem, Easton and Philadelphia. It was abandoned in 1761 near the end of the French and Indian War, and briefly reoccupied during Pontiac's War and again during the American Revolutionary War.
Fort Hunter was a military fort located in present-day Fort Hunter, Pennsylvania. It was initially a stockaded gristmill fortified by Samuel Hunter in 1755 and later enlarged and maintained by the Province of Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War. Fort Hunter was part of a defensive line of forts built in Pennsylvania during 1755 and 1756, at the start of hostilities with the French and their allied Native Americans. It was briefly used during Pontiac's War, then abandoned in 1763.
Fort Lebanon was a Pennsylvania stockade fort built in December 1755 and designed to provide protection for settlers' families during the French and Indian War. However, Native American war parties often attacked nearby farms and killed settlers, disappearing before the fort's troops could respond. The garrison was sometimes fewer than 25 men as troops were transferred for temporary duty elsewhere, meaning that the fort had little manpower for patrols or to pursue attackers. The fort was renamed Fort William in mid-1757. In May 1758, the garrison was transferred and the fort was never re-occupied.
Fort Henry was a stockade fort built in early 1756 in Berks County, Pennsylvania, to protect local settlers from Native American war parties, which were raiding the area frequently during the French and Indian War. It was one of the larger forts built in a defensive line, 12-20 miles apart, intended to safeguard the more densely-populated communities of the eastern Province of Pennsylvania. It was abandoned in 1759, and then briefly put back into use in 1763 during Pontiac's War.
Fort Franklin was a stockaded fort constructed at the order of Benjamin Franklin in 1756, in response to a series of raids by Native American war parties on Pennsylvania settlements in late 1755, in particular the Great Cove massacre and the Gnadenhütten massacre. The fort was intended to provide protection for settlers' families during the French and Indian War, however the fort was poorly built, located in a sparsely-populated area, and stood in a vulnerable position to the north of the Blue Mountain Ridge in Pennsylvania. Located halfway between Fort Allen and Fort Lebanon, it was one in a chain of defensive posts running from the New Jersey border, southwest to the Maryland border, when attacks on settlements were frequent at the beginning of the French and Indian War. The fort never saw military action and was abandoned in late 1757.
Fort Norris was a stockaded fort built at the orders of Benjamin Franklin in early 1756 in what is now Monroe County, Pennsylvania, following a series of attacks on local communities by Native Americans in December 1755. Construction was initiated in late January, at the same time that neighboring forts Allen, Hamilton, and Franklin were being built. The fort was named for Isaac Norris, speaker of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, who was a member of the planning committee charged with designing defenses in preparation for the French and Indian war. Located about fifteen miles east of Fort Allen, it was one in a chain of defensive posts running from the New Jersey border, southwest to the Maryland border, when attacks on settlements were frequent at the beginning of the French and Indian War. The fort never saw military action and was abandoned in late 1758.
Fort Hamilton was a stockaded fort built during the French and Indian War to protect Pennsylvania settlers in the area of what is now Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. The fort was named for James Hamilton, former Mayor of Philadelphia, and former and subsequent Deputy Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania. The fort never saw military action and was abandoned in 1757.
