Redstone Old Fort, Brownsville P.A.

Redstone Old Fort or Redstone Fort or (for a short time when built) Fort Burd on the Nemacolin Trail, was the name of the French and Indian War-era wooden ...fort built in 1759 by Virginia militia colonel James Burd to guard the ancient Indian trail's river ford on a mound overlooking the eastern shore of the Monongahela River (colloquially, just "the Mon") in what is now Fayette County, Pennsylvania near, or (more likely) on the banks of Dunlap's Creek at the confluence. The site is unlikely to be the same as an earlier fort the French document as Hangard dated to 1754 and which was confusedly, likely located on the nearby stream called Redstone Creek. Red sandstones predominate the deposited rock column of the entire region. History Early trail improvements Geopolitically, Redstone was a frequent point of embarkation to cross the Monongahela River for travelers who had crossed the Alleghenies or were heading west via the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers by boat. Its strategic importance had long been recognized and used by the Indians, and it was a target terminus of Braddock's Road during the French and Indian War. Redstone Old Fort was the terminus of an Indian trail which settlers improved around the 1750. They afterward called it Nemacolin's Trail, named after the Indian chief who assisted the improvement through the mountain pass. From this area, travelers could travel by water downstream on the Monongahela river to what is now Pittsburgh, or overland, by trails that later became Brownsville Road to the same destination. The fortress site was chosen to guard and command the crossing point of the formidable east-west obstacle of the Monongahela River along the route of an Indian trail from the Potomac Riveralong one of the few mountain passes allowing traffic between the Ohio Country and the eastern seaboard cities. During 1749 and 1750, the Delaware Indian chief Nemacolin and Maryland frontiersman Thomas Cresap supervised improving the trail from the east to Redstone Creek, but Chief Nemacolin was a continuing presence in the war against the Mingo and Shawnee, and anecdotes place him at Nemacolin Castle waiting for Colonel Burd. French and Indian War Col. James Burd ordered construction of the fort in 1759 on an earthwork mound left behind by prehistoric Indians, known as the Mound Builders. The American colonists called these mounds "old forts", and this one had large red sandstone blocks that had been placed at the top, suggesting the site had been a fortress of some kind. It was also, after the area was settled, the site of the local settlement of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and the place they called "Redstone Meeting". Around this time (1750s1760s) a far sighted businessman-farmer, anticipating that any settlements west of the Alleghenies had to funnel down Nemacolin's Trail to the River crossing acted to acquire ownership of the lands, which ultimately gave the area its later historic and current name: Brownsville, Pennsylvania. Brown himself did not move to the lands but acted as landlord and real estate magnate, selling much of the land piecemeal, and large plots to Jacob Bowman, who became a prime mover in the tremendous industrial development of the town. Lord Dunmore's War Redstone Old Fort proved significant in the Colony of Virginia's war against the Mingo and Shawnee tribes, known as Lord Dunmore's War (1774-1775). It was occupied by Capt. Michael Cresap, owner of a trading post, to prevent the local Shawnee from controlling it. Under authority of the colonial government of Virginia, Cresap had taken up extensive tracts of land at and below the mouth of Middle Island Creek (now Sistersville, West Virginia). He had gone there in the early spring of 1774 with a party of men to settle his holdings. Ebenezer Zane, afterward a famed Indian fighter and guide, was engaged at the same time and in the same way with a small party of men on lands which he had taken up at or near the mouth of Sandy Creek. A group under the command of James Harrod left the fort 25 May 1774 going down river to settle lands in Kentucky, but returned to the fort due to the threat from the Shawnee.[4] A third and larger group that included George Rogers Clark, had gathered at the mouth of the Little Kanawha River (the present site of Parkersburg, West Virginia). They were waiting there for the arrival of other Virginians who were expected to join them at that point before moving downriver to settle lands in Kentucky. After the American Revolution In 1789, historic Nemacolin Castle, trading post, and tavern was built up on the bluff about 0.75 miles to the east along Burd's Road (the western stretch of The Nemacolin Trail through Brownsville and across Washington County to Wheeling, West Virginia eastwards to the junction with Braddock's Road in Uniontown by Bowman near Redstone Old Fort and this crossing, at what became a major link in the first National Road at what is today the towns of West Brownsville and Brownsville. The early settlement around the fort also came to be called Redstone, but eventually became known as Brownsville, Pennsylvania after its farsighted developer Thomas Brown. The use of "Redstone" devolved to apply to just one of its neighborhoods. Redstone Old Fort is mentioned in C. M. Ewing's The Causes of That So Called Whiskey Insurrection of 1794 (1930) as being the site of a July 27, 1791, meeting in "Opposition to the Whiskey Excise Tax," during the Whiskey Rebellion. It was the first illegal meeting of that insurrection. In 1803 Meriwether Lewis mentioned Redstone Old Fort in a letter to President Thomas Jefferson, in which he detailed his route from Harper's Ferry to Pittsburgh. William Trent established the Hangard in JanuaryFebruary 1754 before moving on to join the construction crew working to build a fort on the Forks of the Ohio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redstone_Old_Fort

December 7, 1941 > The Attack On Pearl Harbor : The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the U...nited States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan). The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II. The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. There were simultaneous Japanese attacks on the U.S.-held Philippines and on the British Empire in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong. From the standpoint of the defenders, the attack commenced at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian Time. The base was attacked by 353 Japanese fighter planes, bombers, and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four being sunk. All but one (Arizona) were later raised, and six of the eight battleships were returned to service and went on to fight in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship,and one mine layer. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded. Important base installations such as the power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the intelligence section) were not attacked. Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five midget submarines lost, and 65 servicemen killed or wounded. One Japanese sailor was captured. The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters. The following day, December 8, the United States declared war on Japan. Domestic support for non-interventionism, which had been strong, disappeared. Clandestine support of Britain (e.g., the Neutrality Patrol) was replaced by active alliance. Subsequent operations by the U.S. prompted Germany and Italy to declare war on the U.S. on December 11, which was reciprocated by the U.S. the same day. Years later several writers alleged that parties high in the U.S. and British governments knew of the attack in advance and may have let it happen (or even encouraged it) with the aim of bringing America into war. However, this advance-knowledge conspiracy theory is rejected by mainstream historians. There were numerous historical precedents for unannounced military action by Japan. However, the lack of any formal warning, particularly while negotiations were still apparently ongoing, led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proclaim December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy". Because the attack happened without a declaration of war and without explicit warning, the attack on Pearl Harbor was judged by the Tokyo Trials to be a war crime. Diplomatic background The attack on Pearl Harbor was intended to neutralize the U.S. Pacific Fleet, and hence protect Japan's advance into Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, where it sought access to natural resources such as oil and rubber. War between Japan and the United States had been a possibility of which each nation had been aware (and developed contingency plans for) since the 1920s, though tensions did not begin to grow seriously until Japan's 1931 invasion of Manchuria. Over the next decade, Japan continued to expand into China, leading to all-out war between those countries in 1937. Japan spent considerable effort trying to isolate China and achieve sufficient resource independence to attain victory on the mainland; the "Southern Operation" was designed to assist these efforts. From December 1937, events such as the Japanese attack on the USS Panay, the Allison incident, and the Nanking Massacre (the International Military Tribunal of the Far East concluded that more than 200,000 Chinese non-combatants were killed in indiscriminate massacres, though other estimates have ranged from 40,000 to more than 300,000) swung public opinion in the West sharply against Japan. Fearing Japanese expansion, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France provided loan assistance for war supply contracts to the Republic of China. In 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina in an effort to control supplies reaching China. The United States halted shipments of airplanes, parts, machine tools, and aviation gasoline to Japan, which was perceived by Japan as an unfriendly act. The U.S. did not stop oil exports to Japan at that time in part because prevailing sentiment in Washington was that such an action would be an extreme step, given Japanese dependence on U.S. oil, and likely to be considered a provocation by Japan. Early in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the Pacific Fleet to Hawaii from its previous base in San Diego and ordered a military buildup in the Philippines in the hope of discouraging Japanese aggression in the Far East. Because the Japanese high command was (mistakenly) certain that any attack on Britain's Southeast Asian colonies would bring the U.S. into war, a devastating preventive strike appeared to be the only way to avoid U.S. naval interference. An invasion of the Philippines was also considered necessary by Japanese war planners. The U.S. War Plan Orange had envisioned defending the Philippines with a 40,000-man elite force. This was opposed by Douglas MacArthur, who felt that he would need a force ten times that size, and was never implemented. By 1941, U.S. planners anticipated abandonment of the Philippines at the outbreak of war and orders to that effect were given in late 1941 to Admiral Thomas Hart, commander of the Asiatic Fleet. The U.S. ceased oil exports to Japan in July 1941, following Japanese expansion into French Indochina after the fall of France, in part because of new American restrictions on domestic oil consumption. This in turn caused the Japanese to proceed with plans to take the Dutch East Indies, an oil-rich territory. On 17 August, Roosevelt warned Japan that the U.S. was prepared to take steps against Japan if it attacked "neighboring countries". The Japanese were faced with the option of either withdrawing from China and losing face or seizing and securing new sources of raw materials in the resource-rich, European-controlled colonies of Southeast Asia. Japan and the U.S. engaged in negotiations during the course of 1941 in an effort to improve relations. During these negotiations, Japan offered to withdraw from most of China and Indochina when peace was made with the Nationalist government, adopt an independent interpretation of the Tripartite Pact, and not to discriminate in trade provided all other countries reciprocated. Washington rejected these proposals. Japanese Prime Minister Konoye then offered to personally meet with Roosevelt, but Roosevelt insisted on coming to an agreement before any meeting.The U.S. ambassador to Japan repeatedly urged Roosevelt to accept the meeting, warning that it was the only way to preserve the conciliatory Konoye government and peace in the Pacific. His recommendation was not acted upon. The Konoye government collapsed the following month when the Japanese military refused to agree to the withdrawal of all troops from China. Japan's final proposal, on 20 November, offered to withdraw their forces from southern Indochina and not to launch any attacks in Southeast Asia provided that the U.S., Britain, and the Netherlands ceased aiding China and lifted their sanctions against Japan. The American counter-proposal of 26 November (November 27 in Japan) (the Hull note) required Japan to evacuate all of China without conditions and conclude non-aggression pacts with Pacific powers. However the day before the Hull Note was delivered, on November 26 in Japan, the main Japanese attack fleet left port for Pearl Harbor. Military planning Preliminary planning for an attack on Pearl Harbor to protect the move into the "Southern Resource Area" (the Japanese term for the Dutch East Indies and Southeast Asia generally) had begun very early in 1941 under the auspices of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, then commanding Japan's Combined Fleet. He won assent to formal planning and training for an attack from the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff only after much contention with Naval Headquarters, including a threat to resign his command. Full-scale planning was underway by early spring 1941, primarily by Rear Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka, with assistance from Captain Minoru Genda and Yamamoto's Deputy Chief of Staff, Captain Kameto Kuroshima. The planners studied the 1940 British air attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto intensively. Over the next several months, pilots trained, equipment was adapted, and intelligence collected. Despite these preparations, Emperor Hirohito did not approve the attack plan until November 5, after the third of four Imperial Conferences called to consider the matter. Final authorization was not given by the emperor until December 1, after a majority of Japanese leaders advised him the "Hull Note" would "destroy the fruits of the China incident, endanger Manchukuo and undermine Japanese control of Korea." By late 1941, many observers believed that hostilities between the U.S. and Japan were imminent. A Gallup poll just before the attack on Pearl Harbor found that 52% of Americans expected war with Japan, 27% did not, and 21% had no opinion.While U.S. Pacific bases and facilities had been placed on alert on many occasions, U.S. officials doubted Pearl Harbor would be the first target; instead, they expected the Philippines would be attacked first. This presumption was due to the threat that the air bases throughout the country and the naval base at Manila posed to sea lanes, as well as to the shipment of supplies to Japan from territory to the south. They also incorrectly believed that Japan was not capable of mounting more than one major naval operation at a time. Ever since the Japanese attack, there has been debate as to how and why the United States had been caught unaware, and how much and when American officials knew of Japanese plans and related topics. Several writers, including journalist Robert Stinnett and former United States rear admiral Robert Alfred Theobald, have argued that various parties high in the U.S. and British governments knew of the attack in advance and may even have let it happen or encouraged it in order to force America into war via the so-called "back door." However, this Pearl Harbor advance-knowledge conspiracy theory is rejected by mainstream historians. Objectives The attack had several major aims. First, it intended to destroy important American fleet units, thereby preventing the Pacific Fleet from interfering with Japanese conquest of the Dutch East Indies and Malaya. Second, it was hoped to buy time for Japan to consolidate its position and increase its naval strength before shipbuilding authorized by the 1940 Vinson-Walsh Act erased any chance of victory. Finally, it was meant to deliver a severe blow to American morale, one which would discourage Americans from committing to a war extending into the western Pacific Ocean and Dutch East Indies. To maximize the effect on morale, battleships were chosen as the main targets, since they were the prestige ships of any navy at the time. The overall intention was to enable Japan to conquer Southeast Asia without interference. Striking the Pacific Fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor carried two distinct disadvantages: the targeted ships would be in very shallow water, so it would be relatively easy to salvage and possibly repair them; and most of the crews would survive the attack, since many would be on shore leave or would be rescued from the harbor. A further important disadvantagethis of timing, and known to the Japanesewas the absence from Pearl Harbor of all three of the U.S. Pacific Fleet's aircraft carriers (Enterprise, Lexington, and Saratoga). IJN top command was so imbued with Admiral Mahan's "decisive battle" doctrineespecially that of destroying the maximum number of battleshipsthat, despite these concerns, Yamamoto decided to press ahead. Japanese confidence in their ability to achieve a short, victorious war also meant other targets in the harbor, especially the navy yard, oil tank farms, and submarine base, were ignored, sinceby their thinkingthe war would be over before the influence of these facilities would be felt. Approach and attack On November 26, 1941, a Japanese task force (the Striking Force) of six aircraft carriersAkagi, Kaga, Sry, Hiry, Shkaku, and Zuikakudeparted northern Japan en route to a position northwest of Hawaii, intending to launch its 408 aircraft to attack Pearl Harbor: 360 for the two attack waves and 48 on defensive combat air patrol (CAP), including nine fighters from the first wave. The first wave was to be the primary attack, while the second wave was to attack carriers as first objective and cruisers as second one, afterward second wave was to attack battleships.The first wave carried most of the weapons to attack capital ships, mainly specially adapted Type 91 aerial torpedoes which were designed with an anti-roll mechanism and a rudder extension that let them operate in shallow water. The aircrews were ordered to select the highest value targets (battleships and aircraft carriers) or, if these were not present, any other high value ships (cruisers and destroyers). First wave dive bombers were to attack ground targets. Fighters were ordered to strafe and destroy as many parked aircraft as possible to ensure they did not get into the air to intercept the bombers, especially in the first wave. When the fighters' fuel got low they were to refuel at the aircraft carriers and return to combat. Fighters were to serve CAP duties where needed, especially over U.S. airfields. Before the attack commenced, two reconnaissance aircraft launched from cruisers Chikuma and Tone were sent to scout over Oahu and Maui and report on U.S. fleet composition and location. Reconnaissance aircraft flights risked alerting the U.S., and were not necessary. U.S. fleet composition and preparedness information in Pearl Harbor was already known due to the reports of the Japanese spy Takeo Yoshikawa. A report of the absence of the U.S. fleet in Lahaina anchorage off Maui was received from the fleet submarine I-72.[58] Another four scout planes patrolled the area between the Japanese carrier force (the Kido Butai) and Niihau, to detect any counterattack. Submarines Fleet submarines I-16, I-18, I-20, I-22, and I-24 each embarked a Type A midget submarine for transport to the waters off Oahu. The five I-boats left Kure Naval District on November 25, 1941. On December 6, they came to within 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) of the mouth of Pearl Harbor[62] and launched their midget subs at about 01:00[clarification needed] on December 7. At 03:42Hawaiian Time, the minesweeper Condor spotted a midget submarine periscope southwest of the Pearl Harbor entrance buoy and alerted the destroyer Ward.[65] The midget may have entered Pearl Harbor. However, Ward sank another midget submarine at 06:37 in the first American shots in the Pacific Theater. A midget submarine on the north side of Ford Island missed the seaplane tender Curtiss with her first torpedo and missed the attacking destroyer Monaghan with her other one before being sunk by Monaghan at 08:43. A third midget submarine grounded twice, once outside the harbor entrance and again on the east side of Oahu, where it was captured on December 8. Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki swam ashore and was captured by Hawaii National Guard Corporal David Akui, becoming the first Japanese prisoner of war.A fourth had been damaged by a depth charge attack and was abandoned by its crew before it could fire its torpedoes. Japanese forces received a radio message from a midget submarine at 00:41 on December 8 claiming damage to one or more large war vessels inside Pearl Harbor. The fifth midget submarine was found in three parts in 1992, 2000 and 2001 by Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory's submarines outside Pearl Harbor within U.S. amphibious warfare debris field. Both torpedoes were missing and their fate correlates to the reports of firing two torpedoes at light cruiser St. Louis at 10:04 at Pearl Harbor entrance and possible torpedo firing at destroyer Helm at 08:21. Japanese declaration of war See also: Japanese war crimes The attack took place before any formal declaration of war was made by Japan, but this was not Admiral Yamamoto's intention. He originally stipulated that the attack should not commence until thirty minutes after Japan had informed the United States that peace negotiations were at an end. The Japanese tried to uphold the conventions of war while still achieving surprise, but the attack began before the notice could be delivered. Tokyo transmitted the 5,000-word notification (commonly called the "14-Part Message") in two blocks to the Japanese Embassy in Washington, but transcribing the message took too long for the Japanese ambassador to deliver it in time. (In fact, U.S. code breakers had already deciphered and translated most of the message hours before he was scheduled to deliver it.) The final part of the "14 Part Message" is sometimes described as a declaration of war. While it neither declared war nor severed diplomatic relations, it was viewed by a number of senior U.S government and military officials as a very strong indicator that negotiations were likely to be terminated , and that war might break out at any moment.A declaration of war was printed on the front page of Japan's newspapers in the evening edition of December 8,but not delivered to the U.S. government until the day after the attack. For decades, conventional wisdom held that Japan attacked without any official warning of a break in relations only because of accidents and bumbling that delayed the delivery of a document hinting at war to Washington. In 1999, however, Takeo Iguchi, a professor of law and international relations at International Christian University in Tokyo, discovered documents that pointed to a vigorous debate inside the government over how, and indeed whether, to notify Washington of Japan's intention to break off negotiations and start a war, including a December 7 entry in the war diary saying, "our deceptive diplomacy is steadily proceeding toward success." Of this, Iguchi said, "The diary shows that the army and navy did not want to give any proper declaration of war, or indeed prior notice even of the termination of negotiations ... and they clearly prevailed ! Click on this link for more Information about The Battle Of Pearl Harbor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor Click on this link for more December 7 , HISTORY http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_7 Click on this link for More December 7 , US Military History http://thisdayinusmilhist.wordpress.com/20//07/december-7/ See more

The other day Mary Nicolazzo made the comment that she remembers the Connellsville, Pennsylvania Canteen Women handing out sandwiches to the solders and the pri...soner trains going through once in a while. The last part of that comment really caught my attention. That's a subject that's not really talked about , and would sure be an unforgettable moment in time .... seeing Live POW'S in your Home Town.... WOW. So Mary Inspired this post ..... Thank You Mary. This is a WW ll Picture of German POWs boarding a train in Boston. Connellsville's canteen operated from 1944 to 1946 at the town's Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station on the railroad's double-track main line, which hugs the bank of the Youghiogheny River. During World War II, gasoline and tire rationing - combined with the urgent need to move hundreds of thousands of troops - made for crowded trains. The record for a single day was set on Christmas Eve, 1943, when the Pennsylvania Railroad carried 178,892 passengers on its New York-Philadelphia-Washington line. To mobilize its forces, the military chartered some 114,000 special troop trains whose secret and top-priority movements were known only to railroad officials and military intelligence. Over the course of the war, some forty-three million soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and women in various branches of the armed forces traveled aboard these troop trains. They were designated as "Mains." And as the military and the railroads worked together to dispatch them, routing and destinations was kept under wraps. Often, an entire battalion - three hundred to five hundred soldiers -moved as one unit aboard a train consisting of ten troop sleepers and one or two kitchen cars, plus flat cars trailing behind to haul the group's mechanized vehicles and weaponry. Division unit markings on the vehicles were concealed to hide the identity of the units being moved. In all, a train totaled fifty to seventy cars, and it took thirty to fifty trains to transport one Army division of ten thousand to fifteen thousand soldiers. To meet this demand, the Pullman Company began building new troop sleepers in 1943, using a boxcar body equipped with bunks. These were spartan and uncomfortable, compared with the contemporary upper and lower berths of standard open-section railroad Pullman sleeping cars. But even the standard railroad sleepers were uncomfortable, when used for troop transport. Soldiers in Pullman cars were forced to double up in the lower berths, sleeping two to a spot normally occupied by one person. For many young soldiers, traveling in the military was their first time away from home. A coast-to-coast train trip might take five to seven days or more, depending on routing and rail-traffic congestion. At a few scattered towns along some main lines, local women and men set up canteens to offer free snacks and friendly smiles to the tired, bored, and often lonely travelers. There, they offered travel-weary soldiers sandwiches, coffee, candy, cookies, cake, chewing gum, and other hospitalities. Connellsville is situated about midway between B and O division points at Cumberland, Md., and Pittsburgh on B and O's main route, between the national capital at Washington and Chicago. Military, freight, and scheduled passenger trains all stopped at Connellsville to change crews, engines, or both, giving a few minutes" pause at the station. During the stops, soldiers were met by canteen workers, on duty "round the clock, offering food. Over the course of the war, some 800 women volunteers served 600,000 members of the armed forces. Connellsville's canteen was typical of the community-sponsored canteens that sprang up at railroad towns far removed from big cities. Others well remembered by World War II veterans include the canteens at North Platte, Nebraska, which served six million servicemen and women from 1941 to 1946, and at Lima and Dennison, Ohio, the latter of which was operated by the Salvation Army. In Pennsylvania, the USO (United Service Organizations) set up lounges or canteens for members of the armed forces at major train stations, including the Broad Street, 30th Street, and North Philadelphia stations in Philadelphia; and the Pennsylvania Railroad stations at Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. The day that I went down to the old Connellsville canteen location to capture a picture of the Connellsville canteen history sign a few trains went by , so I had to capture them. I knew that one day I would create a then , and now file , so here it is. * ( Modern Day Connellsville canteen ) The Connellsville Canteen Museum was formed to keep the history of Fayette County resident’s alive, and showcase their sacrifices and contributions that played an essential part during WWII. Through this museum, we tell the story of why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today - so that all generations, whether they are from Fayette County or not, will understand the price of freedom and be inspired by what they learn. The Connellsville Canteen is a place where you come to learn with your heart as well as your head. This is a place where you can feel America’s greatness through the stories and memorabilia of Fayette County’s finest resident’s whether they went off to war, or stayed behind contributing to the war effort. The Connellsville Canteen, the only museum in SW PA dedicated to WWII, will be taking reservations for private tours. Cost is $5.00 per person. The facility is also open for private events. If you would like to rent the Connellsville Canteen for a function please call 724-216-4518 if interested. Also look in the comment section for the link to the Connellsville Canteen Museum website.

Point Marion , Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans Memorial .

* ( Rogersville History ) Rogersville was founded in 1807 , and was named for early frontiersman John Rogers. Who was John Rogers ? Was he related to Robert Rog...ers who during the French and Indian War, raised and commanded the famous Rogers' Rangers ? It's not easy to find much history about most of the small towns of Greene County, and South Western Pennsylvania , so that's why I created this page , and many pages like it . "Throckmorton's Grove," later known as Golden Oaks Park, used to be located west of Rogersville, at the junction of Rt. 18 and Rt. 21 , and that's about it for historic information about Rogersville that I've uncovered . Does anyone have any great history to tell us about Rogersville or any other Greene County Town ? * ( Captain John Rogers) I Found this on the Website Find Grave about a Pioneer Named John Rogers , and I believe it might be the story about who Rogersville was named for. In the early days of American History , South West Pennsylvania was just a pit stop in a long journey westward, and maybe this Captain John Rodgers that you are about to read about left some of his family behind here in Greene County, Pennsylvania ? Death of Captain John Rogers, the Pioneer and Father of Fort Smith, Sebastian County, Arkansas. This venerable and highly re spected citizen breathed his last after lingering several weeks, on Sunday evening, the 7th instant about 7 o'clock at the residence of his nephew, Capt. J. R. Kannnady. Capt. Rogers was born in the State of Pennsylvania near Beaver, about the year 1780. He was the military store keeper during the War of 1812, and for some years thereafter. He occupied that position at New Orleans until 1822. He came to Fort Smith with the regiment U. S. Infantry, as Sutler. He purchased the tract on which the military post and the city of Fort Smith were built.In 1836 he sold to the United States 300 acres of land, upon which the Military Post is situated. In 1838 the city of Fort Smith was laid off by him into town lots. It was first called "Belle Point" but the name of Fort Smith had so long been applied to it, that it has become the permanent name of the place. Shortly after he laid off the town he erected the building generally known as Rogers' Hotel but more recently as the City Hotel under Mr. McKenzie. While Capt. Rogers kept it open it was the home and resting place of many a poor stranger, who had not means to pay for a meal's vituals or a night's lodging. He was generous to a fault and no one, who asked a favor of him was ever turned away empty. The laboring men of this town will bear testimony of his generosity and liberality. With the history of Fort Smith, the name of Capt. Rogers is so closely interwoven that while the city stands his name will be venerated, loved and remembered. He has passed away, and now quietly sleeps in the cemetery laid off by him, but his memory will live for generations. He lived to see the wilderness which he entered in 1822 and inhabited only by the Osages and other wandering tribes of Indians, and traversed by the buffalo, become thickly settled by the white man and by civilization subdued; farms opened and the country dotted with towns and villages; yes, he lived to see the place laid out by his own hands, become one of the largest and most flourishing cities in the State of Arkansas. Capt. Rogers was a gentleman of the old school as his polite, affable and gentlemanly deportment indicated. He enjoyed excellent health all his life having a robust constitution and a heavy frame. There was not much change in his appearance until about two years ago when he was perceived to bend over a little by age and in July last, he sustained a paralytic stroke, which deprived him of the use of the right side for a few weeks, from which he partially recovered. For six or eight weeks he had been confined to his room, the greater part of the time to his bed. On the 20th of September when the fire broke out in the Garrison Block and which consumed the City Hotel, Capt. Rogers had to be carried on his bed to the home of his nephew, Capt. Kannady where he remained until his death. After the fire, he seemed to rally and some of his friends entertained a hope that he would once more get up, but as soon as the excitement was over he relapsed and soon ended his earthly pilgrimage. It is a singular co-incidence that the house he built and lived in for 20 years was entirely consumed 17 days before his death. The funeral of Capt. Rogers took place on Tuesday morning the 9th day of October at 10 o'clock. It was the largest and most imposing public procession ever witnessed in the city. The business of the place was entirely suspended, every business house being closed. Numbers of the citizens of Van Buren and of the surrounding country came to pay the last tribute of respect to the departed. The Masonic Lodge of this place of which he was a member joined by the lodge from Van Buren took charge of the body. The Fort Smith Brass Band, The Rifle, Guards and Independent Artillery with a detachment of U. S. Artillery formed a procession. The religious services were performed by the Rev. W. A. Sample at the house, before the moving of the body. His remarks were very appropriate and impressive. After they were concluded, the procession formed and marched to the cemetery. The Masons proceeded in front, then came the Band, the Rifles, the Guards, U. S. Artillery, the Independent Artillery and then the citizens in carriages and on horseback, At the grave the Masonic ceremonies were performed and the body committed to its last resting place by the brethren. It appeared that everybody, rich and poor, bond and free, turned out to pay the last tribute of respect to the "oldest inhabitant" and Father of Fort Smith. Everything passed off in perfect order and well-befitting the occasion. Source: Thirty-fifth Parallel, Friday, October 19, 1860 Fort Smith, Arkansas Left by Anonymous on 16 Jan 2017 Capt. John Rogers and his wife, Mary were buried in the Rogers Cemetery, which no longer exists. They were moved to Oak Cemetery at a later date. Information Left by Anonymous on Find a Grave Website 8-29-2016. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5928941/john-rogers

KITTANNING From the Indian word KIT-HANNE-ING, meaning the place at the great river. Founded 1727. " Kittanning. In the mid 1700s, Kittanning was the site of on...e of the larger Indian settlements in the area west of the Allegheny Mountains. The word Kittanning was from the Delaware and Shawnee Indians who lived at the great stream (river). When Céloron passed Kittanning on his 1749 trip, he counted twenty-two dwellingsprobably small longhouses or wigwams (a large longhouse would be centrally located and used for harvest celebrations, and other important events). By 1756, the settlement had grown to some seven clusters of huts on the hillside overlooking the river. Corn fields occupied the flats along the river extending the village to a length of maybe 1,100 feet and a population varying from three to four hundred. Several of the more prominent Delaware chiefs, at one time or another, lived in the villageincluding Tamaqua (Beaver), Shingas, and Pisquetomen. On September 8, 1756 a battle between the Delaware Chief Captain Jacobs and Colonel John Armstrong resulted in the destruction of the village and the death of Captain Jacobs. Blanket Hill east of Kittanning was the site of another battle where the army was beaten badly by the Indian forces. The Indian village was a stop on an Indian path that settlers later called the Frankstown Path, connecting the Allegheny and Susquehanna Rivers. The Kittanning Path is now the general route of US 422. Kittanning is the county seat of Armstrong County. * ( The French , And Indian War ) The Kittanning Expedition Part 1. An explosion heavy enough to be heard distinctly some forty miles away was a thing to marvel at ion Western Pennsylvania in the middle of the eighteenth century. That explosion, sounding down the quiet valley of the Allegheny on the ninth September morning of the year 1756, occasion a great stir at the French Fort Duquesne. The whole garrison probably crowded onto the parade ground to listen for a repetition of this startling sound. But never again did such a portentous note disturb the serenity of the valley. It sounded the knell of the French occupation of Pennsylvania and crushed at one blow the ruinous rule of the Latins and their Indian allies. The Commandant of the fort at once sent a detachment to inquire the cause of this explosion--for he knew that nothing but gunpowder could have caused so great a sound. When these troops reached the site of Kittanning they realized all that their fears had foretold to them. The great stronghold of the Delaware was a smoking ruin, the tepees and cabins a pile of embers, the cornfields laid waste and the savage inhabitants lying in the ruins. Among the dead was their famous ally, Captain Jacobs, the leader of the marauders who had for years terrorized the English settlers of this section of Pennsylvania. This event marks the beginning of recorded history of the now thriving city which is the seat of Armstrong County and was the culmination of the plan of retaliation made by the English for innumerable atrocities perpetrated by the French and Indians among the settlements west of the Susquehanna. These raids had culminated in the capture of Fort Granville in 1756, the prisoners from that place having been marched to the then great Indian village of Kittanning. Immediately after the news of the fall of that fort reached the English commander at Fort Shirley he notified the governor and council at Carlisle, who at once sent Co. John Armstrong, with Captains Hamilton, Mercer, Ward, and Potter and eight hundred men, to destroy the Indian village. They left Fort Shirley on September 3, 1756, marched up the Juniata, over the mountains and westward over the well defined Indian trail that led to Kittanning. * ( The Kittanning Expedition - Part 2 ) also known as the Armstrong Expedition or the Battle of Kittanning, was a raid during the French and Indian War that led to the destruction of the American Indian village of Kittanning, which had served as a staging point for attacks by Delaware (Lenape) warriors against colonists in the British Province of Pennsylvania. Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Armstrong, this raid deep into hostile territory was the only major expedition carried out by Pennsylvania militia during a brutal backcountry war. Early on September 8, 1756 they launched a surprise attack on the Indian village. Although it eventually became a worldwide conflict known as the Seven Years' War, the French and Indian War began on the Pennsylvania frontier as a struggle for control of the Ohio Country. With the surrender of George Washington at Fort Necessity in 1754 and Braddock's defeat in 1755, the settlers on the Pennsylvania frontier were without professional military protection, and scrambled to organize a defense. The French-allied Indians who had defeated General Edward Braddock at the Monongahela were primarily from the Great Lakes region to the north. The local Indians, mostly Delaware and Shawnee who had migrated to the area after white colonists had settled their lands to the east, had waited to see who would win the contestthey could not risk siding with the loser. With Fort Duquesne now secured, the victorious French encouraged the Delaware and Shawnee to "take up the hatchet" against those who had taken their land. Beginning about October 1755, Delaware and Shawnee war parties, often with French cooperation, began raiding settlements in Pennsylvania. Although European-Americans also waged war with cruelty, they found Indian warfare particularly brutal and frightening. Notable among the Indian raiders were the Delaware war leaders Shingas and Captain Jacobs, both of whom lived at Kittanning. The colonial governments of Pennsylvania and Virginia offered rewards for their scalps. Captain Jacobs was on an expedition led by Louis Coulon de Villiers that descended on Fort Granville (near present-day Lewistown) on the morning of August 2, 1756. The attackers were held off, but the garrison commander was killed, and his second in command surrendered the garrison, including the women and children, the next morning.The commander's brother, Lieutenant Colonel John Armstrong, immediately organized an expedition against Kittanning in response. Armstrong led 300 Pennsylvania militiamen from Fort Shirley on August 31. By September 7, the column had reached the vicinity of Kittanning. Signs of a small Indian camp prompted Colonel Armstrong to detach a dozen men under Lieutenant James Hogg to monitor it while the column moved on toward the village. The next morning Armstrong launched a surprise attack on the village. Many of the Kittanning residents fled, but Captain Jacobs put up a defense, holing up with his wife and family inside their home. When he refused to surrender, his house and others were set on fire, touching off gunpowder that had been stored inside. Some buildings exploded, and pieces of Indian bodies flew high into the air and landed in a nearby cornfield. Captain Jacobs was killed and scalped after jumping from his home in an attempt to escape the flames. The battle ended when the entire village was engulfed in flames. Prisoners informed Armstrong that a party of 24 men had left the day before in advance of another planned raid. This news caused Armstrong some concern over the fate of Lieutenant Hoge, so he precipitately ordered a withdrawal. They were met after several miles by a mortally-wounded Hoge, who reported that his force had been attacked by a larger Indian force. Some of his men had immediately fled, and most of the rest had been killed. By September 13, Armstrong and his remaining force had returned to Fort Lowden. According to Armstrong's report, he took 11 scalps and freed 11 prisoners, mostly women and children. He estimated that his men killed between 30 and 40 Indians. Many of the white captives were ferried across the Allegheny River in canoes, then taken by foot over trails into Ohio where they assimilated into the tribes. Many were not rescued until Henry Bouquet brought them back from Ohio to Pennsylvania in 1764. Historian Fred Anderson notes that equivalent raids by Indians on Pennsylvania villages were usually labeled massacres, and that the Indians considered the raid to be one. The destruction of Kittanning was hailed as a victory in Pennsylvania, and Armstrong was known afterwards as the "Hero of Kittanning". He and his men collected the "scalp bounty" that had been placed on Captain Jacobs. However, the victory had limitations: the attackers suffered more casualties than they inflicted, and most of the villagers escaped, taking with them almost all of the prisoners that had been held in the village. The expedition also probably aggravated the frontier war; subsequent Indian raids that autumn were fiercer than ever. The Kittanning raid revealed to the village's inhabitants their vulnerability, and many moved to more secure areas. A peace faction led by Shingas's brother Tamaqua soon came to the forefront. Tamaqua eventually made peace with Pennsylvania in the Treaty of Easton, which enabled the British under General John Forbes to successfully mount an expedition in 1758 that drove the French from Fort Duquesne. Information link #1. http://www.pa-roots.com//beersproje/history/chapter12.html Information link #2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kittanning_Expedition See more

Connellsville's canteen operated from 1944 to 1946 at the town's Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station on the railroad's double-track main line, which hugs the ba...nk of the Youghiogheny River. During World War II, gasoline and tire rationing - combined with the urgent need to move hundreds of thousands of troops - made for crowded trains. The record for a single day was set on Christmas Eve, 1943, when the Pennsylvania Railroad carried 178,892 passengers on its New York-Philadelphia-Washington line. To mobilize its forces, the military chartered some 114,000 special troop trains whose secret and top-priority movements were known only to railroad officials and military intelligence. Over the course of the war, some forty-three million soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and women in various branches of the armed forces traveled aboard these troop trains. They were designated as "Mains." And as the military and the railroads worked together to dispatch them, routing and destinations was kept under wraps. Often, an entire battalion - three hundred to five hundred soldiers -moved as one unit aboard a train consisting of ten troop sleepers and one or two kitchen cars, plus flat cars trailing behind to haul the group's mechanized vehicles and weaponry. Division unit markings on the vehicles were concealed to hide the identity of the units being moved. In all, a train totaled fifty to seventy cars, and it took thirty to fifty trains to transport one Army division of ten thousand to fifteen thousand soldiers. To meet this demand, the Pullman Company began building new troop sleepers in 1943, using a boxcar body equipped with bunks. These were spartan and uncomfortable, compared with the contemporary upper and lower berths of standard open-section railroad Pullman sleeping cars. But even the standard railroad sleepers were uncomfortable, when used for troop transport. Soldiers in Pullman cars were forced to double up in the lower berths, sleeping two to a spot normally occupied by one person. For many young soldiers, traveling in the military was their first time away from home. A coast-to-coast train trip might take five to seven days or more, depending on routing and rail-traffic congestion. At a few scattered towns along some main lines, local women and men set up canteens to offer free snacks and friendly smiles to the tired, bored, and often lonely travelers. There, they offered travel-weary soldiers sandwiches, coffee, candy, cookies, cake, chewing gum, and other hospitalities. Connellsville is situated about midway between B and O division points at Cumberland, Md., and Pittsburgh on B and O's main route, between the national capital at Washington and Chicago. Military, freight, and scheduled passenger trains all stopped at Connellsville to change crews, engines, or both, giving a few minutes" pause at the station. During the stops, soldiers were met by canteen workers, on duty "round the clock, offering food. Over the course of the war, some 800 women volunteers served 600,000 members of the armed forces. Connellsville's canteen was typical of the community-sponsored canteens that sprang up at railroad towns far removed from big cities. Others well remembered by World War II veterans include the canteens at North Platte, Nebraska, which served six million servicemen and women from 1941 to 1946, and at Lima and Dennison, Ohio, the latter of which was operated by the Salvation Army. In Pennsylvania, the USO (United Service Organizations) set up lounges or canteens for members of the armed forces at major train stations, including the Broad Street, 30th Street, and North Philadelphia stations in Philadelphia; and the Pennsylvania Railroad stations at Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. The day that I went down to the old Connellsville canteen location to capture a picture of the Connellsville canteen history sign a few trains went by , so I had to capture them. I knew that one day I would create a then , and now file , so here it is. * ( Modern Day Connellsville canteen ) The Connellsville Canteen Museum was formed to keep the history of Fayette County resident’s alive, and showcase their sacrifices and contributions that played an essential part during WWII. Through this museum, we tell the story of why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today - so that all generations, whether they are from Fayette County or not, will understand the price of freedom and be inspired by what they learn. The Connellsville Canteen is a place where you come to learn with your heart as well as your head. This is a place where you can feel America’s greatness through the stories and memorabilia of Fayette County’s finest resident’s whether they went off to war, or stayed behind contributing to the war effort. The Connellsville Canteen, the only museum in SW PA dedicated to WWII, will be taking reservations for private tours. Cost is $5.00 per person. The facility is also open for private events. If you would like to rent the Connellsville Canteen for a function please call 724-216-4518 if interested. Also look in the comment section for the link to the Connellsville Canteen Museum website.

Long Hunters set up "The Station Camp" as a base of operations. A raid on the station camp could spell ruination for a hunter. The Painting is By David Wr...ight . * ( The Long Hunt by Jim C . ) Few figures in history are more romanticized than the hunter-explorer. Whether its Long Hunters infiltrating the Appalchian barrier to explore the verdant bluegrass of Kaintuckee or the Mountain Men pushing into the Rocky Mountains in a restless quest for beaver pelts or the African hunter leading a safari into the interior after ivory, there’s something innately compelling about the men who made their living by trap and rifle.The romantic haze that surrounds their exploits disguises the fact that in all cases, they were involved in a crassly commercial endeavor and a somewhat sordid one, at that.This was the skin trade, after all. Kill the animal, whether it be deer, beaver or buffalo and take its hide, leaving the rest. In the case of the African hunters, the prize was tusks of ivory. Use of the meat was mostly incidental. (The buffalo hunters of the late-19th Century perhaps seem less romantic to us because the slaughter was so grotesquely quick, thorough and ugly. Even so, the likes of Billy Dixon could give any other frontiersman a run for his money).In his excellent study The Hunters of Kentucky, Ted Franklin Belue notes that: At Fort Pitt (Colony of Pennsylvania) in 1767, commissary Alexander McKee received 178,613 ‘Fall Skins’ and 104,016 ‘Summer Skins figures typical of the region’s exchange from the 1740s to the 1780s and comparable to the southern trade out of Charleston and New Orleans, proof that Indian and Anglo hid hunters were slaughtering millions of deer in the Mississippi watershed.Note that Belue includes Indian hunters. Contrary to fantasies about the ecologically in-tune Native American, the tribes of the Old Northwest were deeply enmeshed in the fur and hide trade and, by the 1760s, had been for at least a century.As Belue says,A whitetail felled by a .50-caliber long rifle meant another bloated carcass left naked by the trail and marked by spiraling buzzards. Yet, had an arrow or Shawnee bullet felled the deer, its fate would have been the same. In 1773, a Delaware hide hunter slaughtered 30 deer in 17 days; another took 47 bucks in a month. Missionary David Zeisberger estimated a native might shoot 150 deer a year, observing that ‘Delawares use no other than rifle-barrelled guns.’The Indian hunters of the Middle Ground were outraged by white Long Hunters killing their deer, but it was not so much an affront to their sense of ecology that pissed them off as it was umbrage at the audacity of poachers taking their deer on their turf.Yet for all the slaughter, the real impact of the Long Hunters, the African explorers, the Mountain Men, was as harbingers of settled civilization. As Peter Beard noted in his elegiac End of the Game, the hunters were like a storm that passed through the country; it is habitat loss that spells doom for the wild game (although it must be said that deer seem to adapt to suburban living remarkably well).The routes pioneered by hunters have become highways, their camping places cities. Again, Belue:Virginia’s U.S. Route 58 threads through (Daniel) Boone’s trail through Powell’s Valley. If travelers do not park their cars and get off the pavement and walk, though, they will sense less than a glimmer of what Boone saw and felt there in 1773, when Indians knifed his firstborn son, James. Amid the day’s rush at the old hub of French Lick, a contemporary reconstruction of ‘Fort Nashboro’ is eclipsed by shadows cast by Nashville’s gigantic Coliseum. Sports fans might be startled to learn that Indian and Anglo blood mingled upon their arena’s soil, buffalo and elk and panthers and wolves crisscrossed it into earthen mazes, man and beast sipped freely from the Cumberland River without suffering the ills of heavy metal contaminationAnd therein lies the romantic appeal. No cold-eyed assessment of the harsh and profligate ways of the early hunters can quell the longing many of us feel for a pre-industrial world that, for all its hardships, inequities and brutality, seems somehow cleaner and more authentic than the modern world of concrete and chemicals, microchips and the incessant din of electronic devices. The spirit of the Long Hunters symbolizes something vastly deep and precious in the human psyche: Long Hunters were rugged, self-reliant individualists who were truly free. Ted Franklin Belue http://frontierpartisans.com/610/the-long-hunt/ See more

The Braddock expedition, also called Braddock's campaign or, more commonly, Braddock's Defeat, was a failed British military expedition which attempted to ca...pture the French Fort Duquesne (modern-day downtown Pittsburgh) in the summer of 1755 during the French and Indian War. It was defeated at the Battle of the Monongahela on July 9, and the survivors retreated. The expedition takes its name from General Edward Braddock, who led the British forces and died in the effort. Braddock's defeat was a major setback for the British in the early stages of the war with France and has been described as one of the most disastrous defeats for the British in the 18th century. Braddock's Road extended from Fort Cumberland on Wills Creek (Cumberland, Maryland) to the Monongahela River. General Edward Braddock marched his army to the Forks of the Ohio along this route despite the recommendation from some of his colonial advisers that a route through Pennsylvania would be easier. Braddock's London superiors had ordered him to depart from Wills Creek on the Potomac River, and George Washington, who served as the general's aide-de-camp, had pioneered this route a year earlier when he traveled into the Ohio Country and met Tanacharisson ( Half King ) . Braddock, however, had a much larger army in tow than Washington. When he left Fort Cumberland in early June, he commanded a force of about 2,500 British regulars, American recruits, laborers, and female camp followers. The Indians who were supposed to support his army as guides and scouts abandoned Braddock after he failed to assure them that the British would honor their claim to the Ohio Country once the French were removed. Braddock's men had to cut a road wide enough to accommodate the wagons and draft animals that accompanied them, as well as the siege artillery that they brought along to use against Fort Duquesne. Progress was painstakingly slow until Braddock decided to split the force into two groups: a flying column of about 1,500 men and a support column that would drag along the artillery and supplies. The flying column made rapid progress, and with each day, the distance between it and the support column increased. On the morning of July 9, the flying column crossed the Monongahela and came within ten miles of Fort Duquesne. But at Braddock's Crossing, disaster struck. Click on the link for more information http\://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braddock_Expedition See more

Here's a song about Colonel William Crawford's Defeat. Waynette Porter found this song a while back while doing genealogy. She's a descendant of Johnathan Zane..., brother of Ebenezer Zane. In the broadside reprint it spells his name Zeans but sh has seen others where it spells it Zane and history books reference him as well. The song reprint came from the Wiki about the song. In the Wiki it gives a few possible tunes for the song. 'Thus, it's likely that whatever tune "Crawford’s Defeat" was originally performed to was a popular Scottish or Irish folk song; for instance, a song such as "Last May A Braw Wooer," "Kellyburn Braes," "Bonnie Dundee," "Bonnie Strathyre," Or even "Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms."' * ( History ) Colonel William Crawford (Born September 2,1732 / Burned At The Stake June 11 ,1782 ) was an American soldier and surveyor who worked as a western land agent for George Washington. Crawford fought in the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. He was tortured and burned at the stake by American Indians in retaliation for the Gnadenhutten massacre, a notorious incident near the end of the American Revolution. * ( Early career) In 1732, Crawford was born in Orange County, Virginia, at a location which is now in Berkeley County, West Virginia. He was a son of William Crawford and his wife Honora Grimes, who were Scots-Irish farmers. After his father's death in 1736, his mother married Richard Stephenson. Crawford had a younger brother, Valentine Crawford, plus five half-brothers and one half-sister from his mother's second marriage. In 1749, Col. William Crawford became acquainted with George Washington, then a young surveyor the same age as Crawford. He accompanied Washington on surveying trips and learned the trade. In 1755, Crawford served in the Braddock expedition with the rank of ensign. Like Washington, he survived the disastrous Battle of the Monongahela. During the French and Indian War, he served in Washington's Virginia Regiment, guarding the Virginia frontier against Native American raiding parties. In 1758, Crawford was a member of General John Forbes's army which captured Fort Duquesne, where Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania now stands. He continued to serve in the military, taking part in Pontiac's War in 1763. In 1765 Crawford built a cabin on the Braddock Road along the Youghiogheny River in what is now Connellsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. His wife and three children joined him there the following year. Crawford supported himself as a farmer and fur trader. When the 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix with the Iroquois opened up additional land for settlement, Crawford worked again as a surveyor, locating lands for settlers and speculators. Governor Robert Dinwiddie had promised bounty land to the men of the Washington's Virginia Regiment for their service in the French and Indian War. In 1770 Crawford and Washington travelled down the Ohio River to choose the land to be given to the regiment's veterans. The area selected was near what is now Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Crawford also made a western scouting trip in 1773 with Lord Dunmore, Governor of Virginia. Washington could not accompany them because of the sudden death of his stepdaughter. At the outbreak of Dunmore's War in 1774, Crawford received a major's commission from Lord Dunmore. He built Fort Fincastle at present Wheeling, West Virginia. He also led an expedition which destroyed two Mingo villages (near present Steubenville, Ohio) in retaliation for Chief Logan's raids into Virginia. During the expedition, Crawford's men rescued two captives held by American Indians, killing six and capturing 14 Indians. Crawford's service to Virginia in Dunmore's War was controversial in Pennsylvania, since the colonies were engaged in a bitter dispute over their borders near Fort Pitt. Crawford had been a justice of the peace in Pennsylvania since 1771, first for Bedford County, then for Westmoreland County when it was established in 1773. Arthur St. Clair, another Pennsylvania official, called for Crawford to be removed from his office, which was done in January 1775. Beginning in 1776, Crawford served as a surveyor and justice for Virginia's short-lived Yohogania County. * ( American Revolution ) When the American Revolutionary War began, Crawford recruited a regiment for the Virginia Line of the Continental Army. On 11 October 1776, the Continental Congress appointed him colonel of the 7th Virginia Regiment. Crawford led his regiment in the Battle of Long Island and the retreat across New Jersey. He crossed the Delaware with Washington and fought at the battles of Trenton and Princeton. During the Philadelphia campaign, he commanded a scouting detachment for Washington's army. After the war on the western frontier intensified in 1777, Crawford was transferred to the Western Department of the Continental Army. He served at Fort Pitt under Generals Edward Hand and Lachlan McIntosh. Crawford was present at the Treaty of Fort Pitt in 1778, and helped to build Fort Laurens and Fort McIntosh that year. Resources were scarce on the frontier, however, and Fort Laurens was abandoned in 1779. In 1780, Crawford visited Congress to appeal for more funds for the western frontier. In 1781, he retired from military service. * (Crawford expedition ) In 1782, General William Irvine persuaded Crawford to come out of retirement and lead an expedition against enemy Indian villages along the Sandusky River. Before leaving, on 16 May he made out his will and testament. His son John Crawford, his son-in-law William Harrison, and his nephew and namesake William Crawford also joined the expedition.After his election as commander of the expedition, Crawford led about 500 volunteers deep into American Indian territory with the hope of surprising them. However, the Indians and their British allies at Detroit had learned about the expedition in advance, and brought about 440 men to the Sandusky to oppose the Americans. After a day of indecisive fighting, the Americans found themselves surrounded. During a confused retreat, Crawford and dozens of his men were captured. The Indians executed many of them in retaliation for the Gnadenhütten massacre earlier in the year, in which about 100 peaceful Christian Indian men, women, and children had been murdered by Pennsylvania militiamen. Crawford's execution was brutal; he was tortured for at least two hours before he was burned at the stake. His nephew and son-in-law were also captured and executed. The war ended shortly thereafter, but Crawford's horrific execution was widely publicized in the United States, worsening the already strained relationship between Native Americans and European Americans. Crawford’s torture and execution by the Indians is described in graphic detail by Allan W. Eckert in The Frontiersman. * ( Legacy) In 1982, the site of Colonel Crawford's execution was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1994, the Wyandot County Patriotic Citizens erected an 8.5 ft (2.6 m) Berea sandstone monument at the site. The Ohio Historical Society also has an historical marker nearby. Crawford County, Ohio, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and Crawford County, Indiana are named for William Crawford. So too is Colonel Crawford High School in North Robinson, Ohio. There is a replica of Crawford's cabin in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawford_expedition See more

The first Mrs. Silence Dogood letter was published on April 2, 1722 . Mrs. Silence Dogood was a pen name used by Benjamin Franklin to get his work published in ...the New-England Courant, a newspaper founded and published by his brother James Franklin. This was after Benjamin Franklin was denied several times when he tried to publish letters under his own name in the Courant. The 14 Mrs. Silence Dogood letters were first printed in 1722. * ( History ) As a teenager, Franklin worked as an apprentice in his older brother's printing shop in Boston, where The New-England Courant was published and printed. Franklin never got anything he wrote published, so, at age 16, Franklin created the persona of a middle-aged widow named Silence Dogood. Once every two weeks, he would leave a letter under the door of his brother's printing shop. A total of 14 letters were sent. The first letter began: Sir, It may not be possible in the first Place to inform your Readers, that I intend once a Fortnight to present them, by the Help of this Paper, with a short Epistle, which I presume will add somewhat to their Entertainment. And since it is observed, that the Generality of People, nowadays, are unwilling either to commend or dispraise what they read, until they are in some measure informed who or what the Author of it is, whether he be poor or rich, old or young, a Schollar or a Leather Apron Man, &c. and give their Opinion of the Performance, according to the Knowledge which they have of the Author's Circumstances, it may not be amiss to begin with a short Account of my past Life and present Condition, that the Reader may not be at a Loss to judge whether or no my Lucubrations are worth his reading. The letters poked fun at various aspects of life in colonial America, such as this quote about hoop petticoats: These monstrous topsy-turvy Mortar-Pieces, are neither fit for the Church, the Hall, or the Kitchen; and if a Number of them were well mounted on Noddles-Island, they would look more like Engines of War for bombarding the Town, than Ornaments of the Fair Sex. An honest Neighbour of mine, happening to be in Town some time since on a publick Day, inform’d me, that he saw four Gentlewomen with their Hoops half mounted in a Balcony, as they withdrew to the Wall, to the great Terror of the Militia, who (he thinks) might attribute their irregular Volleys to the formidable Appearance of the Ladies Petticoats. The letters were published in The New-England Courant fortnightly, and amused readers. Some men wrote in offering to marry Ms. Dogood, upon learning she was widowed. Eventually, James found out that all fourteen of the letters had been written by his younger brother, which angered him. Benjamin left his apprenticeship without permission and escaped to Philadelphia. Letters 1 & 2 Dogood's background Franklin created a whole background for his character, and explained this in depth in the majority of his first letter: At the time of my Birth, my Parents were on Ship-board in their Way from London to N. England. My Entrance into this troublesome World was attended with the Death of my Father, a Misfortune, which tho' I was not then capable of knowing, I shall never be able to forget; for as he, poor Man, stood upon the Deck rejoycing at my Birth, a merciless Wave entered the Ship, and in one Moment carry'd him beyond Reprieve. Thus was the first Day which I saw, the last that was seen by my Father; and thus was my disconsolate Mother at once made both a Parent and a Widow. When we arrived at Boston (which was not long after) I was put to Nurse in a Country Place, at a small Distance from the Town, where I went to School, and past my Infancy and Childhood in Vanity and Idleness, until I was bound out Apprentice, that I might no longer be a Charge to my Indigent Mother, who was put to hard Shifts for a Living. My Master was a Country Minister, a pious good-natur'd young Man, & a Batchelor: He labour'd with all his Might to instil vertuous and godly Principles into my tender Soul, well knowing that it was the most suitable Time to make deep and lasting Impressions on the Mind, while it was yet untainted with Vice, free and unbiass'd. He endeavour'd that I might be instructed in all that Knowledge and Learning which is necessary for our Sex, and deny'd me no Accomplishment that could possibly be attained in a Country Place; such as all Sorts of Needle-Work, Writing, Arithmetick, &c. and observing that I took a more than ordinary Delight in reading ingenious Books, he gave me the free Use of his Library, which tho' it was but small, yet it was well chose, to inform the Understanding rightly, and enable the Mind to frame great and noble Ideas. Before I had liv'd quite two Years with this Reverend Gentleman, my indulgent Mother departed this Life, leaving me as it were by my self, having no Relation on Earth within my Knowledge. I will not abuse your Patience with a tedious Recital of all the frivolous Accidents of my Life, that happened from this Time until I arrived to Years of Discretion, only inform you that I liv'd a chearful Country Life, spending my leisure Time either in some innocent Diversion with the neighbouring Females, or in some shady Retirement, with the best of Company, Books. Thus I past away the Time with a Mixture of Profit and Pleasure, having no Affliction but what was imaginary, and created in my own Fancy; as nothing is more common with us Women, than to be grieving for nothing, when we have nothing else to grieve for.[2] The whole second letter was an account of Dogood's life: Histories of Lives are seldom entertaining, unless they contain something either admirable or exemplar: And since there is little or nothing of this Nature in my own Adventures, I will not tire your Readers with tedious Particulars of no Consequence, but will briefly, and in as few Words as possible, relate the most material Occurrences of my Life, and according to my Promise, confine all to this Letter. My Reverend Master who had hitherto remained a Batchelor, (after much Meditation on the Eighteenth verse of the Second Chapter of Genesis,) took up a Resolution to marry; and having made several unsuccessful fruitless Attempts on the more topping Sort of our Sex, and being tir'd with making troublesome Journeys and Visits to no Purpose, he began unexpectedly to cast a loving Eye upon Me, whom he had brought up cleverly to his Hand. There is certainly scarce any Part of a Man's Life in which he appears more silly and ridiculous, than when he makes his first Onset in Courtship. The aukward Manner in which my Master first discover'd his Intentions, made me, in spite of my Reverence to his Person, burst out into an unmannerly Laughter: However, having ask'd his Pardon, and with much ado compos'd my Countenance, I promis'd him I would take his Proposal into serious Consideration, and speedily give him an Answer. As he had been a great Benefactor (and in a Manner a Father to me) I could not well deny his Request, when I once perceived he was in earnest. Whether it was Love, or Gratitude, or Pride, or all Three that made me consent, I know not; but it is certain, he found it no hard Matter, by the Help of his Rhetorick, to conquer my Heart, and perswade me to marry him. This unexpected Match was very astonishing to all the Country round about, and served to furnish them with Discourse for a long Time after; some approving it, others disliking it, as they were led by their various Fancies and Inclinations. We lived happily together in the Heighth of conjugal Love and mutual Endearments, for near Seven Years, in which Time we added Two likely Girls and a Boy to the Family of the Dogoods: But alas! When my Sun was in its meridian Altitude, inexorable unrelenting Death, as if he had envy'd my Happiness and Tranquility, and resolv'd to make me entirely miserable by the Loss of so good an Husband, hastened his Flight to the Heavenly World, by a sudden unexpected Departure from this. I have now remained in a State of Widowhood for several Years, but it is a State I never much admir'd, and I am apt to fancy that I could be easily perswaded to marry again, provided I was sure of a good-humour'd, sober, agreeable Companion: But one, even with these few good Qualities, being hard to find, I have lately relinquish'd all Thoughts of that Nature. At present I pass away my leisure Hours in Conversation, either with my honest Neighbour Rusticus and his Family, or with the ingenious Minister of our Town, who now lodges at my House, and by whose Assistance I intend now and then to beautify my Writings with a Sentence or two in the learned Languages, which will not only be fashionable, and pleasing to those who do not understand it, but will likewise be very ornamental. I shall conclude this with my own Character, which (one would think) I should be best able to give. Know then, That I am an Enemy to Vice, and a Friend to Vertue. I am one of an extensive Charity, and a great Forgiver of private Injuries: A hearty Lover of the Clergy and all good Men, and a mortal Enemy to arbitrary Government & unlimited Power. I am naturally very jealous for the Rights and Liberties of my Country; & the least appearance of an Incroachment on those invaluable Priviledges [sic], is apt to make my Blood boil exceedingly. I have likewise a natural Inclination to observe and reprove the Faults of others, at which I have an excellent Faculty. I speak this by Way of Warning to all such whose Offences shall come under my Cognizance, for I never intend to wrap my Talent in a Napkin. To be brief; I am courteous and affable, good-humour'd (unless I am first provok'd,) and handsome, and sometimes witty.. * ( Freedom of thought ) "Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom & no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech", Benjamin Franklin, 1722. On June 11, 1722 James Franklin printed a bold piece by one of his friends. It made fun of the Pennsylvania colony's government. James Franklin , and Ben got in a lot of trouble , and were called to the government Council Chambers. James Franklin would not rat on his friend , and was sent to jail. This made young Ben Franklin the editor of The New-England Courant at the age of 16. That night Ben Franklin wrote the eighth Silence Dogood Essay. It did not mention his brother by name but it took up his cause. "Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom & no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech..." This letter did not need to be slipped under the door that night. Ben was master of the printing house now. His fellow workers printed whatever copy he gave them. For one month Ben was an editor , as well as writer and a printer. Then James was let out of prison, and the rest as they say ....is History. * ( In popular culture ) The Silence Dogood letters feature in the 2004 movie National Treasure. After stealing the United States Declaration of Independence, cryptologist Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage) and Dr. Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) find an Ottendorf cipher hidden in invisible ink on the back of the Declaration. Following the discovery of a Knights Templar riddle which said "The key in Silence undetected", a link between the Silence Dogood letters and the cipher is established. The cipher is used to find the hidden message in the letters which proves to be another clue. Click on the link for more information. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silence_Dogood

Fort Ligonier is a British fortification from the French and Indian War located in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, United States. The fort served as a staging area for ...the Forbes Expedition of 1758. During the eight years of its existence as a garrison, Fort Ligonier was never taken by an enemy. It served as a post of passage to the new Fort Pitt, and during Pontiac's War of 1763, was a vital link in the British communication and supply lines. It was attacked twice and besieged by the Native Americans, prior to the decisive victory at Bushy Run in August of that year. The fort was decommissioned from active service in 1766. Today, there is a museum next to the reconstructed fort. Inside the museum there are artifacts from the battle. An individual can take a guided tour of the fort, and on Fort Ligonier Days, the fort's cannons are fired. * (Fort Ligonier History ) The Forbes' campaign : French victories over George Washington and Edward Braddock in 175455 wrested from Britain control of the strategic forks of the Ohio River (modern Pittsburgh). By 1758, General John Forbes was assigned the daunting task of seizing Fort Duquesne, the French citadel at the forks. He ordered construction of a new road across Pennsylvania, guarded by a chain of fortifications, the final link being the "Post at Loyalhanna," fifty miles from his objective. The fort was constructed in September 1758. By late October, George Washington had arrived at Loyalhanna, but not before the defeat of a British force at Fort Duquesne on September 14, and the successful defense of Loyalhanna from a French attack on October 12. Heavily outnumbered and losers in Indian diplomacy, the French abandoned Fort Duquesne, which Forbes occupied on November 25. He designated the site "Pittsburgh" in honor of Secretary of State William Pitt. Forbes also named Loyalhanna "Fort Ligonier" after his superior, Sir John Ligonier, commander-in-chief in Great Britain. * The Forbes' Campaign timeline : August 10, 1758Colonel Bouquet ordered Major James Grant to build a road from Bedford to Ligonier (within striking distance of the French Fort Duquesne). August 15, 1758Col. Bouquet sent Ensign Charles Rohr, engineer for General Forbes, to the future site of Fort Ligonier to select a location for a storehouse there. August 20, 1758Col. Bouquet sent Major Grant, Col. James Burd and 1,500 men to the site to begin construction. Grant was in overall charge of the fort and men. August 21, 1758Ensign Rohr picked the exact location for the fort. August 22, 1758Col. Bouquet ordered Col. Burd's men and some artillerymen to build a 120-foot (37 m) storehouse for supplies and a hospital. August 27, 1758Burd and Rhor reported the location of a superior site to Ligonier, nine miles (14 km) to the west. When told of the new site, Forbes directed that work continue on Fort Ligonier, since construction had already begun. August 29, 1758Col. Burd and troops arrived at Fort Ligonier and built trenches around the fort. September 1, 1758Bouquet sent 100 men to entrench the "Grants Paradise" location south of Latrobe, Pennsylvania. September 9, 1758Major Grant left Fort Ligonier with troops and headed west to Fort Duquesne. On September 15, he approached within five miles (eight km) of Fort Duquesne before being beaten by the French, when his deliberate plan to lure out and ambush the fort's defenders went badly wrong. Bouquet arrived at Fort Ligonier with troops and wrote to Sinclair about the conditions of the fort, area and supplies, including wagons. October 12, 1758While the fort was still under construction, the Battle of Fort Ligonier was fought; the four-hour assault resulted in a French defeat. The French forces attempted to attack again at nightfall, but were forced to retreat by mortar fire from the fort. November 12, 1758The command of Col. Forbes ran across another squad of De Vitri’s French troops lurking around Fort Ligonier. The British attacked, killing one and taking three prisoners. One of the prisoners turned out to be an Englishman who had been taken from his home in Lancaster County by anti-British Native Americans. His information concerning the weak condition of Fort Duquesne was corroborated by that of the French prisoners. Forbes therefore resolved to push forward to capture Fort Duquesne. November 12, 1758 * ( George Washington ) Volunteers led by George Washington (1st Virginia) marched from Fort Ligonier to aid George Mercer and his troops (2nd Virginia) . At night in heavy fog, the two units mistook one another for the enemy and exchanged fire. Thirteen soldiers and one lieutenant were killed. Realizing the mistake, Washington ran amongst both groups, shouting and raising the men's rifles into the air. Washington later wrote of the incident that he never felt in more danger in his life. Though the location had never been entirely verified, in Images of America: Idlewild Amusement Park , author Jeffrey S. Croushore acknowledges the opinion that the event took place in a section of the Idlewild Amusement Park that was previously a wooded area known as the Woodlands. Idlewild Amusement Park is also situated alongside U.S. Route 30 right down the road from The Fort Ligonier, Museum . November 17584,000 troops encamped at the fort, making Ligonier the second-largest community in Pennsylvania. November 25, 1758Forbes captured Fort Duquesne. March 1766Fort Ligonier was abandoned after the conclusion of the French and Indian War.Click on the link for more information . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Ligonier See more

A History of the Indian Villages and Place Names in Pennsylvania by George P. Donehoo . This is one of my favorite books . The Original book was printed in in 1...928 , and it was RE-published in 1977 which I own copy #96 of The 500 printed that year . I'm Happy to see that The Book was reprinted again in 1997 which I will Link where you can buy this book ! No state in the entire nation is richer in Indian names or in fact Indian history than Pennsylvania. Indian Villages is the only major book that traces back Indian names and places for their correct form, origin and history. These 290 pages are filled with the most incredible collection of information ever assembled on the Indian place names of Pennsylvania. In researching his book, Mr. Donehoo, not only went over every available source of printed material about place names in Pennsylvania, but also walked over nearly every Indian trail, from the Delaware to the Ohio, using every trader s journal and maps as his guide. Each Indian name comes complete with historical notes by the author, and as you read, you get a sense about each place; a feeling of walking with the author through each early village, along every river and stream and across the mountains of Pennsylvania back into time. Lists of authorities used is given with each name and a general bibliography follows at the conclusion of the work. Certainly, Heckewelder, Zeisberger, Post, Gist, Croghan, Weiser and other early explorers would be very proud. http://www.tower.com/a-history-indian-villages-//100245262 See more

Timeline of the American Revolution (17601791) timeline of the political upheaval in the 18th century in which Thirteen Colonies in North America joined toge...ther for independence from the British Empire, and after victory in the Revolutionary War combined to form the United States of America. The American Revolution includes political, social, and military aspects. The Revolutionary era is generally considered to have begun with the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765 and ended with the ratification of the United States Bill of Rights in 1791. The military phase of the Revolution, the American Revolutionary War, lasted from 1775 to 1783. * ( 1760 ) > Pierre de Rigaud, Governor of New France, capitulates (September 8) to Field Marshal Jeffrey Amherst. This ends most fighting in North America between France and Great Britain in the French and Indian War. > Amherst becomes the First British Governor-General of territories that would later become Canada plus lands (Ohio Country and Illinois Country) west of the American Colonies. King George II of Great Britain dies (October 25) and is succeeded by his grandson George III. * ( 1761) > New England Planters immigrate to Nova Scotia, Canada (1759-1768) to take up lands left vacant after the Expulsion of the Acadians. * (1763 ) > The Treaty of Paris (February 10) formally ends the French and Indian War. France cedes most of its territories in North America to Great Britain, but Louisiana west of the Mississippi River is ceded to Spain. > Previously allied with France, Native American tribes in the Great Lakes region resist the policies of the British under Amherst. Pontiac's Rebellion begins, lasting until 1766. > King George's Royal Proclamation of 1763 (October 7) establishes administration in territories newly ceded by France. To prevent further violence between settlers and Native Americans, the Proclamation sets a western boundary on the American colonies. > The Navigation Acts are re-enforced by George Grenville as a part of his attempt to reassert unified economic control over the British Empire following the Seven Years' War. * ( 1764 ) > The Sugar Act (April 5), intended to raise revenues, and the Currency Act (September 1), prohibiting the colonies from issuing paper money, are passed by Parliament. These Acts, coming during the economic slump that followed the French and Indian War, are resented by the colonists and lead to protests. * ( 1765 ) > To help defray the cost of keeping troops in America, Parliament enacts (March 22) the Stamp Act, imposing a tax on many types of printed materials used in the colonies. Seen as a violation of rights, the Act sparks violent demonstrations in several Colonies. Virginia's House of Burgesses adopts (May 29) the Virginia Resolves claiming that, under British law, Virginians could be taxed only by an assembly to which they had elected representatives. > Delegates from nine colonies attend the Stamp Act Congress which adopts (October 19) a Declaration of Rights and Grievances and petitions Parliament and the king to repeal the Act. > Parliament enacts (March 24) the Quartering Act, requiring the Colonies to provide housing, food, and other provisions to British troops. The act is resisted or circumvented in most of the colonies. In 1767 and again in 1769, Parliament suspended the governor and legislature of New York for failure to comply. * ( 1766 ) > The British Parliament repeals (March 18) the unpopular Stamp Act of the previous year, but, in the simultaneous Declaratory Act, asserts its "full power and authority to make laws and statutes ... to bind the colonies and people of America ... in all cases whatsoever". > Liberty Pole erected in New York City commons in celebration of the Stamp Act repeal (May 21). An intermittent skirmish with the British garrison over the removal of this and other poles, and their replacement by the Sons of Liberty, rages until the Province of New York is under the control of the revolutionary New York Provincial Congress in 1775. * ( 1767) > The Townshend Acts, named for Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend, are passed by Parliament (June 29), placing duties on many items imported into America. * ( 1768 ) > In April, Britain's Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Hillsborough, orders colonial governors to stop their own assemblies from endorsing Adams' circular letter. Hillsborough also orders the governor of Massachusetts to dissolve the general court if the Massachusetts assembly does not revoke the letter. By month's end, the assemblies of New Hampshire, Connecticut and New Jersey have endorsed the letter. > In May, a British warship armed with 50 cannon sails into Boston harbor after a call for help from custom commissioners who are constantly being harassed by Boston agitators. > In June, a customs official is locked up in the cabin of Liberty, a sloop owned by John Hancock. Imported wine is then unloaded illegally into Boston without payment of duties. Following this incident, customs officials seize Hancock's sloop. After threats of violence from Bostonians, the customs officials escape to an island off Boston, then request the intervention of British troops. > In July, the governor of Massachusetts dissolves the general court after the legislature defies his order to revoke Adams' circular letter. In August, in Boston and New York, merchants agree to boycott most British goods until the Townshend Acts are repealed. In September, at a town meeting in Boston, residents are urged to arm themselves. Later in September, English warships sail into Boston Harbor, then two regiments of English infantry land in Boston and set up permanent residence to keep order. * ( 1769 ) > To the Betrayed Inhabitants of the City and Colony of New York broadside published by the local Sons of Liberty (c. December. * ( 1770 ) > Golden Hill incident in which British troops wound civilians, including one death (January 19) > Lord North becomes Prime Minister of Great Britain (January 28) > Boston Massacre (March 5) * ( 1771 ) > Battle of Alamance in North Carolina (May 16) * (1772 ) > Samuel Adams organizes the Committees of Correspondence > GaspeeAffair (June 9) > The Watauga Association in what would become Tennessee declares itself independent. * (1773 ) > Parliament passes the Tea Act (May 10) > Association of the Sons of Liberty in New York published by local Sons of Liberty (December 15) > Boston Tea Party (December 16) * ( 1774 ) > Benjamin Franklin, Massachusetts' agent in London, is questioned before Parliament > Lord Dunmore's War > British pass Intolerable Acts, including: > Boston Port Act (March 31) > Administration of Justice Act (May 20), > Massachusetts Government Act (May 20), > A second Quartering Act (June 2), and > Quebec Act > The Powder Alarm, General Gage's secret raid on the Cambridge powder magazine (September 1) > The First Continental Congress meets; twelve colonies send delegates > The burning of Peggy Stewart (October 19) > Petition to the King (October 26) > Greenwich Tea Party (December 22) * ( 1775 ) > Battles of Lexington and Concord, followed by the Siege of Boston (April 19) > Gunpowder Incident (April 20) > Skenesboro, New York (now Whitehall, New York) captured by Lieutenant Samuel Herrick. (May 9) > Fort Ticonderoga captured by Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold and the Green Mountain Boys. (May 10) > Second Continental Congress meets (May 10) > Congress votes to create Continental Army out of the militia units around Boston and appointed George Washington of Virginia as commanding general. This would later become the modern United States Army(June 14) > Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17) > Washington arrives in Cambridge, Massachusetts to take command of the Continental Army (July 2) > Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms issued (July 6) > Olive Branch Petition sent to King George III (July 8) > Continental Marines established by Continental Congress. They would become the modern day United States Marine Corps (November 10) > Henry Knox transported fifty-nine captured cannon (taken from Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Crown Point) from upstate New York to Boston, Massachusetts. Trip took 56 days to complete. (December 5, 1775 to January 24, 1776) * ( 1776 ) > New Hampshire ratifies the first state constitution > Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense (January 10) > Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge (February 27) > Battle of Nassau (March 34) > Fortification of Dorchester Heights results in British forces evacuating Boston (March 45) > British evacuate Boston (March 17) > The Newly formed Continental Army departs its first winter encampment at Cambridge, Massachusetts (April) > Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet (June 29) > Second Continental Congress enacts (July 2) a resolution declaring > independence from the British Empire, and then approves (July 4) the written Declaration of Independence. > Sons of Liberty order African slaves to topple statue of King George III in Bowling Green (New York City) (July 9) > Battle of Long Island, a.k.a. Battle of Brooklyn (August 27) > British prison ships begin in Wallabout Bay, New York > Staten Island Peace Conference (September 11) > Landing at Kip's Bay (September 15) > Battle of Harlem Heights (September 16) > Great Fire of New York (September 2122) > Nathan Hale captured and executed for espionage (September 22) > Battle of Valcour Island (October 11) > Battle of White Plains (October 29) > Battle of Fort Washington (November 16) > Battle of Fort Lee (November 20) > Battle of Iron Works Hill (December 23 December 26) > Battle of Trenton (December 26) * ( 1777 ) > Battle of the Assunpink Creek, also known as the Second Battle of Trenton, (January 2) > Battle of Princeton (January 3) > Continental Army enters second winter encampment of the war at Morristown January 6 > Forage War (January March): > Battle of Millstone (January 20) > Battle of Drake's Farm (February 1) > Battle of Quibbletown (February 8) > Battle of Spanktown (February 23) > Battle of Bound Brook (April 13) > Sybil Ludington, 16-year-old daughter of American Colonel Henry Ludington, makes a 40-mile (64 km) ride in the early hours of the night (April 26) > British regulars, under Major General William Tryon, burn and loot Danbury, Connecticut (April 26) > Battle of Ridgefield (April 27) > Middlebrook encampment (May 28 July 2) > Battle of Short Hills (June 26) > Fort Ticonderoga abandoned by the Americans due to advancing British troops placing cannon on Mount Defiance. (July 5) > British retake Fort Ticonderoga. (July 6) > Battle of Hubbardton (July 7) > Delegates in Vermont, which was not one of the Thirteen Colonies, establish a republic and adopt (July 8) a constitutionthe first in what is now the territory of the United States to prohibit slavery. (Vermont would become the fourteenth state in 1791.) > Battle of Oriskany (August 6) > Battle of Bennington (August 16) > Battle of Brandywine (September 11) > Battle of Paoli (Paoli Massacre) (September 20) > British occupation of Philadelphia (September 26) > Battle of Germantown (October 4) > Two Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7) conclude with the surrender of the British army under General Burgoyne. > Battle of Red Bank (October 22) Articles of Confederation adopted by the Second Continental Congress (November 15) > Capture of Fort Mifflin, (November 16) and Fort Mercer, (November 18) > Battle of White Marsh (December 5 December 8) > Battle of Matson's Ford (December 11) > 17771778 Continental Army in third winter quarters at Valley Forge (December 19 June 19) * ( 1778 ) > Treaty of Amity and Commerce and Treaty of Alliance with France (February 6) > Battle of Barren Hill (May 20) > British occupation of Philadelphia ends (June) > Battle of Monmouth (June 28) > Capture of Savannah (December 28) British successfully launch their southern strategy > 17781779 Majority of Continental Army in fourth winter quarters at Middlebrook encampment (November 30 June 3) >1778-1779 - Major General Israel Putnam choses Redding Connecicut as his winter encampment to keep an eye on the storehouses in Danbury, Connecticut * ( 1779 ) > Siege of Fort Vincennes (February 2325) > Tryon's raid (July 3 - July 14) > Tryon's division lands in East Haven, Connecticut,met with spirited resistance from a band of local militia, take Black Rock Fort (July 5) > Battle of Fairfield Destroy 54 barns, 47 storehouses, burned 83 homes, two churches, and municipal buildings including a schoolhouse, the courthouse and the local jail (July 7) > Battle of Norwalk weakly opposed by about 50 local militia, easily dispersed. The destruction of the village and its commercial infrastructure destroyed (July 11) > Battle of Stony Point (July 16) > Battle of Paulus Hook (August 19) > 17791780 Continental Army in fifth winter quarters at Morristown (DecemberMay) * ( 1780 ) > January 15 Congress establishes the Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture to provide for final adjudication of appeals from state court prize cases involving disposition of ships and cargo allegedly seized from the British. >January 28 A stockade known as Fort Nashborough is founded on the banks of the Cumberland River.Two years later the site is renamed Nashville. > February 1 Some 8,000 British forces under General Henry Clinton arrive in Charleston, South Carolina, from New York. > February 1 New York cedes to Congress its western claims, including territory west of Lake Ontario. In 1792 New York will sell the Erie Triangle to Pennsylvania > March 14 Bombardment of Fort Charlotte: After a two-week siege, Spanish general, colonial governor of Louisiana, and Viceroy of New Spain Bernardo de Gálvez captures Fort Charlotte, taking the port of Mobile (in present-day Alabama) from the British. Fort Charlotte was the last remaining British frontier post capable of threatening New Orleans in Spanish Louisiana. Its fall drove the British from the western reaches of West Florida and reduced the British military presence in West Florida to its capital, Pensacola. > April 8 Siege of Charleston: British Army troops under General Henry Clinton and naval forces under Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot besiege Charleston, South Carolina. British ships sail past Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island to occupy Charleston Harbor. Washington will order reinforcements to Charleston, but the city falls on May 12 in what is arguably the worst American defeat of the war. > May 6 Siege of Charleston: Fort Moultrie falls to the British. > May 12 Siege of Charleston: American General Benjamin Lincoln surrenders Charleston to the British. The British lose 255 men while capturing a large American garrison. > May 29 Battle of Waxhaws: A clash between Continental Army forces under Abraham Buford and a mainly Loyalist force led by Banastre Tarleton occurs near Lancaster, South Carolina in the Waxhaws area (close to present-day Buford). The British destroyed the American forces. > June 6 Battle of Connecticut Farms > June 23 Battle of Springfield. With the attempted British invasion of New Jersey stopped at Connecticut Farms and Springfield, major fighting in the North ends. > August 16 - Battle of Camden. British General Cornwallis gains a humiliating victory over Gates in South Carolina. September 23 John André captured and the treason of Benedict Arnold is exposed > September 26 - Battle of Charlotte > October 7 Battle of King's Mountain > December - Continental Army enters sixth winter with encampments in New York’s Hudson Highlands and Pompton and Morristown New Jersey * ( 1781) > January 17 - Battle of Cowpens > March 1 Articles of Confederation ratified > March 15 Battle of Guilford Court House > September 5 - Battle of the Chesapeake > September 6 - Battle of Groton Heights > September 8 - Battle of Eutaw Springs > October 19 The British surrender at Yorktown > December 31 Bank of North America chartered > December - Continental Army returns to Hudson Highlands and Morristown New Jersey for its seventh winter encampment. * ( 1782 ) > February 27 The British House of Commons votes against further war, informally recognizing American independence. > August 27 - Battle of the Combahee River > November - Continental Army moves into its eighth and final winter quarters, at the New Windsor Cantonment and in the Hudson Highlands > December 14 British evacuate Charleston, South Carolina * ( 1783 ) > September 3 The Treaty of Paris (1783) ends the American Revolutionary War > November 25 The British evacuate New York, marking the end of British rule, and General George Washington triumphantly returns with the Continental Army. * (1784 ) > January 14 The Treaty of Paris is ratified by the Congress. > April 9 The Treaty of Paris is ratified by the British > May 12 Ratified treaties are exchanged in Paris between the two nations. > August "The state of Frankland," later known as Franklin, secedes from North Carolina * ( 1785 ) > Treaty of Hopewell (November 28) > Congress refuses admission of Franklin to the Union * ( 1786 ) > Shays' Rebellion > Annapolis Convention fails * ( 1787 ) > Northwest Ordinance Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia > Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey ratify the constitution * ( 1788 ) > North Carolina reconquers Franklin, which ceases to exist. > Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia and New York ratify the constitution * ( 1789 ) > United States presidential election, 1789, George Washington is elected president; John Adams elected vice president > Constitution goes into effect > George Washington becomes the first President; John Adams becomes Vice President > The First United States Congress passes the Judiciary Act of 1789 and Hamilton tariff > JayGardoqui Treaty > November 21 North Carolina becomes the 12th state to ratify the Constitution, with a vote of 19477 * ( 1790 ) Rhode Island and Providence Plantations becomes the 13th state to ratify the Constitution, with a vote of 3432 (May 29) * ( 1791 ) - Ratification of the United States Bill of Rights. ...........There are 2 engagements not shown here. The first battle of Machias, 1775, in the Provence of Maine, where the HMS Margaretta was engaged, and captured, by the Machias Patriot militia. This is considered the first naval engagement of the Revolution. Then, in 1777, the Second battle of Machias, also known as The Battle of the Rim, where a force of H. M. Marines were engaged by those Machias Patriots, and their Passamaquoddy allies, and, once again, repulsed by the locals. These were the only victories by the Colonists in Maine. https://en.wikipedia.org//Timeline_of_the_American_Revolut See more

May 1 , 1791 Crow Rock Massacre in Greene County , Pennsylvania . * ( From The History of Marshall County ,West Virginia published in 1879 ) According to th...e statement of a fourth sister, who was an eye witness of the horrid tragedy and herself almost a victim, the four left their parents' house for an evening walk along the deeply-shaded banks of that beautiful stream. Their walk extended over a mile, and they were just turning back, when suddenly several Indians sprang from behind a ledge of rocks and seized all four of the sisters. With scarcely a moment's interruption, the savages led the captives a short distance up a small bank, when a halt was called and a parley took place. It seems that some of the Indians were in favor of immediate slaughter, while others were disposed to carry them into permanent captivity. Unfortunately, the arm of mercy was powerless. Without warning, a fierce-looking savage stepped from the group, with elevated tomahawk, and commenced the work of death. This Indian, in the language of Lena, "Began to tomahawk one of my sisters-Susan by name. Susan dodged her head to one side, the tomahawk taking effect in her neck, cutting the juglar vein, the blood gushing out a yard's length. The Indian who held her hand jumped back to avoid the blood. The other Indian then began the work of death on my sister Elizabeth, and a third on Katie." Lena thus describes her escape: "I gave a sudden jerk and got loose from the one that held me and ran with all speed, taking up a steep bank, but just as I caught hold of a bush to help myself up, the Indian fired and the ball passed through the clump of hair on my head, slightly breaking the skin. I gained the top in safety, the Indian taking round in order to meet me as I would strike the path that led homeward. But I ran right from home and hid myself in the bushes near the top of the hill. Presently I saw an Indian passing along the hill below me; I lay still until he was out of sight; I then made for home." She lived to be an old woman. The real tragedy is that Michael, one of their brothers, came upon them just moments before on horseback and offered to give the youngest sister a ride back to the house, which was mile away. Of course, the attackers waited until Michael was well out of site before scalping the girls. The remainder of the family fled to the nearest fort, which was 15-20 miles away, in Prosperity, Pa. Another Brother Of The Crow Sisters Named Jacob was afterward slain by the Indians while out hunting on Fish Creek, in what is now Wetzel county. He and his two brothers were together. Jacob was shot nine times. Martin and Frederick were wounded, but they both escaped. The Crow Rock Massacre Memorial is next to Stone Coal Run ( Stone Coal Run is a stream ) in West Greene County Pa .

The Davis Massacre is considered to be the largest Indian massacre of a single family in what is today known as Greene County, Pennsylvania. Early in the mornin...g in the fall of 1787, John Davis with his wife and ten children were going about their daily routine when the eldest daughter reported seeing Indians hiding near their cabin. An attempt to grab their guns when the Indians came into their cabin proved fruitless. The eldest daughter who had reported to her father seeing the Indians outside leapt to safety through a window. Additionally, two other daughters and a grown son who were in the cabin during the raid (melee) escaped). Seven members of the family lost their lives inside the cabin, John Davis, his two oldest sons and four younger children. Mrs. Davis and a baby daughter were taken captive. The fate of Mrs. Davis was never established, but the body of the baby girl was found some weeks later. It is assumed that Mrs. Davis also perished at the time bringing the total of this tragedy to nine victims. This Sign Is Located Inside Ryerson Station State Park , right beside the main park office on Bristoria Road . * ( Hist. Greene Co., 530-536.) The following, is given on the authority of L. K. Evans, Esq., and taken from his centennial Articles, elsewhere referred to. "About the year 1790, a family by the name, of Davis resided on the north branch of Dunkard Wheeling creek, about three miles above Ryerson's Station, and a short distance below Stall's or Kinkaid's Mill. The family, with the exception of one fortunate lad who had been sent to drive up the horses, were seated around the breakfast-table, partaking of a humble but substantial repast. Suddenly a party of warrior savages appeared at the cabin door. The old man and his two sons sprang up as by instinct to reach for their guns which hung on convenient pegs by the cabin wall; but the design was detected by the Indians, who instantly shot the three dead on the spot. After scalping the victims, despatching the breakfast and pillaging the premises, they made captive the mother and only daughter, and departed on their way up the creek. The boy managed to elude them, and escaped unharmed. It appears that they captured a horse. One of the Indians mounted it, and taking the girl before him, and the woman behind, him, was traveling gaily along. However, they had not proceeded far when a shot from the rifle of John Henderson, who lay concealed in an adjoining thicket, knocked the savage off. But whether the wound was fatal or not, Henderson did not remain to find out. He had to provide himself safety from the infuriated savages." Some time after the decaying body of the daughter was found, but no trace of the mother was ever discovered. The mutilated bodies of the slain were buried near the cabin and their graves are still marked. The skeleton remains of an Indian were afterward found, supposed to have been the savage shot by Henderson. Click on the link for more information. http://www.usgwarchives.net//1picts/frontierforts/ff34.html See more

Dr. John Alfred Brashear (November 24, 1840 April 8, 1920) was an American astronomer and instrument builder. Brashear was Born in 1840 in this stone tavern a...t Sixth and Market Streets in Brownsville, Pennsylvania . Brownsville, Pennsylvania is a town 35 miles (56 km) south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River. His father, Basil Brown Brashear, was a saddler, and his mother, Julia Smith Brashear, was a school teacher. He was the oldest of seven children. As a boy, John Brashear was heavily influenced by his maternal grandfather, Nathanial Smith, a clock repairer. When he was nine, his grandfather took him to view through the telescope of 'Squire' Joseph P. Wampler, who set up his traveling telescope in Brownsville. That influential view of the moon and the planet Saturn stayed with Brashear for the rest of his life. After receiving a common school education until age 15, he became an apprentice to a machinist and had mastered his trade at age 20. Beginning in 1861 Brashear worked as a millwright in a rolling steel mill in Pittsburgh. He pursued his love for astronomy at night, with the help of his wife Phoebe Stewart, a Sunday school teacher whom Brashear met in 1861 and married in 1862. Of too little means to purchase a telescope, Brashear built his own workshop from a three-meter-square coal shed behind his house and proceeded to build his own refractor. Starting in 1880, he dedicated his time to manufacture astronomical as well as scientific instruments, and performed various experiments. He developed an improved silvering method, which would become the standard for coating first surface mirrors (known as the "Brashear Process") until vacuum metalizing began replacing it in 1932. > Brashear patented few instruments and never patented his techniques. He founded "John A. Brashear Co." with his son-in-law and partner, James Brown McDowell (now a division of L-3 Communications, and still based in Pittsburgh). His instruments gained worldwide respect. Optical elements and instruments of precision produced by John Brashear were purchased for their quality by almost every important observatory in the world. Some are still in use today. A crew demolishing his factory found a time capsule that became an object of dispute. > In 1892 Brashear made his second of three trips to Europe, this time providing a lecture tour. In 1898 he became director of the Allegheny Observatory in Pittsburgh, continuing in this post until 1900. > From 1901 to 1904, he was acting chancellor of the Western University of Pennsylvania, now known as the University of Pittsburgh, after serving as a member of the board of trustees since 1896. Brashear also was a trustee of the Carnegie Institute of Technology and served as President of the Academy of Science and Art. > John and Phoebe Brashear were active in their church as well. He served as the choir director of Bingham Street Methodist Episcopal Church, and organized the Cantata Society, composed of church choirs from Pittsburgh's South Side. During the Panama-Pacific Exposition (1915), in which a 20" Warner-Swasey telescope with Brashear optics was displayed, Brashear was named "the State's most distinguished man" by Pennsylvania's Governor Martin Grove Brumbaugh. The telescope is still in use today at Chabot Space and Science Center at Oakland, California. > John Brashear was admired and beloved by fellow western Pennsylvanians and international astronomers, who familiarly called him "Uncle John". > In 1919, he suffered ptomaine poisoning (an outdated term for food poisoning), which induced a debilitating illness lasting six months. He died at age 79 at his South Side home. His body was held in state in the Great Hall of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. > His ashes are interred in a crypt below the Keeler Telescope at Allegheny Observatory, along with those of his wife. A plaque on the crypt reads: "We have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.", a paraphrase of the last line of the poem "The Old Astronomer to His Pupil" by Sarah Williams. He was survived by a daughter and several siblings. * (Honors ) > He was awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal of The Franklin Institute in 1910. > The Brashear Association was founded in 1916 in his memory. > In 2012, the John A. Brashear House and Factory at 1954 Perrysville Avenue in the Perry South neighborhood of Pittsburgh was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ***** Named for him: > The crater Brashear on the Moon > The crater Brashear on Mars > Asteroid 5502 Brashear > Brashear High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1976) > Brashear Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania > One of the telescopes at the Goodsell Observatory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brashear See more

Or Perish in the Attempt: The Hardship and Medicine of the Lewis and Clark Expedition by David J. Peck. David J. Peck’s Or Perish in the Attempt ingeniously com...bines the remarkable adventures of Lewis and Clark with an examination of the health problems their expedition faced. Formidable problems indeed, but the author patiently, expertlyand humorouslyguides us through the medical travails of the famous journey, juxtaposing treatment then against remedy now. The result is a fascinating book that sheds new light not only on Lewis and Clark and the men and one remarkable woman (and her infant) who accompanied them along an eight-thousand-mile wilderness path but also on the practice of medicine in their time and place. Information link #1 ( David J. Peck Website about The Book ). http://www.lewisandclarkmedicine.com/ Information link #2 (Book) . https://www.amazon.com/Perish-Attempt-Hardship//0803235119 See more

* ( History ) Rices Landing is a small rural town located along the western bank of the Monongahela River, Approximately sixty miles South of Pittsburgh. One of... the first visitors to the Rices Landing area was George Washington when he was traveling to Fort Duquesne, he and his men camped there . Benjamin Franklin even mapped out the area with his son William Franklin before the American Revolution. In 1786, John Rice purchased land on the East side of Enoch's Run, and at about the same time, Abijah McClain purchased land on the West side. John Rice built the community he named Rices Landing, while Abijah McClain called his settlement Newport. In 1801 the two communities were combined under the name Rices Landing. Enoch's run was renamed Swan Run before it eventually took the name it holds today, Pumpkin Run. Rices Landing officially incorporated in April 1903. The availability of valuable resources such as trees, clay, sand coal and transportation allowed the community to thrive. Shops, trading posts, taverns, and other businesses once lined its busy streets. It was soprosperous, that it was regarded as the Gateway to Western Pennsylvania by frontier settlers. Although things have quieted today, the residents still see their community as a charming and respectable community that was once the talk of the frontier world. It's not just the Monongahela that flows in these parts, but also a deep appreciation of history, a pride in the lovely countryside, and a wonderful sense of peace. From the Rices Landing Centennial Celebration guide, 2003 Rices Landing is also the former home of US Olympic Wrestler and 4 Time State Champion Cary Kolat. Kolat is known as being one of the best wrestlers in history going 137-0 in High school, and 111-7 in College. Kolat won many international medals, and competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Established in 1903 Rices Landing is a town rich in tradition. The center of industry in Rices Landing during the first and second world wars was the W. A Young and Sons Foundry and Machine Shop, which is still in existence today. The foundry was used to make many different items for the war effort and will undergo construction in the coming year. The town was also in the heart of the steel industry with many coal mines located in and around the town. Many of these mines and industry are no longer around, however other interesting things still exist in the town. The Union Supply Store at the corner of Third and Main Street remains as a preserved archaeological site. Rices Landing is home to Pumpkin Run Park which is a park owned and maintained by the borough. The park opens on Memorial Day and closes on Labor Day. The only restaurant located in the borough is the Riverwalk Cafe which is located in the old historical bank building downtown. Also located in the downtown area is the Greene River Bike and Walking Trail, which is a continuing project that has reached from Fredericktown to Crucible. The Rice's Landing Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. See more