Contents of Volume 1 of the 'Fort Cumberland' book

Introduction
The two-volume "Fort Cumberland" book is about the history of Cumberland, Maryland and the surrounding region prior to the founding of the town. Volume 1 covers the time before 1758 and Volume 2 covers 1758 onward. The pre-1754 timeframe is covered by two separate chapters. One chapter documents the frontier community, and the other documents the complex factors that brought a devastating war to the region. After that, individual chapters cover the 1754 to 1786 military and civilian history of the region on a year-by-year basis.

In brief, the book explores the local settlement that existed prior to the French and Indian war and the war-related disintegration of that settlement and its post-war recovery. It also explores the complex factors that led to the war. The post-war legislative and military history of the region is also covered. The book is primarily a chronologically organized compilation of abstracts of and excerpts from original documents. This allows the reader to experience regional history from the writings of the individuals who actually experienced the events. The book is available in print and Kindle format. All proceeds benefit the Allegany County Historical Society.

The Table of Contents from Volume 1 that is included below has been supplemented with the subtitles (italicized) from each chapter. Click here to see the Table of Contents of Volume 2.

Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 1 explains what motivated the author, Lannie Dietle, to research and write the book. It also provides an overview of how the book is organized, the geographical area it covers, and the geographical influences that made Cumberland, Maryland an important gateway to the west.

Introduction ● The location of Fort Cumberland ● The content of this book ● The organization of this book ● The geographical area covered by this book ● A brief summary of Ohio Company and French and Indian War-related history ● This book will contain inevitable mistakes

Chapter 2. Lowdermilk's 'History of Cumberland'
William H. Lowdermilk's 1878 book "The History of Cumberland..." provides excellent coverage of the history of the town and provides good coverage of regional events during the French and Indian war. Aside from the French and Indian war material, however, it provides very little local history prior to the establishment of the town. As a result, some individuals mistakenly think that nothing noteworthy happened in the area before the founding of the town, except for activities related to the French and Indian War.

The first objective of the two-volume book set "Fort Cumberland" is to present the history of the environs of Fort Cumberland, Maryland prior to the formal establishment of the town — including settlement activity prior to and during the French and Indian war. The second objective is to expand beyond a Cumberland-centric look at the French and Indian war and examine the chain of events that brought war to Wills Creek from a broader perspective.

Chapter 3. Early roads near Wills Creek
Chapter 3 provides an overview of early roads and paths in the environs of Fort Cumberland, to demonstrate that the area was a transportation hub long before the town was established.

Introduction ● The earliest known westerly trading routes ● A new road from Winchester existed in 1753 ● A path from Conococheague Creek existed in 1755, and was improved in 1758 ● A route from Old Town to Wills Creek already existed in 1751 ● A Warriors path through Old Town ● At least one route to Raystown utilized the valley of Wills Creek in 1755 ● The Warriors path along Wills Creek ● A 1755 road from Raystown to the general vicinity of present-day Frostburg ● A hypothetical Upper Old Town path

Chapter 4. Local settlement activity prior to 1754
Chapter 4 uses documentary evidence to show that the area near the eventual site of Fort Cumberland was populated before the French and Indian war and traces local civilian activity up until 1754.

Introduction ● An Indian village at Old Town in 1721 ● Blacks were living on the North Branch of the Potomac in 1722 ● The 1733 Monocacy Hundred list ● The birth dates of some of Thomas Cresap's children ● Charles Anderson was living at Old Town ● Indian Seat, at Old Town ● 'Threashfield' is surveyed for Captain Thomas Cresap ● Hugh Parker was a Pennsylvania merchant in 1740 ● 'Indian Fields' is surveyed for Thomas Cresap ● The 'Indian Purchase' survey identifies the early existence of a path ● Conducting marriages without a license ● A petition for a road to Thomas Cresap's ● October 1743 references to Wills Creek and Evitts Creek ● Johnston's January 14, 1744 bond ● Lawsuits galore in the spring of 1744 at the Frederick County, Virginia court ● Reimbursement for carrying arms to the back woods ● Frederick Ice sues John Collins ● Thomas Cresap had a cabin near the mouth of the South Branch of the Potomac by 1744 ● John Nicholas is sued by William Griffith ● Pendergrass sues, and is sued ● 'Butter & Cheese' is surveyed ● Thomas Bladen had Walnut Bottom surveyed in 1745 ● Thomas Cresap purchases merchandise on credit ● The Pleasant Valley tract was surveyed in 1745 ● The Wills Town Indian village at Corriganville is mentioned by a 1745 survey ● William Anderson is presented by the grand jury of Prince George's County, Maryland ● A mill may have been located on Brice Hollow Run in 1745 ● A debit payable in skins or money ● Arms delivered to Thomas Cresap ● Richard Poulson sues over a tract of land ● Additions to the Frederick County, Virginia tithables list ● Another debt payable in skins or money ● Joseph Mounts and Providence Williams witness a promissory note to Thomas Cresap ● Joseph Mounts and Elizabeth Lamy witness a memorandum ● A warning of enemy Indians intending to pass through the back parts of Maryland ● Job Pearsall opens an account with Thomas Cresap ● Crist opens an account with Tostee ● Cresap purchases Indian Seat ● Anderson's cabin was already present on Anderson's Bottom in 1746 ● Biographies of William Anderson, of Anderson's Bottom ● William and John Ross are sued by William Chestnut for a 1744 assault ● Benjamin Rogers' 1746 field on the Potomac River, above Wills Creek ● Bladen mentions Cresap in a letter ● Noah Hampton's account with Thomas Cresap ● Nicholas Crist is sued by John Miers ● Ross performed labor for Hinch in 1747 ● Moravian missionaries visit Patterson Creek via Berkley Springs ● John Nicholas signs a promissory note, and is sued for failure to pay ● Cresap sues Johannis Cox ● Beginning at Walker's Bottom ● Lice at Skipton ● A young George Washington meets Indians at Thomas Cresap's place ● Gottschalk receives an invite from Cresap ● A petition for a new road to Nichols Neck ● Gottschalk speaks of 40 miles without a house ● George Washington camped at Abram Johnston's place on Patterson Creek ● Sleeping like a parcel of dogs and cats ● Gottschalk reaches Cresap's ● Gottschalk goes to Patterson's Creek and the South Branch ● Gottschalk preaches on Patterson Creek and receives help from Oliver Creamer ● Cresap submits an account to the government ● Thomas Cresap's reimbursement request for supplying the Indians is denied ● Frederick County, Maryland is formed ● John Nicholls is brought before a Justice of the Peace ● A town called Romney ● Bortel Mire's eye was scalded on March 4, 1749 ● The new Frederick County, Maryland court convenes for the first time on March 21, 1749 ● John Nicholas purchased the Butter & Cheese tract on March 22, 1749 ● Two servants run away from Cresap, taking three horses with them ● Creamer and Long receive appointments from the Frederick County, Virginia court ● An order for a new road from the lower part of Patterson Creek to Winchester ● Cresap has overnight company ● Thomas Cresap was offering goods to the Indians in the fall of 1749 ● Appointments by the Frederick County, Maryland court ● A reference to the Poulson plantation ● Virginia properties at the site of the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory ● The Ohio Company approves the purchase of Virginia property at Wills Creek ● Cresap vs. Lyon ● John Moore files a complaint against Garret Pendergrass ● Neal O'Quillion opens a credit account ● Various lawsuits in the Frederick County, Maryland court ● The Ohio Company approves erection of a storehouse at Cresap's plantation ● Zacheus Ruth opens an account with the Ohio Company ● Discussing Hugh Parker on May 27, 1750 ● An Ohio Company store record from July of 1750 ● A 1750 order for work on the road from Patterson's Creek to Pearsall's ● John Nicholls is the constable of the Linton Hundred district ● A store for settlers on the upper Potomac ● Cresap convicted of assaulting Rench in October 1750 ● A curious 1751 bill of sale for property known as Sugar Bottom ● The Ohio Company purchases services and various items from Aaron Price ● The 1751 residence of Richard Poulson ● Crabtree is involved in a slander lawsuit ● The estate of James Ross ● A promissory note to Benjamin Rodgers ● Providence Mounts purchases goods from the Ohio Company ● John Nicholls is fired from his position as constable of the Linton Hundred ● Cresap is acquitted of the charge of cohabiting with Elizabeth Lammy ● A store account with Colonel Thomas Cresap ● Cresap provides items to Patton ● A busy day in court ● Gist identifies an Indian village at Turkeyfoot in 1751 ● Indian outrages on the Virginia frontier ● The 1751 Fry and Jefferson map is sparsely illustrated in the Wills Creek area ● Richard Polson is replaced as constable ● Providence Mounts owes money to the Ohio Company from a February 12, 1752 debt ● John Walker owned some Virginia property ● Pendergrass moves to Raystown in 1752 ● Locating John Johnson's residence ● William Smith's residence is surveyed ● Richard Polson is deceased ● John Nicholls is sued by George Mason and Thomas Cresap ● Keller and McCracken witness a deed ● Nathaniel Tomlinson is identified as a blacksmith ● William Trent is appointed to the commission of the peace ● A 1753 reference to improvements that were made by Abner Anderson ● A 1753 reference to Providence Mounts ● Cresap signs a Virginia appearance bond ● The Ohio Company acquires the Walnut Bottom tract in 1753 ● Christopher Gist had a house at Wills Creek in 1753 ● Washington departs from the 'Inhabitants' at Wills Creek on November 15, 1753 ● New appointments for road overseer and constable ● Conclusion ●

Chapter 5. The chain of events that brought war to Wills Creek
This lengthy chapter weaves selected information about Wills Creek area history into a broader chronologically organized collection of information about the time period leading up to armed conflict between organized French and British military forces.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a glimpse of how the history of the Wills Creek area fits into the overall chain events leading to the commencement of the French and Indian war, Washington's and Braddock's expeditions, the erection of Fort Cumberland, etc.

Documents from the period leading up to Washington's and Braddock's expeditions reveal a much more complex story than Lowdermilk and others relate. The French were on the move to oppose British trade well before the Ohio Company built their storehouse at Wills Creek, received their trade merchandise, and cut their westerly road.

One of the root causes of the war was a substantial amount of British trade at the Twightwee (Miami) town of Pickawillany, in the vicinity of present-day Piqua, Ohio. The French attacked Pickawillany on June 21, 1752 to disrupt British trade. As a direct result of this attack, the Indians at Logstown (now Legionville, Pennsylvania) declared war on the French — with the Indian Half King delivering the declaration — and repeatedly asked the British to build a fort at the mouth of the Monongahela River.

The British attempted to build the fort with the help of the Half King and other British-allied Native Americans but were evicted by the French around the time the French attacked Logstown, where the Half King resided. Only after these events, and with knowledge of them, did Washington join forces with the Half King to attack Jumonville's party, and then build Fort Necessity.

According to conventional wisdom, the attack on Jumonville's party sparked the French and Indian war. This chapter shows, through documentary evidence, the direct chain of events between the attack on Pickawillany and the joint attack on Jumonville by Washington and the Half King.

Introduction ● Convict Servants were brought to Maryland and Virginia in large numbers ● An incident involving Thomas Cresap highlights the border tension between provinces ● King George's war in North America ● The English and the Six Nations discuss mutual assistance in wartime ● The Miami chief La Damoiselle (Old Briton) helps to lead opposition to the French ● The Seneca ask the Twightwee (Miami) for the heads of Douville and Longueuil ● The Pennsylvania government was unaware of the course of early western paths in 1747 ● Consideration of a land petition is postponed ● The Twightwee are in alliance with Nicolas against the French ● Gooch writes to the Lords of Trade about western land grants ● The Lords of Trade send Gooch's inquiry to the King ● The Lords of Trade asks why Gooch hesitates to grant the land ● A committee asks for further study on the matter Gooch wrote about ● The Twightwee (Miami) request the French to trade with them ● The Ohio Company receives a royal charter ● Gooch is worried that the land grant might upset the French ● The Twightwee request friendship with the British ● An August 1748 French account from Quebec regarding cessation of hostilities ● Notice of the preliminary peace terms with France is received in Pennsylvania ● The Lords of Trade think the Ohio Company land grant is a great idea ● British traders at Logstown in 1748 ● The French decide to renege on the agreed-to peace with the English ● Hugh Parker was trading deep in the Ohio country in 1748 ● Galissoniere mentions the revolt of the Twightwee (Miami) ● A proclamation of peace with France is received in Pennsylvania ● Indians mention a hundred years of Trade with the French and English ● The Lords of the Committee issue instructions on the Ohio Company Petition ● The Lords of Trade submit a draft of instructions relating to the Ohio Company ● The King approves granting the Ohio Company Petition ● Funds for Ohio Company Indian trade goods ● Pennsylvania learns that the French are on the move ● George Croghan writes about Cresap and Parker ● A large party tries to persuade the Twightwee back to the French in July of 1749 ● Celoron writes to the Governor of Pennsylvania on August 6, 1749 about British traders ● The French intend to punish the Twightwee for trading with the British ● Celoron encounters British traders at Shawnoah on August 26, 1749 ● Hamilton replies to the Twightwee letter ● Lee writes that presents are needed to maintain friendship with the Indians ● A November 22, 1749 letter reveals that other traders were jealous of the Ohio Company ● Men trading with the Twightwee are captured or killed ● The Twightwee reaffirm their alliance with the English on May 17, 1750 ● Thomas Cresap describes an Indian visit that occurred in the fall of 1749 ● Barney Curran and Aaron Price purchase goods from the Ohio Company in 1750 ● The French are aware that the English are projecting a settlement on the Ohio River ● Governor Hamilton writes to Governor Clinton about the Twightwee ● John Frazier's men were trading with the Twightwee in 1750 ● The French put a large price on George Croghan's head ● Gist's journal indicates that Thomas Cresap's house was located on an Indian path ● A trader is carrying Ohio Company goods deep into the Ohio County in November 1750 ● Galissonniere describes the importance of the Ohio River to the French in December 1750 ● One of M. de Celeron's lead plates is delivered to the English on December 4, 1750 ● Indians request a British fort on the Ohio River ● Another British trader is taken by the French ● The Julian versus Gregorian conundrum ● Croghan mentions the bounty on his head ● Other tribes ask the Twightwee to take good care of British traders ● Frederick Calvert becomes Lord Proprietor of Maryland on April 23, 1751 ● Governor Hamilton writes to the western Indians on April 25, 1751 ● News of a 1751 French plan to drive the English out of Twightwee country ● A May 21, 1751 Indian speech mentions the French threat against Croghan ● The Ohio Company resolves to build a road on May 22, 1751 ● A Dunker requests permission to settle on the Youghiogheny River on May 26, 1751 ● The Six Nations speaker is brusque with the French interpreter Joncoeur at Logstown ● In June, Governor Clinton writes to Jonquière about the French arrest of four Englishmen ● Christopher Gist receives instructions from the Ohio Company in 1751 ● George Croghan, or his hired men, were trading at Pickawillany in 1751 ● Hamilton writes to the Pennsylvania Assembly about French intentions ● Douglass's mid-eighteenth-century view of the Twightwee nation ● Details of a failed 1751 French expedition against Pickawillany ● More information on Belestre's failed expedition ● Christopher Gist leaves on his journey on behalf of the Ohio Company in November 1751 ● Governor Dinwiddie arrives in Virginia ● Evidence of where Nemacolin lived in December 1751 ● Governor Dinwiddie plans for the Logstown treaty ● Another shipment of Ohio Company trade goods arrives ● Aaron Price indicates that the French have killed 30 Twightwee by February 1752 ● Pennsylvania receives additional news about the French aggressions against the Twightwee ● Christopher Gist returns from his journey for the Ohio Company in March of 1752 ● A Mohawk reports that the Twightwee intend to make war on the French ● Christopher Gist receives instructions to cut the Ohio Company Road ● April 1752 instructions to M. Duquesne ● A report of the failure of the attack on the Twightwee, who are suffering from smallpox ● The Half King requests a fort in direct response to the aggression against Pickawillany ● The French were infuriated by a successful Virginia trader at Pickawillany ● Was George Croghan the 'certain Virginia trader'? ● The first large scale offensive of the French and Indian War ● William Trent's Journal reports on the attack at Pickawillany ● Callender writes to Governor Hamilton about the attack on Pickawillany on August 30, 1752 ● Time skips a beat ● Virginia slowly learns of the attack on Pickawillany ● An October 20, 1752 letter from Virginia mentions the attack on Pickawillany ● Trent reports to the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia regarding the attack on Pickawillany ● Part of the Twightwee align themselves with the French by January 22, 1753 ● A Virginia trader is captured deep in the Ohio country on January 26, 1753 ● Ohio Company records show that some form of their road was finished by February 1753 ● Dinwiddie communicates with the Assembly on Indian relations and settlement ● Dinwiddie communicates with the House of Burgesses ● The board of trade writes to Holdernesse about the French situation ● The French kill three British traders and capture eight on the Ohio ● Part of the Twightwee turn to the French ● Cresap and Trent provide hints of the approaching storm ● A May 7, 1753 report that the French are approaching with 8 brass cannons ● A June 20, 1753 deed proves Nemacolin helped to lay out the Ohio Company road ● A June 20, 1753 reference to Nemacolin's road ● Three hundred French were reported to be approaching Logstown on June 22, 1753 ● The Ohio Company authorizes construction of a fort at the mouth of Chartiers Creek ● Funds for paying Christopher Gist for making the Ohio Company road ● The road to the Pittsburgh area was cleared by July 1753 ● Fraser reports that the Half King delivers a warlike message to the French ● The King authorizes Dinwiddie to erect forts and repel force by force ● Holdernesse also writes to Governor Hamilton on August 28, 1753 ● The location of Fraser's long-time residence is identified by Edward Shippen ● Scarrooyady declares war on the French in response to the attack on Pickawillany ● George Washington, Adjutant General for the Southern District, is appointed messenger ● At Oldtown, the Indians request a Fort at the mouth of the Monongahela River ● The Half King visits Venango ● Washington is commissioned to deliver a message to the French forts ● The reason Washington was sent to the French forts ● The Half King makes the news in Annapolis ● An assessment for clearing the road and building the fort at Chartiers Creek ● The council of Virginia receives a request for a fort at the Forks of the Ohio ● Traders were congregating at Wills Creek by mid-November 1753 ● Georges Creek was named by 1753 ● Passing Gist's plantation at present-day Mount Braddock ● John Frazier was living at the mouth of Turtle Creek in November 1753 ● Washington arrives at Logstown in November 1753 ● Dinwiddie writes to Governor Hamilton about Washington's journey to the Ohio ● Washington receives a description of a message the Half King delivered to the French ● Hamilton replies to Lord Holdernesse's August 28, 1753 letter in November ● Washington mentions a warlike Indian message to the French ● Washington visits the Venango house John Fraser was driven from ● Washington receives a letter from the French commander to deliver to Dinwiddie

Chapter 6. 1754: Fort Mount Pleasant is erected at Wills Creek
Beginning with the year 1754, local history — civilian and military — is covered by individual chapters on a year-by-year basis. 1754 was a momentous year in both North American and regional history because it is the year the French destroyed the British trade at Logstown evicted the British forces who were building a fort at the mouth of the Monongahela, and began erecting Fort Duquesne. This led to Washington's attack on Jumonville and Washington's capitulation at Fort Necessity. Fort Cumberland was erected in the fall of 1754 to serve as a jumping off point for an expedition against Fort Duquesne, and the massacre of the Fort Cumberland-area residents by French-allied Indians begins.

Washington and Gist arrive at Jacob's cabins ● Washington purchases a horse and saddle at Gist's plantation ● Washington encounters a packhorse train going to the site of the new fort ● Washington is informed that the French are coming in the spring ● Croghan reports that a large body of French are assembled at the falls of Ohio ● Washington delivers the French Commandant's letter to Dinwiddie ● Dinwiddie writes to James Patton about supporting George Washington ● Dinwiddie commissions Major John Carlyle ● Dinwiddie writes to Major John Carlyle about cannon ● Dinwiddie's cover letter to William Trent mention's Frazier as a source of venison ● William Trent's January 1754 appointment by Dinwiddie ● The Half King mentions that the British have yet to build the requested fort ● Dinwiddie writes to Governor Hamilton for military assistance ● The Half King again requests a fort at the forks ● Croghan warns that the French intend to take Logstown away from the British ● George Washington makes the news in Annapolis on February 7, 1754 ● The Governor of Pennsylvania urgently requests men and supplies to oppose the French ● Trent arrives at the Forks of the Ohio to begin a fort on February 17, 1754 ● Dinwiddie proclaims that he is determined to build a fort on the Ohio River ● Gist writes from the Monongahela on February 23, 1754 to warn of a French expedition ● Dinwiddie informs Hamilton that he is raising six companies to march to Wills Creek ● Dinwiddie writes to Major John Carlyle about previous orders ● Fry was charged with building a fort at the Forks of Monongahela ● Governor Shirley describes the British situation ● Trying to determine if the French forts were in Virginia or Pennsylvania ● Dinwiddie writes to Colonel Joshua Fry ● Dinwiddie writes to Hamilton about commissioning William Trent and sending cannon ● Dinwiddie claims that the Forks of Monongahela are not in Pennsylvania ● The Indians are pleased with Trent's fort building activities ● The second petition gives background on the Ohio Company ● The government began to consider the second petition by March 28, 1754 ● Washington's marching orders from Dinwiddie are to finish the Ohio Company fort ● Trent's bill for carriage of items westward from Cresaps ● A 1754 record describes the Ohio Company wagon road ● Contrecoeur summons Trent's forces to depart on April 16, 1754 ● The Half King sends a speech about joining forces at the fork in the road ● Trent urgently requests reinforcement ● Washington learns that the French have evicted Trent's men at the Forks of Ohio ● An express messenger arrives in Philadelphia with news of a French troop build-up ● Ward's depositions describe the building at Redstone and the eviction from Trent's fort ● Trent is believed to have lived at Wills Creek in 1754 ● Washington decides to make a fort at Redstone ● Washington describes why he is repairing the Ohio Company Road ● Washington also writes to the Governor of Maryland on April 25, 1754 ● Washington sends a letter to the Governor of Pennsylvania on April 27, 1754 ● News of the eviction of Trent's company reaches Annapolis on May 2, 1754 ● News of the French attack on Logstown reaches Philadelphia on May 3, 1754 ● The location of Logstown ● The Logstown attack is reported in England ● A July 1754 magazine also reports the attack on Logstown in 1754 ● Croghan lost his storehouse at Logstown due to the French incursion ● The Logstown incident was also described in a 1760 history book ● Washington writes to Dinwiddie to describe his expedition ● Traders tell Washington that it will be difficult to build a wagon road to Redstone ● Washington explores the Turkeyfoot area ● Washington learns that the French are coming for him ● Jumonville's May 23, 1754 marching orders ● Washington places his troops behind two natural entrenchments at the Great Meadows ● The Half King is retreating to Redstone ● The action at Jumonville Glen ● Washington describes the Jumonville affair in a May 29, 1754 letter ● Tactical reality ● Cresap is to bring Washington's prisoners to Winchester ● The fort is finished, and English traders are in irons at Fort Duquesne ● Washington receives notice of Joshua Fry's death ● Cresap runs a temporary line ● Arranging to bring supplies from Wills Creek ● A June 12, 1754 letter indicates that John Frazier was a lieutenant ● A June 12, 1754 letter describes Washington's attack on Jumonville ● Moncatoocha intends to go to Redstone ● Washington's forces continue working on a road toward Redstone ● Washington mentions a blow the Half King has received ● Monacatoocha abandons and fires Logstown ● Washington's last journal entry of the campaign ● M. Coulon de Villiers encounters the Hangard at Redstone ● De Villers describes Gist's plantation ● The battle of Fort Necessity ● Adam Stephen's account of the battle of Fort Necessity ● M. de Villier's account of the battle of Fort Necessity ● Timothy Conway is wounded at the battle of Fort Necessity ● John Frazier loses his property at Fort Necessity ● More linkage between the construction of Trent's fort and the attack on Pickawillany ● The Penns purchase the remainder of Pennsylvania from the Six Nations ● Richard Penn relinquishes the western part of the land, retaining the portion east of the mountains ● Fort Necessity was demolished ● A new fortification is ordered by Governor Dinwiddie ● On July 24, 1754, Dinwiddie reports that he has ordered a fort to be built at Wills Creek ● Retreating to the inhabitants at Wills Creek after the battle of Fort Necessity ● Inhabitants are fleeing the South Branch ● Dinwiddie hopes Pennsylvania will help to fill the proposed magazine at Wills Creek ● Dinwiddie writes to Colonel Innes about an expedition ● Dinwiddie instructs Innes to use the Ohio Company swivel guns ● Innes is going to Wills Creek to build a fort ● August 23, 1754 news ● Dinwiddie orders Innes to take possession of the New Store ● The Independent Companies arrive at Wills Creek ● The Half King didn't have a favorable impression of Fort Necessity ● Governor Dinwiddie references his orders to Innes in a letter to Governor Sharpe ● Croghan hears of a French plan to lead Indian parties against the back settlements ● James Innes mentions a fort at the Camp at Mount Pleasant on September 27, 1754 ● MacKay writes about the capitulation and the situation at Camp Mount Pleasant ● An important Native American ally dies on October 1, 1754 ● Blacksmithing at Fort Cumberland in 1754 ● George Croghan mentions Fort Mount Pleasant on October 16, 1754 ● The attack on a sentry at Wills Creek is reported in the news ● An October 18, 1754 Indian conference at Wills Creek ● An October 25, 1754 letter mentions the new fort at Wills Creek ● An October 29, 1754 letter describes building Fort Cumberland ● Gist requests compensation for his losses on October 30, 1754 ● More than 20 families killed or carried away from the neighborhood of Fort Cumberland ● Governor Sharpe writes to Lord Bury to bring him up to date ● Sharpe is appointed Commander in Chief ● A French settlement in Twightwee country ● Orders for construction at Wills Creek ● An eventful day at the Frederick County court ● An officer describes the fort and barracks on November 21, 1754 ● Sharpe's December 10, 1754 letter describes Fort Mount Pleasant ● Thomas Cresap keeps cattle for the fort that others offered for sale at the fort ● Governor Sharpe describes construction that was occurring during his visit ● Barracks were being constructed in November 1754 ● Dinwiddie writes back to Sharpe ● Morris Turner becomes indebted to Daniel Cresap ● Cresap purchases large quantities of stores to feed the troops ● An inn at Raystown ● A December 29 letter from Wills Creek ● A 1754 description of relevant roads

Chapter 7. 1755: Braddock sorties from Wills Creek
Chapter 7 reviews the original configuration and provisioning of Fort Cumberland. It also reports on events at and near Fort Cumberland before and after General Edward Braddock's failed expedition against Fort Duquesne, including the earliest known birth at Fort Cumberland.

A January 3 letter from Wills Creek ● St. Clair volunteers to go to Fort Cumberland to give directions for barracks construction ● St. Clair writes to Braddock about the work he is undertaking in America ● Follen delivers goods to the New store, and purchases other goods ● A request to sent 600,000 pounds of flour to Fort Cumberland ● Dinwiddie agrees with planting corn at Fort Cumberland for the public ● Mounting cannon on the hill at Fort Cumberland ● A January 27 letter from Wills Creek ● Drawing 122/39 of the 'King's Maps and Drawings' ● St. Clair sends an update to Braddock ● Clearing the land around the fort ● Addition to the Burnt House tract ● Drawing 122/38 of the 'King's Maps and Drawings' ● Dinwiddie writes to Morris about flour and a request for a new road ● The council recommends issuing a commission to reconnoiter a new road ● A soldier deserts Fort Cumberland on February 23, 1755 ● The fort is called 'Fort Cumberland' on March 12, 1755 ● A March 12, 1755 commission to lay out roads in support of Braddock ● Edward Shippen tells his father why the Assembly is called together ● Nichols is charged with neglect ● Requests for authorization to operate local taverns ● Edward Shippen sends another letter to his father ● An order against the sale of liquor at Fort Cumberland ● Owners complain of whiskey being destroyed at Fort Cumberland ● St. Clair verbally abuses the Pennsylvania road commissioners ● The Marylanders don't want to march through Virginia ● Thomas Cresap helps to provision Fort Cumberland using his own farm and store ● Sharpe belatedly describes Washington's road building activities on April 19, 1755 ● Governor Morris requests that the new road be expedited ● Braddock writes to Morris about completing a road to Wills Creek ● Pennsylvania orders the commissioners to open the road ● Franklin's advertisement for wagons, horses, drivers, and packhorse men ● An April 1755 letter references construction of a bridge over Wills Creek ● Franklin promises easy service to the civilian wagon drivers ● Burd sends a road map to Governor Morris ● Armstrong also mentions a map that was sent ● Thomas Cresap is acting as a magistrate in 1755 ● A 1755 description of Thomas Cresap's house ● A race to amuse the general ● Robert Orme's memoir ● Braddock arrives at Fort Cumberland on May 10, 1755 ● Braddock writes to Pennsylvania for oats ● A grass guard at Frazier's in May of 1755 ● People are marketing provisions at Fort Cumberland in May of 1755 ● The Detachment of Seamen camp west of Fort Cumberland, on a hill ● Morris asked Croghan to take Indians to Fort Cumberland ● Don't interfere with provisioning the army, under pain of death ● The May 12 Seaman's journal entry ● More information on the customs of the Indians at Fort Cumberland ● Organizing the camp pickets ● Woodward's death sentence is waived ● May 14 journal entry ● Washington writes that he arrived at Fort Cumberland on May 10th ● Animals are being grazed at Martin's plantation in May of 1755 ● Casks of Beef are condemned ● Braddock writes to the governor of Virginia for men to garrison Fort Cumberland ● An Indian conference is announced ● The May 16 Seaman's journal entry ● The Indian conference is postponed ● A survey of weapons ● Armstrong writes to Morris about road progress ● Women at Fort Cumberland in May of 1755 ● The May 18 Seaman's journal entry ● Pay will be docked for hospital stays ● The May 19 Seaman's journal entry ● St. Clair needs a small detachment ● The Indian women and children are sent away from Fort Cumberland ● Leslie is contracting for forage for Braddock ● A letter will be delivered from Fort Cumberland by Benjamin Franklin's son ● The May 20 Seaman's journal entry ● Settlers marketing liquor to the soldiers in May of 1755 ● The May 21 Seaman's journal entry ● Braddock hears that the French intend to destroy the back inhabitants ● Minimal orders for May 22 ● The Indians receive arms and clothes ● The Virginia House doesn't want to garrison Fort Cumberland after Braddock departs ● Shirley expresses doubt in Braddock's ability ● Announcing the punishment for giving liquor or money to Indians ● The May 23 Seaman's journal entry ● Braddock makes a proposal for provisions ● The governor replies to the House of Burgesses, asking them to reconsider ● Braddock maligns Cresap ● Minimal orders on May 24 ● The May 24 Seaman's journal entry ● The penalty for gaming, or even watching a game, is 300 lashes ● The May 25 Seaman's journal entry ● The House of Burgesses approves 50 men to garrison Fort Cumberland ● The court martial verdicts are in ● Two road commissioners are added ● Smith describes his brother as a commissioner for the road to Turkeyfoot ● Ordering pickets to carry unloaded muskets ● The May 27 Seaman's journal entry ● I'll pay you for road work when we reach winter camp ● Sharp mentions that 600 men marched from Wills Creek on May 28, 1755 ● The May 28 Seaman's journal entry ● Minimal orders for May 29 ● The first of Braddock's forces begin their westward march on May 29, 1755 ● Return your artillery barrels, be ready to march ● The May 30 Seaman's journal entry ● Croghan reports that he was asked to send all but a few Indians away ● Minimal orders on Saturday, May 31 ● James Burd reports on the progress of the new Pennsylvania road ● Minimal orders on Sunday, June 1 ● The June 1 Seaman's journal entry ● Dinwiddie hopes Washington will march to Fort Cumberland soon ● Colonel Innes is appointed Governor of Fort Cumberland ● Information on Spendelowe's road ● Peters cancels Burd's road to Wills Creek ● Working on Spendelowe's new road out of Fort Cumberland ● A general court martial is announced ● Flour is coming to Fort Cumberland in unseasoned casks ● Be ready to march with an hour warning ● Morris sends Braddock an update on the road and provisions sent to Fort Cumberland ● The June 4 Seaman's journal entry ● Good bottom land around Fort Cumberland reported on June 5, 1755 ● The working party is to be relieved ● The June 5 Seaman's journal entry ● Spendelowe's new road is finished on June 6, 1755 ● Another reference to women at Fort Cumberland in June of 1755 ● A severe drought in 1755, and a related proclamation for fasting ● Washington mentions that a small fort is to be built at the Little Meadows ● Marching orders for June 7th ● The June 7 Seaman's journal entry ● Maryland is still embroiled in boundary disputes ● Marching orders for June 8th ● Some of the women in camp were the wives of soldiers ● Men are assigned to load the wagons ● Sharpe believes that French Indians will attack the back inhabitants ● Braddock requests recruits from Pennsylvania ● The June 9 Gordon journal entry ● The June 10 Seaman's journal entry ● Ten cannons are ordered to be sent to the Ohio via Fort Cumberland ● The fort guard is to join their Regiments when Innes takes possession of the fort ● The first orders issued beyond Fort Cumberland ● Getting serious about camp followers ● Washington writes of recent events ● Braddock orders guards for Burd's new road ● Orme describes Spendelow camp ● Sentries to have their bayonets fixed ● Burd hopes to have the new road extended to Raystown in a week ● A description of the new road ● Orme describes leaving Spendelow Camp and going to Martin's Plantation ● Halting for a day ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne encounters Colonel Thomas Cresap ● St. Clair writes from the Little Meadows ● Braddock is dismissive of news that the French intend to attack the back inhabitants ● Preparing to cross Savage Mountain ● Washington was right about the wagons ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne becomes ill at Fort Cumberland ● The new road is finished as far as Raystown ● Orme's description of June 15, 1755 ● Elizabeth Martin writes to her brother for help from Georges Creek ● Morris suggests building storehouses on the new roads ● Morris writes to the Pennsylvania Assembly ● The new road is finished five miles past Raystown ● Burd receives notice that an escort is coming ● A James McCracken debt to John Williams is litigated postumously ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne arrives at Fort Cumberland ● Hogg arrives as an escort for the road cutters ● Braddock wants to know where the new road will join his ● Two families killed within three miles of Fort Cumberland ● A bill regarding the garrisoning of Fort Cumberland is read ● The bill is to garrison Fort Cumberland is rejected on June 28 ● Two more families scalped within two miles of Fort Cumberland ● Sharpe writes that the Williams and Dawson families were attacked ● The captivity account of Richard Williams ● Innes and Cresap report on back inhabitants killed or captured by Indians ● Sharpe informs the Lower House of the depredations ● Washington becomes ill on June 14 as he leaves Georges Creek ● Over twenty people killed or taken near Fort Cumberland in June of 1755 ● General Braddock writes from the Youghiogheny River on June 30, 1755 ● Colonel Innes writes about the temporary capture of the Half King ● A July 1 report on the progress of Braddock's army ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne's brother and maid become ill at Fort Cumberland ● Morris requests route clarification ● Morris writes to Sharpe about Indian incursions ● Morris writes to Dinwiddie regarding approximately 20 people taken or killed ● A large party of enemy Indians is encountered ● Two newspaper items relating to July 4, 1755 ● A July 4, 1755 newspaper mentions attacks on Patterson Creek ● Settlers killed on their way to Fort Cumberland ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne describes an attack on families near Fort Cumberland ● Dinwiddie writes about the Indian depredations ● Murdering Inhabitants near Fort Cumberland ● Severance of communications will retard Braddock's progress ● Governor Morris is unable to send escorts for provisions to Braddock ● The assembly rejects legislation directed at protecting western Maryland ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne describes Indians excluded from the Fort ● The Lower House asks the governor to close the session ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne's brother and maid remain ill ● Indians volunteer to help protect the people settled in the environs of Fort Cumberland ● Indian parties kill or carry away 26 back inhabitants ● Governor Morris wrote to Governor Lawrence about the Indian depredations ● They dashed out the brains of the children on the door-posts ● Braddock is defeated by the French and Indians ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne mentions a boy from the camp, with news of Braddock's defeat ● Colonel James Innes receives and forwards the news of Braddock's defeat ● Fort Cumberland-related news from Williamsburg on July 11, 1755 ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne mentions doubt at Fort Cumberland regarding the news ● Innes sends out a scout to gather more news ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne learns the truth of the bad news ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne's brother suffers convulsions ● Morris describes Burd's road troubles ● The wounded begin arriving at Fort Cumberland ● The road crew retreats on July 16 ● Dunbar sends a message to the road cutters ● Burd sends a road report ● One of Braddock's messengers describes the defeat ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne's brother dies ● Pennsylvania road cutting travails are reported in Philadelphia on July 17, 1755 ● Burd describes the July 18 retreat of the road cutters ● Orme provides Sharpe with a detailed account of the battle ● A burial is ordered for Mr. Brown ● The Gordon journal account of Braddock's defeat ● The battle of the Monongahela from the French perspective ● Another account of Braddock's defeat, reported to be a French account ● Fausett claims that he shot General Braddock ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne is still sick with fever ● Excerpts from Gordon's letter ● Sharp fears the back inhabitants will leave if Dunbar retreats from Fort Cumberland ● Jennings Run was named by 1755 ● An anonymous letter describes the supply situation at Wills Creek ● Morris sends a message to the Pennsylvania Assembly ● Morris lays the blame for the defeat on Braddock's insistence about maintaining formation ● Morris reports that the new road is opened to the Allegheny mountains ● Stout escapes and finds his way to Fort Cumberland ● Dunbar is leaving 400 wounded and sick behind at Fort Cumberland ● A request for compensation is written from Wills Creek ● The governor's message to the Virginia House of Burgesses ● Dunbar writes to Morris again ● Dinwiddie writes to St. Clair about Dunbar's withdrawal ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne is still sick ● John Harris warns of a large party of Indians deployed against the Inhabitants ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne leaves for Frederick ● A 1755 description of the cannon at Fort Cumberland ● A warning regarding a large party of French and Indians at Dunbar's camp ● Charlotte Bristowe Browne's travails continue ● Dinwiddie proposes plans for future operations ● An invalid property sale ● Sharpe goes west to encourage the back inhabitants ● The back inhabitants fled after Dunbar withdrew from Fort Cumberland ● Thomas Cresap and other settlers retreat to safety in 1755 ● Washington's orders to Adam Stephen reference country people ● A boy is wounded near Fort Cumberland ● A hunter takes refuge at Fort Cumberland in September of 1755 ● The lives and liberty of 100 might have been saved ● Many people reportedly killed or captured, including Jane Frazier ● Sharpe describes the same incidents ● The October 1, 1755 Frazier incident is reported in the news ● The Jane Frazier narrative ● An independent reference to the Frazier Indian captivity story ● News that Cresap's fortified house is under siege ● Stephen writes about McSwine's escape from Indian captivity ● Indian raids on Inhabitants at Patterson Creek and near Fort Cumberland ● More evidence of local settlements in the 1755 timeframe ● Guarding inhabitants on the South Branch of the Potomac ● Shingas is raiding from an encampment on George's Creek ● Heavy death toll on the South Branch ● Nearly 100 people killed in the vicinity of Fort Cumberland by October 1755 ● Washington purchases beef for Fort Cumberland ● Washington writes an advertisement ● Cresap makes a large delivery at Fort Cumberland ● Sharpe writes another letter about the impact of Dunbar leaving Fort Cumberland ● A force of 500 is expected at Fort Cumberland within a fortnight ● The Twightwee (Miami) are actively attacking the British ● 42 people killed at a blockhouse within six miles of Fort Cumberland in October of 1755 ● Apokalypsis ● Lewis mentions a house and ill-natured people on the South Branch ● Washington's October 23, 1755 orders to Cocke mention protecting the inhabitants ● Lewis mentions a deserted house on Patterson Creek ● The October 25, 1755 account of Captain Charles Lewis ● The October 26, 1755 description of Fort Cumberland by Captain Charles Lewis ● Fort Cumberland is instructed to use Frazier to inspect and repair guns ● Washington writes about gathering corn from the now vacant plantations ● Snowy conditions on October 30, 1755 ● Other references to the McSwine Indian captivity incident ● The 1748 treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle is mentioned in October 1755 ● Thomas Walker applies for compensation for losses ● Walker's request is considered ● The volunteers are returned to Fort Cumberland ● About 100 recruits arrive at Fort Cumberland ● November court, Frederick County, Maryland ● Daniel Pursel ● Bacon returns from Patterson Creek, where he had been sent to erect a fort ● Searching for Indians on Patterson Creek ● Cold and windy ● Hogs on the South Branch ● Fort Nicholas five miles from Fort Cumberland, and a house one mile below ● A warm day at Fort Cumberland ● A man accidently shoots a soldier in the leg ● Corn fields and an abandoned house near Fort Cumberland ● Williams' plantation is destroyed, and three settlers are killed ● Gunshots heard ● Hogs on Patterson Creek, and the South branch of the Potomac River ● Lewis returns toward Fort Cumberland ● Lewis describes mills, a house, and massacred settlers near Fort Cumberland ● Tension over command of the fort ● The names of deserters from Fort Cumberland are advertised ● Keeping cattle at Daniel Cresap's plantation, and on the South Branch ● Christmas eve ● Christmas day activities ● A day for socializing ● Corn from the farms of slaughtered families sustains the cattle ● Lewis departs Fort Cumberland to take command of Fort Ashby ● A birth at Fort Cumberland in 1755 ● An undated incident on Patterson Creek ● 1755 descriptions of the cause of the war ● Evans describes the routes from Wills Creek toward Fort Duquesne ● A 1755 map shows various settlers near Fort Cumberland ● An Indian village at Turkeyfoot is illustrated on the 1755 Mitchell map

Chapter 8. 1756: Kittanning is successfully attacked
An introduction to Shingas and Captain Jacobs ● Croghan reports the scale of operations at Kittanning ● Washington mentions inhabitants and forts on Patterson Creek ● Disputed command at Fort Cumberland ● Bounties on the heads of Shingas and Captain Jacobs ● The court martial of Lieutenant William Stark ● The dispute with Captain Dagworthy ● A new house is built at Fort Cumberland ● Don't build any more buildings than necessary at Fort Cumberland ● Washington orders a new road to Fort Cumberland ● A French account of activity near Fort Cumberland in early 1756 ● Morris describes Fort Granville ● A February 1756 newspaper article references the loss of soldiers to invading Indians ● Shingas and Captain Jacobs are on the warpath again in February of 1756 ● General Shirley settles the issue of rank ● A fort is taken downstream from Fort Cumberland on March 7, 1756 ● Bacon was killed while returning from Cresap's ● Thomas Cresap and John Nicholas are involved in 1756 Maryland Court cases ● Walnutt Bottom was patented on March 25, 1756 ● A March 23, 1756 plan to surveil Fort Cumberland is captured early in April ● Fort Ashby is attacked on April 1, 1756 ● 100 prisoners at Kittanning ● A report on Indian depredations from Fort Cumberland ● In cunning and vigilance, only Indians are a match for Indians ● The road to Fort Cumberland is infested with enemy Indians ● Stephen is ordered to join Washington at Enoch's ● The Cresaps decide on some organized payback sometime around April 8, 1756 ● The Virginia House of Burgesses receives news from Fort Cumberland ● The inhabitants fly from danger ● The revenge of Bacon's death is announced in the news ● Washington can't get to Fort Cumberland without an escort ● The troops from Fort Cumberland are out on patrol ● A fort at the mouth of Patterson Creek is attacked ● The death of Thomas Cresap, Jr. on April 23, 1756 ● A more detailed account is provided in the 'Pennsylvania Gazette' ● The settlements near Fort Cumberland were depopulated by April 1756 ● Communication between Winchester and Fort Cumberland is cut off ● Dinwiddie reports that Fort Cumberland is besieged ● John Windell Brown and his daughter are captured on the South Branch in April 1756 ● A proposal for a fort at the mouth of the South Branch of the Potomac River ● The Indians are using Braddock's road ● England declares war on France on May 17, 1755 ● Washington departs Winchester headed for Fort Cumberland ● Washington has a plan to avoid sending Fort Cumberland supplies to New York ● Stephen writes to Washington about the expedition of Cresap and Gist ● The death of an African-American Ranger in late May 1756 ● Rental properties at Fort Cumberland in May 1756 ● Men from Fort Cumberland arrive in Winchester with tools and materials on May 30, 1756 ● Stephen writes about the Cresap expedition ● The back inhabitants take some scalps ● A French report of the killing of 50 Englishmen near Fort Cumberland ● A French account of events near Fort Cumberland and Cresap's in June 1756 ● A list of Cresap's trade goods in June 1756, when he retreated from Oldtown ● Rewards for scalps taken near Fort Cumberland are paid in June ● Thomas Cresap's group is attacked near the sawmill on June 30, 1756 ● Death on Evitts Creek ● Orders at Fort Cumberland July 6, 1756 ● Orders at Fort Cumberland July 7, 1756 ● Orders at Fort Cumberland July 8, 1756 ● Miscellaneous disbursements ● Protecting the harvest on the South Branch in 1756 ● Soldiers are attacked within two miles of Fort Cumberland in July of 1756 ● French forces, including the Indian Captain Jacobs, take Fort Granville ● Washington wishes they were clear of Fort Cumberland ● Washington views Fort Cumberland as undefendable ● Thomas Cresap sues Phillip Jackson ● Captain Jacobs says he can take any fort that would catch fire ● An attack on Kittanning is authorized ● Washington writes about dealing with settlers' stray horses at Fort Cumberland ● The only settlers left are on the South Branch ● The tide begins to turn: Armstrong takes Kittanning, killing Captain Jacobs ● Washington writes that Fort Cumberland must be strengthened to avoid capture ● John Long lived in the neighborhood of Fort Cumberland ● Governor Sharpe describes western forts in 1756 ● The Virginia Regiment responds to Centinel X on October 6, 1756 ● Spies are captured near Fort Cumberland; one of them was captured on October 19, 1756 ● The Indian survivors of Kittanning decide to move to the far side of Fort Duquesne ● A council of war on the disposition of Fort Cumberland ● Lowdermilk states there were barracks outside of Fort Cumberland ● Cresap is burgled in October of 1756 ● A stratagem to take Fort Cumberland in October 1756 ● Washington describes gathering corn at Miller's place, 15 miles above Fort Cumberland ● Jane Frazier escapes her captors at Muskingum, and returns ● John Nichols has an eventful day in court ● Dinwiddie orders Washington to strengthen Fort Cumberland ● Armstrong mentions Frazier's escape, but seems to bungle the location of her captivity ● Robert Wilson, captured in November 1756 near Fort Cumberland, is returned in 1759 ● The Revelin ● Making Fort Cumberland tenable ● Washington protests the resolutions of the Virginia government ● Washington asks for clarification regarding the strengthening of Fort Cumberland ● Fort Cumberland to be kept defensible, but not cannon-proofed unless at low cost ● A French clergyman describes the actions of French-allied Indians in 1756 ● Washington refers to settlements about Fort Cumberland in 1756 ● Address of the Officers of the Virginia Regiment

Chapter 9. 1757: Maryland refuses to fund Fort Cumberland
Delinquent taxes on local properties ● Washington reluctantly repairs Fort Cumberland ● A 1757 French book describes the factors that led to war with the English ● John Frazier loses horses kept at Cresap's in 1757 ● References to Ross & sons, Trotter, Slater, and Cresap at Fort Cumberland in 1757 ● John Friend allegedly paid for animals taken from Plummer and Cresap ● Ross family traditions ● March 6, 1757 court activity ● Redoubts are ordered at the Little Meadows and the Great Crossings ● 50 men to be posted at Cresap's ● Dagworthy is ordered to Fort Cumberland ● Waiting for orders ● Dinwiddie writes to Sharpe about the troop transfer ● Bring off the Virginia stores when you leave Fort Cumberland ● An invitation to join an expedition against the French and their Indians ● Friendly Indians killed at Fort Cumberland ● Sharpe informs the Lower House about plans to garrison Fort Cumberland ● Sharpe writes to Loudon outlining his orders to Dagworthy ● Sharpe writes to Stanwix to inform him of a troop movement ● Washington writes out orders to Adam Stephen ● French Indians are sent from Detroit in April 1757 to attack the English Inhabitants ● A May 4, 1757 skirmish near Fort Cumberland ● A recalcitrant Maryland Assembly ● John Armstrong proposes a fort at Raystown ● The Legislature disagrees with Governor Sharpe ● A skirmish 40 miles above Fort Cumberland ● Sharpe writes to the legislature for clarification ● Sharpe writes to Stanwix about his problems at Fort Cumberland ● An Indian prisoner tells of a French plan to kill the inhabitants ● A May 13, 1757 skirmish on the Allegheny Mountain ● Skirmishes near Fort Cumberland ● Chapline hears of an attack on a party from Fort Cumberland ● The disposition of leftover food at Fort Cumberland ● Washington's notebook refers to the bad provisions at Fort Cumberland ● Daniel Pursel is involved in a Virginia lawsuit ● A war party returns to Fort Cumberland with scalps and a prisoner ● Washington writes about beef problems at Fort Cumberland ● The disagreement over food at Fort Cumberland continues ● Washington mentions Baker's return to Fort Cumberland ● A report that the French are coming with artillery ● Livingston reports the latest intelligence to Washington ● A war party returns from Fort Duquesne ● Lots of enemy Indians lurking near Fort Cumberland around June 16, 1757. ● Washington writes to Sharpe about the intelligence he has received ● Washington describes the significance of Braddock's road in the context of the war ● Washington believes there may have been miscommunication with the Indians ● Thomas Cresap interacts with Jonathan Plummer ● The report of artillery in transit was a false alarm ● Scalps taken in the vicinity of Fort Cumberland ● Washington sends officers to Fort Cumberland to inspect the beef ● Washington doesn't think the beef can be saved ● No credit for the fish at Fort Cumberland ● Cresap is elected to the state legislature ● Ross writes to Washington about the condemned beef ● Cresap is sworn in to the state legislature ● A skirmish on Georges Creek ● Sharpe asks the legislature to provision Fort Cumberland ● The legislature chastises Governor Sharpe ● Sharpe reports that the Maryland Assembly refuses to provision Fort Cumberland ● Sharpe snaps back at the legislature ● Sharpe informs Stanwix of the situation with Fort Cumberland ● Sharpe informs Pitt about the situation with Fort Cumberland ● Washington reports on an engagement with French Indians ● John Nichols is sued by Henry Enochs for an October 1756 debt ● Loudoun sends a public letter to Sharpe ● Loudoun is extremely alarmed about the Fort Cumberland situation ● John McDonald is being sued in Virginia ● The advancing season will make it difficult or impossible to provision Fort Cumberland ● The people resist impressment of their wagons to supply Fort Cumberland ● Alexander Beall's letter is presented to the Lower House ● Loudoun can do whatever he wants to supply Fort Cumberland ● Sharpe ridicules the legislature ● The legislature doesn't view Fort Cumberland as being worthwhile ● Sharpe replies to the Lower House regarding Fort Cumberland ● The Assembly breaks up without funding Fort Cumberland ● Loudoun comments on the Fort Cumberland-related actions of the Maryland legislature ● Fort Frederick supplied Fort Cumberland ● A tradition of a 1757 birth on Fort Hill

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All proceeds benefit the Allegany County Historical Society.

Lannie Dietle, author of "Fort Cumberland".