During the French and Indian War, the Province of Pennsylvania built a defensive chain of forts from the New Jersey border, southwest to the Maryland border, in response to numerous attacks on civilian settlements by Native American war parties under the direction of French officers and often with the aid of French troops. Settlers also built a number of stockaded blockhouses, as a second line of defense, in which they and their families could take shelter when attacked. The forts and some of the blockhouses were garrisoned with provincial regulars or militia.Hunter, William Albert. Forts on the Pennsylvania Frontier: 1753–1758, (Classic Reprint). Fb&c Limited, 2018; pp 330-340

The forts were built within a day's march of each other, so that patrols could range between them to prevent Native American war parties from traveling freely to attack settlements. Nonetheless, attacks persisted, and in 1755 when Fort McCord and Fort Granville were captured and burned by French and Native American forces, it became apparent that many of the forts were too far apart and too difficult to supply. The Kittanning Expedition in September destroyed the Lenape village of Kittanning, which had been used as a staging area for Native American attacks,William Albert Hunter, "Victory at Kittanning", Pennsylvania History, vol. 23, no. 3, July 1956; pp 376-407 but raids on Pennsylvania settlements continued until the Forbes Expedition in 1758 succeeded in capturing Fort Duquesne. Significant victories elsewhere eventually led to the French capitulation in 1760, and as the forts were expensive to garrison and supply, many of them were abandoned and dismantled. During Pontiac's War in 1763, a few forts were refurbished, and several remained in use during the American Revolutionary War.William Albert Hunter, "First Line of defense, 1755-56," Pennsylvania History, Vol.1. XXII, No. 3: July, 1955

Background

Competition between Britain and France over control of the Ohio Country began to escalate with the destruction of the British fort at Pickawillany in 1752.Martinez, Luke Aaron Fleeman "The land belongs to neither one": Native Americans, Europeans, and the raid on Pickawillany, Master's Thesis, College of Social Sciences, California State University, Fresno; May 2011 Pennsylvania authorities were alarmed when the French built Fort Presque Isle and Fort Le Boeuf in 1753, although it was unclear at the time whether these forts were built in British colonial territory. In August, French troops occupied the trading post and blacksmith forge of Scottish frontiersman John Fraser, and built Fort Machault around it.Thomas Lynch Montgomery, ed. Report of the Commission to Locate the Site of the Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania, vol 1, Harrisburg, PA: W.S. Ray, state printer, 1916 The Ohio Company attempted to counter this by building Fort Prince George at the forks of the Ohio in April 1754, but the French quickly captured the fort and replaced it with their own Fort Duquesne.Doug MacGregor, "The Shot Not Heard Around the World: Trent's Fort and the Opening of the War for Empire." Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, Summer 2007, Vol. 74, No. 3, State College: Penn State University Press pp. 354-373 In June, Washington's Virginia troops hastily built Fort Necessity, which the French captured and destroyed in July. This military occupation of territory, by building forts as supply and communication points, would determine the control of colonial lands and would define the frontier for both nations.Alfred Proctor James, Charles Morse Stotz, Drums In The Forest: Decision At The Forks. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005.

Braddock's defeat at the Battle of the Monongahela in July 1755 left Pennsylvania without a professional military force.Samuel J. Newland, The Pennsylvania Militia: Defending the Commonwealth and the Nation, 1669–1870, Annville, PA, 2002 The Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, composed largely at the time of Quakers who opposed any kind of military action for religious reasons, resisted the construction of fortresses and the formation of a militia, but pressure from the displaced settlers forced them to appropriate funds for weapons and the construction of blockhouses for civilian refuge. On July 31, the Provincial Assembly received petitions from several townships in Lancaster County, "setting forth the great Danger they apprehend themselves to be in since the late Defeat of the Forces under General Braddock, and praying that this House would furnish them with Arms and Ammunition for Defence of their Houses and Families." On August 22, the Assembly granted £1000 and formed a committee of five members, one of whom was Benjamin Franklin. By October the committee had purchased five hundred guns and ammunition which were distributed to settlers in Cumberland, York, and Lancaster counties.

The British perception that the conflict would mainly involve European armies was quickly revised when Native American war parties began targeting civilian communities. Lenape chiefs Shingas and Captain Jacobs launched dozens of raids against British colonial settlements, killing and capturing hundreds of colonists and destroying settlements across western and central Pennsylvania. The Penn's Creek massacre in October 1755, and the Great Cove massacre and the Gnadenhütten massacre in November, resulted in the deaths of fifty settlers and the capture of dozens more. Almost immediately, thousands of colonists abandoned their farms and communities and fled to the safer cities near the Atlantic coast, threatening the colony with economic collapse.Matthew C. Ward, Breaking the Backcountry: The Seven Years’ War in Virginia and Pennsylvania, 1754–1765, Pittsburgh, 2003

The Provincial Assembly decided that merely sending arms and ammunition to settlers would not be an adequate response. Community leaders demanded protection, petitioning the Assembly to "grant a sufficient Sum of Money to maintain such a Number of regular Troops as may be thought necessary to defend our Frontiers, and build Fortifications in proper Places." On November 2, Colonel John Armstrong wrote to Governor Robert Hunter Morris: "I'm of the opinion that no other means than a Chain of Block Houses along or near the south side of the Kittatinny Mountains, from the Sasquehannah to the Temporary Line, can Secure the Lives and properties of the Inhabitants of this Country, the new Settlements being all fled except Shareman's Valley." On November 17, settlers in Cumberland County submitted a petition to the Assembly for "A Line of Forts [to] be Erected from Potowmack to Susquehanna." On November 26, Governor Morris signed into law "An Act for the better ordering and Regulating such as are willing and desirous to be united for Military Purposes within this Province", including a grant of sixty thousand pounds from the Assembly, to build a string of defensive forts across central Pennsylvania, and to pay for the training, arming and provision of troops to defend the colony.Matthew C. Ward, "La Guerre Sauvage: The Seven Years' War on the Virginia and Pennsylvania frontier." (1992). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects; Paper 1539623829Daniel Ingram, "Anxious Hospitality: Indian “Loitering” at Fort Allen, 1756–1761," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. CXXXIII, No. 3, July 2009 On December 10 and 11, over a hundred Native Americans attacked farms and a mission school near Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania during the Northampton massacre, burning 45 buildings and killing as many as 89 people.Sipe, Chester Hale. The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania: An Account of the Indian Events, in Pennsylvania, of the French and Indian War, Pontiac's War, Lord Dunmore's War, the Revolutionary War and the Indian Uprising from 1789 to 1795; Tragedies of the Pennsylvania Frontier Based Primarily on the Penna. Archives and Colonial Records. Telegraph Press, 1931.

Construction

Governor Robert Hunter Morris was in Shippensburg in July 1755, when he received the news of Braddock's defeat. Morris immediately laid out the ground plan for a fort in the town, and ordered a similar fort to be constructed in neighboring Carlisle. These forts (Fort Morris and Carlisle Fort) were the first proposed in what later became the defensive line of forts and blockhouses on the Pennsylvania frontier, although neither was completed until 1756. In response to rumors that French troops were preparing to advance into central Pennsylvania, other communities immediately began planning their own forts, but the colony lacked any tradition of fort-building, and no military engineers were then available to supervise construction.

Benjamin Franklin was charged with establishing a line of defense that would protect Pennsylvania settlements from attacks by French-allied Native Americans. He supervised the construction of Fort Hamilton and Fort Depuy in December 1755 and Fort Norris, Fort Allen and Fort Franklin in early 1756. However, Franklin felt that the responsibility for building forts should be given to someone with more military training, and offered a colonel's commission to Captain William Clapham, who accepted. Clapham supervised the construction of Fort Hunter, Fort Halifax and Fort Augusta, the largest fort in Pennsylvania at the time, with a garrison of over 350 troops. At the same time, twenty other forts were built in addition to two dozen blockhouses constructed by settlers. East of the Susquehanna River, the chain of forts ran parallel and to the south of the Blue Mountain, and west of the river it lay just northwest of the mountains. The defensive line stretched from Fort Dupuy near the New Jersey border, southwest to Fort Loudoun on the Maryland border, and was largely finished by September 1756, with the completion of Fort Morris."Fortifications on the Pennsylvania frontier in 1756," illustrated by Justin Blocksom, based on the information given in The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania by C. Hale SipeWilliam A. Hunter, "Fort Loudoun Revisited," Cumberland County History, vol 12, no. 1, Summer 1995; pp. 3-12

Settlers immediately began fortifying homesteads and mills to serve as blockhouses where civilians could take refuge when attacked. George Croghan fortified his trading post at Aughwick Creek in September 1755, and this later became Fort Shirley. Thomas McKee began fortifying Hunter's Mill in October, and this eventually became Fort Hunter. Peter Hedrick fortified his homestead and this eventually became Fort Swatara. William Maxwell (a survivor of the Braddock Expedition) formed a company of militia at Peters Township and began building a stockade at McDowell's Mill on November 3. Fortified homesteads included Fort Dupuy, Fort Deshler, Light's Fort, Whitefield House, and Heinrich Zeller House. The provincial government frequently assisted communities in building their own forts, recognizing that this offered more protection for more people. Some of these community blockhouses later received garrisons of provincial troops and swivel guns. These smaller "private forts" provided refuge for civilians and bolstered confidence that Native American attacks could be resisted, encouraging settlers to stay on their farms.

Typical design and layout