Fort Lyttleton (also spelled LytteltonWilliam Fischer, "Fort Lyttelton," July 2, 2023
/ref> and LittletonWilliam Fischer, "Fort Littleton Historical Marker," February 7, 2023
/ref>) was a militia

stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...

located in the colonial

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

. Its site was about a mile from

Fort Littleton, Pennsylvania Fort Littleton is an unincorporated community in Dublin Township in Fulton County, Pennsylvania, United States. Fort Littleton is located at the junction of U.S. Route 522 and Plum Hollow Road, a short distance north of an interchange between ...

, near Dublin Township, in what is now

Fulton County, Pennsylvania Fulton County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,556, making it the fourth-least populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is McConnellsburg. The county was created on April 19 ...

. Active from 1755 until 1763, the stockade was initially garrisoned by 75 Pennsylvania troops but at times had as many as 225. It was in use until 1759, then abandoned and reoccupied briefly in 1763 during

Pontiac's War Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a confederation of Native Americans who were dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754– ...

Construction

Fort Lyttleton was one of four forts constructed following General

Edward Braddock Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe and Canada as ...

's defeat on July 9, 1755, at the

Battle of the Monongahela The Battle of the Monongahela (also known as the Battle of Braddock's Field and the Battle of the Wilderness) took place on July 9, 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War at Braddock's Field in present-day Braddock, Pennsylvania, ...

. At the beginning of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, Braddock's defeat left Pennsylvania without a professional military force. Lenape chiefs

Shingas Shingas (fl. 1740 – 1763) was a Lenape chief and warrior who participated in military activities in Ohio Country during the French and Indian War. Allied with the French, Shingas led numerous raids on Anglo-American settlements during the war, fo ...

and

Captain Jacobs Tewea, better known by his English name Captain Jacobs, (d. September 8, 1756) was a Lenape chief during the French and Indian War. Jacobs received his English name from a Pennsylvanian settler named Arthur Buchanan, who thought the chief resemble ...

launched dozens of Shawnee and Delaware raids against British colonial settlements, killing and capturing hundreds of colonists and destroying settlements across western and central Pennsylvania.William Albert Hunter, "Victory at Kittanning", ''Pennsylvania History'', vol. 23, no. 3, July 1956; pp 376-407
/ref> In late 1755, Colonel John Armstrong wrote to Governor

Robert Hunter Morris Robert Hunter Morris ( – 27 January 1764), was a prominent governmental figure in Colonial Pennsylvania, serving as governor of Pennsylvania and Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Early life and education Morris was born in ...

: "I am of the opinion that no other means of defense than a chain of

blockhouses A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

along or near the south side of the

Kittatinny Mountains Kittatinny Mountain (Lenape: Kitahtëne) is a long ridge traversing primarily Sussex County in northwestern New Jersey, running in a northeast-southwest axis, a continuation across the Delaware Water Gap of Pennsylvania's Blue Mountain (also ...

from the Susquehanna to the temporary line, can secure the lives and property of the inhabitants of this country, the new settlements being all fled except Shearman's Valley."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
/ref> Construction was begun in December 1755. Fort Meigs 03

On February 9, 1756, Governor Morris wrote to General

William Shirley William Shirley (2 December 1694 – 24 March 1771) was a British colonial administrator who served as the governor of the British American colonies of Massachusetts Bay and the Bahamas. He is best known for his role in organizing the succ ...

: Governor Morris ordered

George Croghan George Croghan (c. 1718 – August 31, 1782) was an Kingdom of Ireland, Irish-born fur trader in the Ohio Country of North America (current United States) who became a key early figure in the region. In 1746 he was appointed to the Onondaga Cou ...

to construct these forts under the direction of Colonel Armstrong. Aside from Fort Lyttleton, construction began on

Fort Morris Fort Morris is an earthen works fort in Liberty County, Georgia, in the United States. The fort is on a bend in the Medway River and played an important role in the protection of southeast Georgia throughout various conflicts beginning in 1741 ...

in Shippensburg, Fort Loudoun, and Carlisle Fort.William A. Hunter, "Fort Loudoun Revisited," ''Cumberland County History,'' vol 12, no. 1, Summer 1995; pp. 3-12
/ref> At the time, Croghan lived on upper

Aughwick Creek Aughwick Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Juniata River in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ...

and was also able to supervise the construction of

Fort Granville Fort Granville was a militia stockade located in the colonial Province of Pennsylvania. Its site was about a mile from Lewistown, in what is now Granville Township, Mifflin County. Active from 1755 until 1756, the stockade briefly sheltered ...

and

Fort Shirley Fort Shirley (initially known as Croghan's Fort) was a military fort located in present-day Shirleysburg, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1755 by George Croghan and later maintained by the Province of Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War ...

.Alan Gallay, ''Colonial Wars of North America, 1512-1763: An Encyclopedia,'' Routledge Revivals, 2015
Governor Morris named Fort Lyttleton after Sir George Lyttleton, British

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

(1709–1773). The fort was located near a Native American village known as Sugar Cabins, at the eastern end of the

Forbes Road The Forbes Road, a historic military roadway in what was then British America, was initially completed in 1758 from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to the French Fort Duquesne at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now d ...

and close to a well-traveled Native American trail leading from central Pennsylvania to the

Ohio Country The Ohio Country (Ohio Territory, Ohio Valley) was a name used for a loosely defined region of colonial North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and south of Lake Erie. Control of the territory and the region's fur trade was disputed i ...

, with the intent that the fort would serve to monitor the passing of Indians engaged in trading as well as any war parties. According to a plan now located in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

, the fort was a 100-foot square stockade with

bastions A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

at the four corners, and 8 buildings inside, including four barracks, an officers' quarters, a

gunpowder magazine A gunpowder magazine is a magazine (building) designed to store the explosive gunpowder in wooden barrels for safety. Gunpowder, until superseded, was a universal explosive used in the military and for civil engineering: both applications re ...

, and two "stone buildings," probably a kitchen and a storehouse. The Reverend Thomas Barton, an

army chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases, they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

who was stationed at Fort Loudoun, described Fort Lyttleton in a letter on July 21, 1758: "This Fort is a regular & well-plan'd Square Stockade of 126 Feet."

Military history

The fort's first commander was Captain Hance Hamilton (1721–1772), who arrived soon after the capture and destruction of

Fort McCord The Battle of Sideling Hill (sometimes written Sidling Hill) was an engagement in April 1756, between Pennsylvania militia, Pennsylvania Colonial Militia and a band of Lenape warriors who had attacked Fort McCord and taken a number of colonia ...

on April 1, 1756. On April 2, Captain Hamilton, together with Captain Chambers and Captain Culbertson, led a rescue force, which encountered

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

reinforcements led by

and suffered a number of casualties at the Battle of Sideling Hill. Captain Culbertson was killed, and his surviving troops retreated to Fort Lyttleton.B. F. M. MacPherson, "Some History on Col. Hance Hamilton, part 1 of 2," in ''The Gettysburg Times,'' Saturday, February 22, 1958, Page 6
/ref> Soon after this, Elisha Salter,

Commissary General A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

, visited

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

and found the civilian populace abandoning their settlements in terror, after a series of brutal raids by Lenape and Shawnee warriors. He wrote to Governor Morris: "Upon my arrival here, I found the people in the greatest confusion, the troops abandoning the forts and the country people gathering in the greatest consternation...I have prevailed on the people...to escort me to Fort Littleton." The construction of four stronghold forts and several smaller secondary forts along the western Pennsylvania frontier provided some stability, although the destruction of

in August raised fears that the forts were too far apart and too difficult to supply. In September, Armstrong led the

Kittanning Expedition The Kittanning Expedition, 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 p ...

, rescuing 11 captives and killing the feared warrior

. Colonel Armstrong stopped for several days at Fort Lyttleton on his return from the Kittanning Expedition. Captain

Hugh Mercer Hugh Mercer (January 16, 1726 – January 12, 1777) was a Scottish brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He fought in the New York and New Jersey campaign and was mortally wounded at the Battle of Pri ...

was wounded during the fighting at Kittanning and was separated from the other troops. His return journey took two weeks before he "lay down, giving up all hopes of ever getting home." A "company of

Cherokee Indians The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

in kings pay" found him and carried him to Fort Lyttleton, where he recovered.Robert Robison, "Colonel J. Armstrong's Attack on the Kittaning", in ''A Selection of some of the most interesting narratives of outrages committed by the Indians in their wars with the white people'', Archibald Loudon, ed. Carlisle: A. Loudon Press, 1811
/ref> By 1757, Fort Lyttleton began to attract Cherokee Indians seeking to support British troops as

auxiliaries Auxiliaries are combat support, support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular army, regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties ...

and also spies. In June 1757, Armstrong received reports that "a large Reinforcement of French and Indians from Canada & Mississippi" at

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne ( , ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed ...

"wou'd...endeavor to cutt off the back Inhabitants." Cherokees then informed Armstrong that they had seen "a large Body of French and Indians, and a great Number of Carriages & Horses" at Fort Duquesne; and that on June 10 an enemy force was following

Braddock's road The Braddock Road was a military road built in 1755 in what was then British America and is now the United States. It was the first improved road to cross the barrier of the successive ridgelines of the Appalachian Mountains. It was construc ...

toward Fort Cumberland. Colonel

John Stanwix John Stanwix ( 1690 – 29 October 1766) was a British soldier and politician. Background He was born John Roos, the son of Rev. John Roos, rector of Widmerpool, Nottinghamshire. In 1725, he succeeded to the estates of his uncle Thomas Stanwix ...

, evidently concerned that Fort Loudoun would not withstand an assault, "dispatched off 2 Companies of Col. Armstrong's Battalion to Fort Littleton with orders to destroy it & bring away all the Provisions & Stores to Fort Loudoun." This order was evidently not obeyed, and on June 28, Stanwix wrote to Armstrong that he had "augmented the Garrison at Fort Lyttleton, 150 Men."Hunter, William Albert. ''Forts on the Pennsylvania Frontier: 1753–1758,'' (Classic Reprint). Fb&c Limited, 2018.
/ref> The fort was later used as one of the supply forts along the Forbes Road in the successful 1758

Forbes Expedition The Forbes Expedition was a British military campaign to capture Fort Duquesne, led by Brigadier-General John Forbes in 1758, during the French and Indian War. While advancing to the fort, the expedition built the Forbes Road. The Treaty of Eas ...

to capture Fort Duquesne. The fort was abandoned in July 1759, during the construction of Fort Pitt. In June 1763, George Croghan raised a volunteer company of 25 men to re-occupy the fort in response to

. The fort saw no action and Colonel

Henry Bouquet Henry Bouquet (born Henri Louis Bouquet; 1719 – 2 September 1765) was a Swiss mercenary who rose to prominence in British service during the French and Indian War and Pontiac's War. He is best known for his victory over a Native America ...

, marching from Carlisle in late July, found the fort abandoned. The fort was in ruins by 1764.

Archaeology

In August 2013, forty

shovel test pit A shovel test pit (STP) is a standard method for Phase I of an archaeological survey. It is usually a part of the Cultural Resources Management (CRM) methodology and a popular form of rapid archaeological survey in the United States of America a ...

s, each 50 centimeters square, were dug in the area behind the 1924 historical marker, where local residents have found part of a 4.5 centimeter

swivel gun A swivel gun (or simply swivel) is a small cannon mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that rot ...

believed to have been used at Fort Lyttleton. Test pits were also dug on an adjacent property where a tavern, a blacksmith shop and a

wheelwright A wheelwright is a Artisan, craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright" (which comes from the Old English word "''wryhta''", meaning a worker - as also in shipbuilding, shipwright ...

's shop are thought to have stood. Future digs will focus on the 4.9-acre plot owned by the

Archaeological Conservancy The Archaeological Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that acquires and preserves archaeological sites in the United States of America, United States. Whereas nearly every other nation protects all archaeological sites within its b ...

where the fort was located.

Legacy

In 1767, the town of

Fort Lyttleton Fort Lyttleton (also spelled Lyttelton and Littleton) was a militia stockade located in the colonial Province of Pennsylvania. Its site was about a mile from Fort Littleton, Pennsylvania, near Dublin Township, in what is now Fulton County, ...

(later renamed Fort Littleton) was established near the fort's former location."History of Dublin Township," in ''History of Bedford, Somerset, and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania,'' Chicago: Waterman, Watkins & Co., 1884; pp. 594-601, 659-664
/ref> In 1924, a historical marker was erected on the site of the fort by the Pennsylvania Historical Commission and the Fulton County Historical Society. In 1967, a second marker was erected in Dublin Township by the

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, responsible for the collection, conservation, and interpretation of Pennsylvania's heritage. The commission cares for hist ...

, but in 2023 it was reported missing.

References

External links

Map of Fortifications on the Pennsylvania Frontier in 1756

"A Pleasant Surprise ~ Fort Lyttleton & Fort Shirley," video by The Wandering Woodsman
{{Fulton County, Pennsylvania 1756 establishments in Pennsylvania Lyttleton Lyttleton Lyttleton Lyttleton Military installations established in 1756 Pontiac's War 1764 disestablishments Geography of Fulton County, Pennsylvania Pre-statehood history of Pennsylvania