Braddock Expedition
Shippensburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
In 1755 supplies for Braddock's army were stored here in Edward Shippen's strong stone house "at the back Run." James Burd, the son-in-law of Shippen, opened a road to carry these supplies to the west. After Braddock's defeat remaining supplies were given to sufferers from Indian attacks.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In 1755, as General Edward Braddock's army marched toward the French at Fort Duquesne, supplies for the expedition were stockpiled in Edward Shippen's stout stone house at Shippensburg. His son-in-law James Burd cut a road westward to move those provisions toward the front. After Braddock's crushing defeat, the goods that remained were handed out to settlers fleeing Indian raids along the exposed Pennsylvania frontier.
Why it matters
The episode shows how ordinary frontier towns became supply bases for the French and Indian War, and how Braddock's defeat exposed the backcountry to years of devastating raids.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Appalachian Trail Museum11.7 mi away
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Related people
- · Edward Shippen
- · James Burd
- · Edward Braddock
Related events
- · Braddock Expedition
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Forbes Road - Raystown Path
Southampton Township, PA · est. 1952
At Shippensburg the old Raystown Path split, and in 1758 General John Forbes had to choose his army's line of march west. One branch climbed directly over three steep mountains toward Burnt Cabins; Forbes instead took the southern fork around Parnells Knob to Fort Loudon, crossing the Tuscarora Mountain at Cowan Gap to avoid the punishing grades. The choice shaped where his military road—and later settlement—would run.
Forbes Road - Raystown Path
Carlisle, PA · est. 1952
In 1758, during the French and Indian War, General John Forbes set out from his base at Carlisle to seize Fort Duquesne at the Forks of the Ohio. Rather than follow Braddock's ill-fated earlier route, Forbes drove a new road westward, keeping as close as army wagons allowed to the old Raystown Indian and Traders Path. Axemen under Colonel Henry Bouquet widened the trail into a military road that ended with the French abandoning and burning the fort.
Forbes Road - Raystown Path
Dublin Township, PA · est. 1952
The Raystown Path was one of the great Indian trails threading the Allegheny ridges of central Pennsylvania, and in 1758 it became a corridor of war. During the French and Indian War, General John Forbes cut a military road westward toward the French stronghold at the forks of the Ohio, throwing up a chain of forts to guard his slow, methodical advance. The towns strung along his line of march — Littleton, Bedford, Ligonier, and finally Pittsburgh — still carry the names of those wilderness garrisons.
Fort McDowell
Peters Township, PA · est. 1947
When war swept the frontier after 1755, John McDowell's gristmill was ringed with a stockade and pressed into service as a provincial strongpoint until the more substantial Fort Loudon rose the next year. The site also anchored one end of Colonel James Burd's road, cut in 1755 to carry troops and supplies westward toward the Ohio country. A working mill thus became both a fort and a gateway into the contested interior.