Braddock's Field
North Braddock, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Known as the high tide of the Whiskey Rebellion, the rendezvous of militias from Pennsylvania's four western counties took place here, August 1-2, 1794. This was the largest armed resistance to the national government between the Revolutionary and Civil War eras. Although this demonstration by 5,000 to 7,000 men was essentially peaceful, it signaled to the government a need for military force to suppress the revolt.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In the summer of 1794, farmers across western Pennsylvania rose up against a federal excise tax on whiskey — the cash crop of the frontier — in what became the young republic's gravest test of federal authority. Here at Braddock's Field, thousands of armed militiamen from the four western counties massed on August 1–2 in a show of force that stopped just short of open war. Their gathering, the largest armed defiance of the national government before the Civil War, pushed President Washington to raise a militia army and march west to restore order.
Why it matters
The Whiskey Rebellion forced a fledgling United States to prove that a federal government could enforce its own laws — a defining moment in establishing national authority under the new Constitution.
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Related events
- · Whiskey Rebellion
Themes & tags
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