Carlisle Fort
Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
First fort authorized by Pennsylvania. Laid out by Gov. Morris, July, 1755, "in the middle of this town," on news of Braddock's defeat. Col. John Armstrong's headquarters till 1758. Called "Fort Lowther" by some later writers.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
When news of Braddock's defeat reached the Pennsylvania capital in July 1755, Governor Robert Morris ordered a fort laid out "in the middle of" the town of Carlisle — the first fortification authorized by the province. It served as Colonel John Armstrong's headquarters until 1758 and was later remembered by some writers as "Fort Lowther." The fort made Carlisle a staging ground for the province's defense of its frontier during the French and Indian War.
Why it matters
Carlisle's fort marks Pennsylvania's first organized military response to frontier war, turning a backcountry town into a launching point for campaigns that decided the fate of the Ohio Country.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Appalachian Trail Museum13.2 mi away
- Ye Olde Sulphur Spa Historical Society13.7 mi away
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Related people
- · Robert Morris
- · John Armstrong
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Gen. John Armstrong
Carlisle, PA · est. 1949
General John Armstrong lived on this site and earned lasting fame as the "Hero of Kittanning" for his 1756 raid on a Delaware stronghold during the French and Indian War. He went on to serve as a Revolutionary officer, a member of the Continental Congress, and a county judge, dying in Carlisle in 1795 and resting in the Old Graveyard two blocks south. His long career spanned the frontier wars and the founding of the nation.
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.
Fort Robinson
Northeast Madison Township, PA · est. 1947
In 1755, as the French and Indian War set the Pennsylvania frontier ablaze, settlers in the Sherman's Valley threw up a fortified stronghold on George Robinson's land. Fort Robinson was one of a chain of rough private and provincial forts where scattered farm families could shelter when war parties swept through. For several harrowing years it served as a place of refuge on an exposed and dangerous frontier.
Fort Hunter
Susquehanna Township, PA · est. 1947
As the French and Indian War set the Pennsylvania frontier ablaze, colonists built a stockaded blockhouse here in 1755–56 to shelter settlers and to stage the construction of Fort Augusta upriver on the Susquehanna. For a few tense years it was a link in the province's chain of defenses; once the danger passed after 1763, it was abandoned and crumbled into ruin. The ground today holds the Fort Hunter Museum.