Espy House
Bedford, Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Built about 1771. It was the headquarters of George Washington in October, 1794, when he came to Bedford to review troops assembled here to quell Whiskey Rebellion in western part of the State.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
This limestone house in the frontier town of Bedford dates to about 1771, but its brush with history came in October 1794, when President George Washington made it his headquarters. He had ridden west to review the militia army gathered to put down the Whiskey Rebellion, the tax revolt by western Pennsylvania farmers that became the first great test of federal authority under the new Constitution. Bedford, on the road across the Alleghenies, was the staging ground for that show of force.
Why it matters
It marks the only time a sitting American president personally took the field with troops, a defining moment in establishing that the young federal government could enforce its own laws.
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Related people
- · George Washington
Related events
- · Whiskey Rebellion
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Anderson House
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