Happy Memorial Day! Take that however you like - either belated (for Memorial Day observed) or early (for the actual holiday).
This past weekend, husband Kevin and I went to Cumberland County for a meeting of the White Rose Irregulars of York. The weather throughout May has been rather hit or miss this year, but we had a beautiful day on Saturday, so after the literary gathering we wandered off in search of history. After studying my list of which markers are where, we decided to travel just a bit more westward and visit the community of Carlisle.
I mostly know Carlisle as being the home of Jim Cheney, my fellow Keystone State enthusiast who runs UncoveringPA.com. I'm pretty sure I've passed through the outskirts at least once or twice, but I have never (as far as I can remember) actually gone there until now. Carlisle dates its founding to 1751, so it's not surprising that it's home to a fairly large number of PHMC markers, most of which are related to the American Revolution. I believe we collected about half of the markers to be found there, and only gave up the hunt because we wanted to be home for supper.
I have since been pondering the question of which one I wanted to use for this week's post, and it hasn't been an easy decision. Literally every marker we collected is fascinating. I finally settled on today's subject because it answered a question I didn't realize I had never asked, which is this: who is the eponym of Pennsylvania's Armstrong County?
Anyway, the eponym of Armstrong County (and also of Fort Armstrong, which is found there) is a man named John Armstrong. He was born in Ireland's County Fermanagh on October 13, 1717, and was a son of James Armstrong and the former Jane Campbell. The family appears to have been a large one, although exactly how many brothers and sisters John had is unknown. In fact, there doesn't seem to be a lot of information about his youth in Ireland at all. But we do know that John was educated to become a civil engineer, and when he was around thirty years old, he accepted a position as surveyor for the Penn family.
John's family life in the Province of Pennsylvania is a little confusing, because I'm not clear on exactly when he married. It's known that his wife was Rebecca Lyon Armstrong, but if her profile at FindAGrave is correct, she seems to have been a widow when they married and it also appears that she may have been John's cousin. It's confirmed that they had two sons, James in 1748 and John Jr. in 1758, both of whom later served in the American Revolution. The couple may have also had a daughter named Rebecca, but this is probably an error on the FindAGrave website; from what I've read in other sources, the Rebecca in question is more likely John Sr.'s younger sister. Given the nearly twenty-year age gap between them, John may have raised her after the deaths of their parents, which would account for the discrepancy. The records from this time period weren't always the most accurate, as we've seen time and again, and things do get muddled sometimes when viewed through the backward lens of history.
One thing we do know for sure is that in 1750, John was here in Penn's Woods, and he laid out the plan for what became the borough of Carlisle. Carlisle has its own marker, so I'll go more into detail about that in a later post. In that same year, Cumberland County was created by lopping off part of Lancaster County, and Carlisle was declared the county seat, which it has remained ever since. Because he was the one to design the borough, John is remembered to this day as being the "first citizen" of Carlisle.
Although John was considered one of the foremost surveyors in the colony, he's remembered a lot more for his military career, which was extensive. And I do mean it was extensive; from what I've read, he could have rivaled his good friend George Washington for accomplishments in battle if he'd remained in active duty much longer than he did. Many of these events have their own markers, so I'm just going to touch on each of them briefly here. He started off as a colonel in the French and Indian War, leading militia troops in Cumberland County. He led the Kittanning Expedition, also known as the Armstrong Expedition or the Battle of Kittanning, to rescue settlers who had been taken prisoner during an attack on Fort Granville, in Mifflin County, in 1756. (The fort's commander, who had been killed in the attack, was one of John's brothers. So it was personal.) A bit later, he led what is remembered as the Forbes Expedition, which chased French soldiers out of Fort Duquesne and then destroyed it. He was promoted to brigadier general when the American Revolution began, holding that rank first in the Pennsylvania militia and then in the Continental Army, and then later he became a major general in the Pennsylvania militia. He continued to aid Washington and the Continental Army, fighting in both the Battle of Brandywine and the Battle of Germantown.
However, these would be his last battles. The Battle of Germantown took place in October 1777, the same month in which John turned sixty years old. His health was in decline, and his many battle wounds were giving him difficulties, so following Germantown he was given permission to retire from active duty. He went home to Carlisle, where he was elected to the Continental Congress twice, lending his support to Washington and the adoption of the Constitution, although he was not one of the signers. He lived long enough to see his adopted homeland achieve independence, and finished out his days quietly in the borough he planned.
In 1800, a new county in western Pennsylvania was forged out of parts of Allegheny, Westmoreland, and Lycoming Counties. Its county seat was determined to be Kittanning, where John had successfully rescued the prisoners taken from Fort Granville, and where he was still remembered as the "Hero of Kittanning." For this reason, the new county was dubbed Armstrong in his memory.
Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.
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