The Conococheague Uprising? Never heard of it...

Recently, I took a brief sightseeing trip, back up into western Maryland and central PA.  (Yes, even in spite of the forecast of rain.) 

First stop was Hagerstown, MD…named for Jonathan Hager, a German immigrant who purchased 200 acres in 1739 and initially named it Hager’s Fancy.   It was a big railroad town back in the day (Western Maryland Railway), and now (under CSX Transportation) it remains as such, at least to some extent.  There is a big edifice along Burhans Blvd, which currently serves as Hagerstown’s  headquarters for the police department.  Trains still pass the building:

…which used to be Hagerstown’s Western Maryland Railway depot.   Fortunately, city fathers saw fit to re-purpose the building instead of demolishing it…and the restaurant across the street seemed to be getting a fair amount of walk-up business from staff at lunchtime!

Then it was off to the land of the Conococheague Uprising.   What's that you say?  You hadn’t heard of the Conococheague Uprising of 1765?  Don’t feel bad…I hadn’t, either.   (FYI the word itself is of Delaware Indian origin.) 

Here is a summary from Wikipedia:

The Black Boys, also known as the Brave Fellows and the Loyal Volunteers, were members of a white settler movement in the Conococheague Valley of colonial Pennsylvania sometimes known as the Black Boys Rebellion. The Black Boys (Important...not a reference to actual race of the members – M.),  so-called because they sometimes blackened their faces during their actions, were upset with British policy regarding American Indians following Pontiac’s War. When that war came to an end in 1765, the Pennsylvania government began to reopen trade with the Native Americans who had taken part in the uprising. Many settlers of the Conococheague Valley were outraged, having suffered greatly from Indian raids during the war. The 1764 Enoch Brown School Massacre, in which ten school children had been killed and scalped, was the most notorious example of these raids.

Led by James “Black Boy Jimmy” Smith, the Black Boys—faces blackened and dressed as Indians—confiscated and destroyed a number of supply wagons that were headed to Fort Pitt on March 6, 1765. Some of the items in the supply wagons were official diplomatic presents, necessary for making peace with Native Americans at Fort Pitt. Other items, however, were trade goods sent by Indian trader George Croghan who was seeking to recoup his losses from the French and Indian War.  Croghan had secretly (and illegally) included rum and gunpowder in the shipments in order to make a profit once trade with the Indians was legally resumed.

Despite the fact that the shipment contained illegal trade goods, British army officers at nearby Fort Loudoun sided with Croghan and the traders. Using American Indian raiding tactics, the Black Boys continued to prevent shipments from moving through the valley, and Fort Loudoun was surrounded and fired upon on several occasions.

Tensions dissipated after formal peace in Pontiac's War had been established, but in 1769, when another war with Native Americans seemed imminent, Black Boys again stopped another wagon train. After British troops arrested several of the Black Boys and imprisoned them in Fort Bedford. James Smith and the Black Boys surprised and captured the fort on September 12, 1769. No one was harmed, and the prisoners were set free. (This capture of Fort Bedford is documented only in Smith's autobiography, so it may be a tall tale, although historian Gregory Evans Dowd notes that there is some corroborating evidence, and some other historians believe the tale to be true.) Troops were sent to arrest Smith, and in a struggle a friend of Smith was shot and killed. Smith was arrested and charged with manslaughter, but was acquitted, as there were doubts that it was his weapon that had killed the man.

The above really is stuff you never heard about in school, wouldn’t care about if they told you, and promptly forgot about, after exams were over!  It's part of our history, so I wanted to cover some of the countryside affected by it, as well as see a few landmarks still standing.

First stop was the former Maxwell property in Mercersburg, PA.  This limestone two-story house was part of the 2,000 acre estate of Justice William Maxwell, who died in 1777.  It is now privately owned, and the picture was taken from a public road. 

On to Fort Loudon, near its namesake town in Pennsylvania.    It’s a little-known state monument from the era of Pontiac’s war, and the state must be having its perennial funding issues.  A large and well-kept sign on the main road advertises its existence, but when you drive to the fort (on its tar-and-chip country lane with pretty split-rail fencing on both sides), it’s closed.  

There are signs posted near the locked gate, advising trespassers that there is “Danger - walls are unstable.”  That may be an understatement.  From a distance, it appears that in places, some of the walls may be ready to fall down.   But the fort wasn’t the only sight to see in that location.  There is what appears to be a country farmhouse with log cabin style extension in the back.  No signage tells about its history, but it, too, was closed.

Then it was “Westward Ho”, over Tuscarora Mountain Summit on US Route 30, elevation 2123’, with its Mountain House restaurant at the peak, providing a fabulous view on a clear day. 

I was enroute to the little burg named after Daniel McConnell, who laid out the “borough” (a form of municipal government in Pennsylvania) of McConnellsburg on April 20, 1786.    There, the former McConnell’s Tavern still stands downtown, on Lincoln Way West. now serving as someone’s private residence.   It was a resting place for travelers prior to the March 1768 ambush at Sideling Hill.  I hope the owners appreciate the importance of their home to the area’s history…   And that town was my last stop before “heading for the barn” for the day.

You might be wondering: what did I wear for this excursion?  Neither the new gray skort I just received, nor my denim one.  Didn’t even take them along.  I needed to be able to do quick "cornfield changes" without fully disrobing.    Thus I wore shorts, and when the time was finally right, I pulled my red paisley skirt on over them, removing the shorts carefully and discreetly from underneath.   It worked like a charm!   I didn’t concern myself with wearing the same outfit all the time on the traveling portion of my journey, as it was unlikely I’d see the same folks twice.   

While walking around town, an opportunity presented itself to get a pic of my outfit.  By the way, I love my new heels…they’re perfect, and they are stretching a bit.  Heels nonetheless, but comfortable enough that I should be able to wear them all day long.   (As long as the pavement is decently smooth.)  It’s much easier to sprain an ankle in any height of heel than in flats, particularly till the wearer gets used to them!

Before arriving at the motel, there was another cornfield change and I put Mandy back in the suitcase.  I’ve stayed at the motel before and am sort-of-known by the proprietor.  However, at dinnertime in a restaurant in a nearby town, I was addressed as “Ma’am” even in my shorts and top.   Eventually, though, they dropped the “Ma’am” and went to “no gender specific form of address.”   Not sure why…maybe back-room discussion about me?  Didn’t matter – either was fine.

More later!

Mandy