Cumberland Is Calling

Wind Your Way to Maryland’s George Washington Country

Written by Tricia Lynn Strader

When people think of our nation’s first leader, George Washington, many will think of his beloved Mount Vernon in Virginia, or his time as a military leader during the Revolution in places like New York, New Jersey, or eastern Pennsylvania. But as a young man, Washington spent much of his early years traversing the hills and Native American trails of what is now West Virginia, western Pennsylvania, and western Maryland. Some of his most formative years or experiences occurred in western Maryland near Cumberland and western Pennsylvania. And he returned during his presidency to put down a “whiskey rebellion” in nearby Pennsylvania.

Fort Cumberland, built in 1754 at the confluence of Wills Creek and the Potomac River, was located in what is now Cumberland, but then was called Mount Pleasant. The fort was important in the early years of George Washington, while he was first a land surveyor and later a military man— before the American Revolution.

The Cumberland Heritage Days Festival is over 50 years old, and it celebrates much of the early heritage and Washington’s connection to Cumberland both as a young man and later as President. Over time, it became known as an arts and crafts festival, but Allegany County Historical Society President Dave Williams says that, in 2015, there began an effort to promote Cumberland’s history more heavily. Recently, the Whiskey Rebellion & Wills Creek Muster were added, which takes place in September.

“Cumberland began during the French and Indian War,” Williams says. “Washington was here as a surveyor at 18. He was an active diarist, writing in his journals about the area. That gives us a lot of information. By 1753, he came back in the employ of the Ohio Company. It was formed in Virginia by elite residents who were friends of the Crown. His brother Lawrence was a member. James Madison was the treasurer. The intention was to trade English goods for furs and try to prevent French incursion into the fur trade. There was a huge economic and political push to get English traders into the western frontier.”

Fort Cumberland was the western-most fort at the time, established for sale of land to settlers and the fur trade for the Ohio Company. It was the jumping-off point for British General Braddock’s disastrous expedition against the French at Fort Duquesne.

Washington was an officer in the Virginia Militia. Washington wanted a military career but never received a British officer’s commission. Little did he know where his future would take him. In 1753, Major Washington was in the area to tell the French they were encroaching on British soil at a place called Fort LeBoeuf in what is today Pennsylvania. The French rebuffed him.

“Washington moved from fort to fort, but spent a great deal of time in a little cabin in Cumberland,” says Washington historical interpreter John Koopman III. Koopman has been researching Washington for years and began actively reenacting in 2006. He can be seen in a film at Mount Vernon and has worked with the National Park Service, and in 2015 wrote George Washington at War-1776.

“Washington was impressed by the area when he’d surveyed it,” says Koopman. “He was first sent by the Virginia Governor Dinwiddie in 1753. In 1754, he was sent by the governor to reinforce an effort to build a fort at the forks of the Ohio River, present-day Pittsburgh. The fort was under construction. The French and their Indian allies pushed the work crew out before Washington got there. Instead of just turning around and going back, Washington built Fort Necessity to see what would develop.”

“Washington built Fort Necessity [in Pennsylvania], out of necessity,”

Dave Williams says. He was then given the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Virginia Regiment, 2nd in command. Colonel Fry died in a horse accident. That gave command to Washington. He lost in a clash against the French. The battle at Fort Necessity in the summer of 1754 was the opening action of the French and Indian War. This war was a clash of British, French and Native American cultures and was known as the Seven Years’ War in Europe. It ended with the removal of French power from North America, and the stage was actually being set for the American Revolution.

Koopman said Washington was offered a demotion in rank. He would not accept and resigned.

In 1755, Braddock went to remove the French from Fort Duquesne (later Pittsburgh). Starting from Fort Mount Pleasant/Fort Cumberland, General Braddock ordered a large group of men to cut a military road over Haystack Mountain. According to “Washington’s Road” by Archer Butler Hulbert, the road followed an ancient Native American trail known as Nemacolin’s path that had been improved by Washington, Delaware tribe Chief Nemacolin, Maryland frontiersman Thomas Cresap, and others for the Ohio Company. It then became known as the Braddock Road.

Barbara Crane is a member of the Heritage Days planning committee, and a volunteer at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, which stands on the site of Fort Cumberland. The fort’s old earthworks are visible at the church.

“When General Braddock brought George Washington on his ill-fated expedition in 1755, Braddock named it Cumberland after the Duke of Cumberland (commander-in-chief of the British Army,” Crane says.

As a “gentleman volunteer,” he was a guide and aide-de-camp for Braddock. Braddock met defeat east of Fort Duquesne and was fatally wounded. Washington led the troops back to Fort Cumberland, saving many lives in the process.

Braddock was buried in the middle of the road he built, and his soldiers marched over the grave, with the hope of concealing the grave’s location from the Indians. The grave was found years later by road workers and the grave was moved. The site is now marked by a marble monument erected in 1913.

Parts of the National Road/U.S. Route 40 roughly parallels the Braddock Road between Cumberland and Uniontown, Pa.

“After the failed Braddock expedition, Washington was given command of the Virginia Regiment as colonel,” said Koopman. “His task was to defend the Virginia frontier. He tried to do this by building a series of forts.”

Washington’s return to Cumberland as President

“Some people have heard of the Whiskey Rebellion,” Dave Williams says. “That did happen nearby in

Pennsylvania. Washington’s Whiskey Rebellion headquarters cabin still stands in Cumberland.”

Due to debt incurred by the Revolution, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton suggested a whiskey tax. Washington was opposed to Hamilton’s suggestion, and in 1791, Washington journeyed through Virginia and Pennsylvania to speak with citizens about their views. Local officials were enthusiastic, and it was passed by Congress. Protests began popping up and incidents escalated. The residents of western Pennsylvania refused to pay. Washington sent a peace envoy, but the efforts failed. Troops were dispatched in 1794, many of whom were Revolutionary War veterans.

Koopman says he was intrigued to become involved when asked by the organizers to play Washington for the Whiskey Rebellion. It is part of the Cumberland Heritage Days Festival in September, along with the Wills Creek Muster.

“In Washington’s presidency, it’s a little-known footnote,” says Koopman. “But he was the only President to put a uniform on and lead troops. Word got back to them that an army of 13,000 and Washington were coming. So, the people decided not to go up against him. He was definitely respected and even loved. But he was also feared.”

Washington stayed in Cumberland at that little cabin. Some of the ring leaders of the “rebellion” were arrested, and two would have hanged if not for being pardoned by Washington. He was the first President to issue a presidential pardon.

When Koopman began detailed research for his book on Washington, he thought he’d find a few skeletons in the closet, but he said the more he got into it, the more he was impressed by Washington. Washington felt a real duty to help the young country when called upon to serve. His early days were a time of making mistakes or being in the wrong place at perhaps the right time.

Washington’s final visit to Cumberland

Washington returned to Cumberland in 1794 for a review of the old Whiskey Rebellion troops at Fort Cumberland at Will’s Creek, which was a kind of reunion. Another famous man of the region, Daniel Morgan of Virginia, came out of retirement along with Light Horse Harry Lee and others to reunite veterans.

“He was the president of the Constitutional Convention, and didn’t want to continue with some of it, but accepted it to sacrifice for his country,” says Koopman. “He really wanted to be a farmer and was hesitant to be President. But, he felt it was his responsibility. He was reluctant for a second term. He decided on two term, and that was it. He went back to his beloved Mount Vernon and retired in 1797.”

July “Washington’s Collation’ & Cumberland Heritage Days Festival, September

Koopman also portrayed Washington in July in Cumberland. “When I first did it in Cumberland a couple years ago, it was just me,” says Koopman. “Now there are more reenactors, and a group that portrays Anthony Wayne’s legion.”

In July, Koopman presented what Fort Cumberland was like, and talked about the Whiskey Rebellion at a dinner reception. Collation is an 18th-century term for a meal.

The Fall Heritage Days is based around Washington Street and Emmanuel Episcopal Church. Heritage Days has free live entertainment, children’s activities, and arts and crafts, and antique cars and trucks just to name a few attractions. Tours will be held of historic sites like Washington’s headquarters which was moved from its original site to Riverside Park.

Wills Creek Muster was created in 2021 to bring more historical interpreters into the Heritage Days festival. Wills Creek Muster features military muster walkabouts through Prospect Square and back, President Washington’s Whiskey Rebellion review of militia, free Saturday period-style meal, and the Sunday 18th-century in-kit service at Emmanuel.

Emmanuel boasts Gothic Revival-style architecture and beautiful stained-glass windows. View remains of the ancient earthwork tunnels of the fort.

For more information on Heritage Days 2023, visit heritagedaysfestival.com, Heritage Days Festival on Facebook or call (301) 777-8678. For more historic site information, visit mdmountainside.com or visitmaryland.org.

John Koopman and his book information can be found on Facebook or at johnkoopmaniii.com.

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