FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. –
A short distance east of Fort Indiantown Gap, a small monument stands alongside the road. The simple monument – a boulder with a bronze plaque affixed to it – marks the approximate location of Fort Swatara, a military fortification used in the 1750s during the French and Indian War.
While 2021 marks 80 years since Fort Indiantown Gap was dedicated in 1941, FTIG was not the first military fortification in the area. In addition to Fort Swatara, several other forts were located in the area in the mid-1700s: Fort Manada, Reed’s Fort and Harper’s Blockhouse.
Fort Swatara and Fort Manada were part of a string of forts established by Pennsylvania’s militia along the base of Blue Mountain between the Susquehanna and Delaware rivers. Reed’s Fort and Harper’s Blockhouse, meanwhile, were private residences that were used as places of refuge during Indian attacks.
Not many people are familiar with the forts, said local historian Lynn Otto, who has been studying the French and Indian War and the Blue Mountain Forts for over 30 years.
“Very few people that I come in contact with know much, if anything about them,” Otto said.
America’s frontier
The forts were established around the time of the French and Indian War, which ran from 1754 to 1764. At that time, the Blue Mountain was Colonial America’s frontier, and the forts were essentially guarding the edge of the colonies, Otto said.
“Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was probably the edge of the frontier at this time,” said Otto, who has been a French and Indian War reenactor for over 20 years.
Otto believes the French and Indian War and these forts are an important part of history. In fact, he said, The French and Indian War was a large part of the reason why the American Revolution even happened.
“At the time of these forts we’re talking about, we were all loyal British subjects,” Otto said. “There was no United States of America. We were all the property of Great Britain, but after the war, Britain found themselves in a situation where they incurred a huge war debt, and what they tried to do is throw various taxes on us, and that planted the seed for basically going for our independence.”
The forts were not what most people would think of when thinking of modern-day military bases – they were essentially farms with large wooden fences erected around the house and barn.
The biggest of the Blue Mountain forts was Fort Henry, near Bethel, Berks County. Contrary to what some believe, there was no fort at the Indiantown Gap.
“Fort Henry was a substantial fort that they built from scratch,” Otto said. “There were some, like Fort Swatara, that they just incorporated the buildings that were a farm.”
Guarding the Swatara Gap
According to a nearby sign erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Fort Swatara was originally built by Peter Hedrick in 1755. It consisted of a stockaded blockhouse and was improved in early 1756 by Capt. Frederick Smith of the Pensylvania militia to guard the Swatara Gap and protect frontier settlements.
It was located just off what is now Fort Swatara Road, east of Fort Indiantown Gap in Union Township, Lebanon County. The fort was situated near Woods Creek, which flows into the bigger Swatara Creek.
“The reason it was built was to guard the gap in the mountain where Swatara Creek flowed through,” Otto said. “It was a farm that was owned by Peter Hedrick, and basically what they did was they put a palisade, or a log wall, around the existing house and barn.”
The fort was occupied by a small company of men, probably numbering around 25, Otto said, and it was commanded by Smith. Otto said he is not aware of any skirmishes between the fort’s soldiers and Indians.
“These Blue Mountain forts were supposed to be built 10-15 miles apart, and the goal was for soldiers to patrol from fort to fort and stop any French or Indians coming from the north,” Otto said. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t a great success because it was just too much territory to try to cover.”
Fort Swatara was probably abandoned in 1758, Otto said. Its actual location is now on private property a short distance from the roadside monument, and there are no remnants of the fort remaining.
A smaller fort
Fort Manada was located in present day East Hanover Township, Dauphin County, a few miles west of Fort Indiantown Gap. According to a PHMC marker along Route 443 in front of the Manada Golf Course, James Brown's log house-fort, named Fort Manda when garrisoned as an outpost of Fort Swatara, stood nearby. It was used as a fort from January 1756 to May 1757.
Also known as James Brown's Fort, its usual complement consisted of 21 officers and men.
“It was a smaller fort (than Fort Swatara) to protect the area from the Clark and Lykens valley, and it was about 12 miles from Fort Hunter,” Otto said, referring to a fort that was located just north of Harrisburg.
Like Fort Swatara, no remnants of Fort Manada remain today.
A private enterprise
In addition to the forts that were built and/or manned by the Pennsylvania militia, there were also several private forts in the area that were used as places of refuge by settlers. Among them were Reed’s Fort and Harper’s Blockhouse.
“All the Blue Mountain forts were built and garrisoned by the Pennsylvania Regiment,” Otto said. “Others were a private enterprise. Basically, if there was a substantial building somewhere where people could go to fort up, it became in the name a fort, but actually was not a military site.”
According to a PHMC marker along Route 22 south of Fort Indiantown Gap, the house of Adam Reed, Esq. stood nearby. It was turned into a fort in 1755. Along with rangers from Hanover Township, Reed protected the people of the countryside from Indian Raids.
Those familiar with Fort Indiantown Gap probably recognize the Harper name. A restaurant named Harper’s Tavern currently sits at the intersection of Route 934 and Jonestown Road, just north of the Swatara Creek. At one time, there was a settlers' blockhouse, possibly a tavern or "public house," in the area that was used as a fort.
Other well-known private forts in the area included Light’s Fort in Lebanon and Fort Zeller near Newmanstown, Lebanon County, both of which are at least partially still standing.
While no remnants of the forts in the that once stood in the vicinity of Fort Indiantown Gap remain today, FTIG has been a significant military base in the area for 80 years. The 18,000-acre installation is home to the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the Pennsylvania National Guard headquarters and numerous Guard units, and it is one of the busiest National Guard training centers in the country.