Fort Pearsall

More information at Warlike, Wikipedia Fort Pearsall (1754-1764) - A French & Indian War era fort established in 1754 near Romney, Hampshire County, West Virginia. Named Fort Pearsall after Job Pearsall. Abandoned as a fortification in 1764. Also known as Job Pearsall's Fort. Fort Pearsall Site Marker History Established by Job Pearsall as a stockaded cabin in 1753 to protect settlers against hostile Shawnee and allied tribes along the Ohio River. In 1756, as the French & Indian War began, the fort became a Virginia colonial militia fort and the stockade was greatly enlarged to enclose several cabins that could garrison up to 100 troops. The fort guarded a strategic route between George Washington's Headquarters at Winchester and Fort Cumberland in present-day Maryland. The fort was situated at a crossing of the South Fork of the Potomac River. On 10 Jul 1756, Colonel George Washington wrote that "it will be found necessary to maintain a Block-house at Pearsall's, to secure that difficult pass, and keep the communications open." Fort Pearsall became a supply depot for the Virginia Regiment and other fortifications along the South Branch of the Potomac and, in January 1756, Colonel Washington noted "There are three thousand weight of Pork laid in at Job Pearsall's." Some 35 to 47 soldiers of Captain Robert McKenzie’s Virginia Regiment Company garrisoned the fort in 1756-1757. Other units included Captain John Ashby’s ranger company and militiamen from surrounding counties. In June 1758, 496 men of the 1st and 2nd Virginia Militia Regiments were encamped at Fort Pearsall for the campaign against Fort Duquesne. Fort Duquesne was subsequently abandoned by the French and destroyed on 25 Nov 1758, removing the French threat. The fort then closed down but may have reopened during Pontiac's War in 1763-64 but appears to have been abandoned by the winter of 1764. Current Status Fort Pearsall Marker Text Archeological remains only and one marker located in the southwest corner of the Old Indian Mound Cemetery. The cemetery is along U.S. 50 on the west side of Romney. The exact site of the fort is not identified and the probable sites are on private property. Several stones said to be once a part of the fort are no longer next to the marker. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Indian Mound Cemetery, Romney, Hampshire County, West Virginia. Map point is the marker location. Maps & Images Lat: 39.34306 Long: -78.76667 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 814' See Also: French & Indian War Pontiac's War Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 346. USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 1718638 Links: North American Forts - Fort Pearsall Fort Edwards Foundation - Fort Pearsall Encyclopedia of West Virginia Fortification ID: WV0237 - Fort Pearsall Visited: 31 May 2016