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Name:
Col. James Burd
Region:
Hershey/Gettysburg/Dutch Country Region
County:
Dauphin
Marker Location:
PA 230 in Highspire
Dedication Date:
September 23, 1946
Behind the Marker
Colonel James Burd played an important role in fortifying the Pennsylvania frontier after 
Braddock's Defeat left it exposed to the depredations of the French and their allied Indians. Initially, he worked as a road-builder, cutting an intended supply route for Braddock's army along the Raystown Traders' Path from Shippensburg to Raystown (modern Bedford). Burd's Road was supposed to connect with Braddock's Road, but the work proceeded too slowly to help the beleaguered general.
Burd's Road was abandoned whenColonel Dunbar evacuated the remnants of Braddock's army to Philadelphia. Burd remained on the Pennsylvania frontier, encouraging the provincial government to fortify the route between Shippensburg and Raystown, so that the French could not use the passage.
Burd's road-building efforts on behalf of Braddock paid off for the Forbes Expedition in 1758. During that campaign, Burd contributed to the construction ofFort Ligonier. A year later, he and James Shippen built Fort Burd on the Monongahela to serve as a depot for river transport to Pittsburgh.
Braddock's Defeat left it exposed to the depredations of the French and their allied Indians. Initially, he worked as a road-builder, cutting an intended supply route for Braddock's army along the Raystown Traders' Path from Shippensburg to Raystown (modern Bedford). Burd's Road was supposed to connect with Braddock's Road, but the work proceeded too slowly to help the beleaguered general. Burd's Road was abandoned when
Colonel Dunbar evacuated the remnants of Braddock's army to Philadelphia. Burd remained on the Pennsylvania frontier, encouraging the provincial government to fortify the route between Shippensburg and Raystown, so that the French could not use the passage. Burd's road-building efforts on behalf of Braddock paid off for the Forbes Expedition in 1758. During that campaign, Burd contributed to the construction of
Fort Ligonier. A year later, he and James Shippen built Fort Burd on the Monongahela to serve as a depot for river transport to Pittsburgh.