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Name:
General John Armstrong (Hero of Kittanning)
Region:
Hershey/Gettysburg/Dutch Country Region
County:
Cumberland
Marker Location:
Northeast corner, High & Bedford Streets, Carlisle
Dedication Date:
November 30, 1949
Behind the Marker
John Armstrong (1717-1795) was a surveyor from Carlisle who became a colonel in the Pennsylvania militia created after 
Braddock's Defeat. His brother, Lieutenant Edward Armstrong, was among those provincial soldiers killed when French-allied Delaware Indians took Fort Granville in July 1756. John Armstrong led the retaliatory raid against Kittanning a few weeks later. Forty of his 300 Pennsylvania militiamen were killed or wounded in the attack, but they killed the Delaware leader Captain Jacobs and recovered several English captives held in the village.
For his leadership of the Kittanning raid, Armstrong was given a hero's welcome in Philadelphia, where he went to collect the bounty money that had been placed on the head of Captain Jacobs. A commemorative medal was even struck in his honor. But the Delawares might question this marker's description of him as "the hero of Kittanning." His tactics in that engagement–a surprise dawn raid, the burning of Indian homes with their occupants trapped inside–reflected the brutality of a frontier war that saw atrocities committed by both sides, and the high casualties sustained by his force throws into question the extent of his victory at Kittanning.
Armstrong continued to serve in Pennsylvania's provincial forces during the Seven Years' War. He commanded Pennsylvania troops recruited for the Forbes Expedition in 1758 and was instrumental in convincing General Forbes to take a route toFort Duquesne through Pennsylvania rather than following Braddock's Road. During the American Revolution, he commanded Pennsylvania militiamen at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown in the fall of 1777.
Braddock's Defeat. His brother, Lieutenant Edward Armstrong, was among those provincial soldiers killed when French-allied Delaware Indians took Fort Granville in July 1756. John Armstrong led the retaliatory raid against Kittanning a few weeks later. Forty of his 300 Pennsylvania militiamen were killed or wounded in the attack, but they killed the Delaware leader Captain Jacobs and recovered several English captives held in the village.
The "Kittanning Destroyed Medal," engraved by Edward Duffield and...
For his leadership of the Kittanning raid, Armstrong was given a hero's welcome in Philadelphia, where he went to collect the bounty money that had been placed on the head of Captain Jacobs. A commemorative medal was even struck in his honor. But the Delawares might question this marker's description of him as "the hero of Kittanning." His tactics in that engagement–a surprise dawn raid, the burning of Indian homes with their occupants trapped inside–reflected the brutality of a frontier war that saw atrocities committed by both sides, and the high casualties sustained by his force throws into question the extent of his victory at Kittanning.
Armstrong continued to serve in Pennsylvania's provincial forces during the Seven Years' War. He commanded Pennsylvania troops recruited for the Forbes Expedition in 1758 and was instrumental in convincing General Forbes to take a route to
Fort Duquesne through Pennsylvania rather than following Braddock's Road. During the American Revolution, he commanded Pennsylvania militiamen at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown in the fall of 1777.