Braddock Road

by John Kennedy Lacock

After leaving the gap the road turned into the valley of Braddock Run; but the difficulty of finding present traces of it at this point seems almost insuperable on account of the character of the valley itself. The methods employed by Braddock’s engineers in laying out the road indicate that its course was probably that afterwards followed by the National turnpike to a point near the northwest corner of the Alleghany Grove Camp Ground,[25] just beyond which and south of the turnpike is a distinct hollow or trench. The neighborhood of Alleghany Grove was unquestionably the place of the first encampment, Spendelow Camp.[26]

From the point of intersection with the National turnpike, one-fourth mile west of Alleghany Grove, the Braddock Road keeps north of the turnpike on somewhat higher ground to escape swampy land; thence, in order to avoid the point of a hill (or perhaps it would be more accurate to say a spur of Piney Mountain), it crosses the turnpike to the southward, and after running parallel to it for about 150 yards recrosses it to the northward at or near the point where the present trolley line intersects it. Here there is a well-preserved scar for almost a mile to the point where the road joins the National turnpike near the six-mile post. The route then follows along the north side of the turnpike, crossing Braddock Run, a little to the north of the bridge;[27] thence running westerly north of the Six Mile House, it recrosses Braddock Run, and a few rods beyond passes between the house and barn of Charles Laber. On this farm there is a copious spring of excellent water, locally known as Braddock Spring,[28] situated about 175 feet south of Braddock Road, and according to local tradition marking the site of Spendelow Camp. That this theory is altogether unlikely, however, is shown not only by the fact that the tradition does not harmonize with the best authorities, but also by the topography of the country and the lack of sufficient and suitable ground for an encampment. That an advance party may have spent the night at or near this fine spring is not improbable, but the natural place for the camp was in the neighborhood of Alleghany Grove Camp Ground.[29]

Less than a quarter of a mile west of Charles Laber’s house Braddock Road again crosses Braddock Run; thence turning almost due south in order to avoid a rocky ascent over which no road could be built, it comes into the National turnpike about a mile west of the old toll-house. From this point it coincides with the turnpike for 225 feet; then it veers away to the north for some rods and turns west, crossing the county road known as the Short Gap road about fifty yards north of its junction with the turnpike, and passing the house now owned by John Laber. A short distance west of this point it crosses the turnpike and the Eckhart branch of the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad in order to avoid a very deep hollow, and joins the pike again four hundred feet farther on. After following the old turnpike for about one hundred feet it veers away again to the north of it at Spruce Bridge for about three-quarters of a mile, passing Smith’s Big Rocks, and joining the turnpike again less than quarter of a mile east of Clarysville. From Alleghany Grove Camp Ground to Clarysville there are only a few short stretches where traces of the road cannot be distinctly seen, and in some places the scar is nearly ten feet deep.

At Clarysville the road turns into the valley of Flaggy Run, apparently following the west bank of the stream,[30] along which there is a deep depression formed by an old mill race that might easily be mistaken for the road itself. About half a mile southwest of Clarysville the road turns almost at a right angle, keeping approximately the course of the present county road for three-quarters of a mile up Hoffman Hollow. Here again, running parallel to the present road, is an old tramway roadbed which might readily be taken for Braddock’s path. A short distance beyond the Hoffman coal mines, on the north side of the road, is a very deep scar, which is probably a part of Braddock’s roadbed. At the top of the hill the road turns northward at almost a right angle in order to avoid what was formerly a very wide swamp, and then passes over the ridge and down through Layman’s orchard, where there is a deep scar. Near the end of this ridge, overlooking Frostburg and about five miles from Spendelow Camp, is the site of the second encampment, Martin’s Plantation.[31]

From here the road crosses first the headwaters of the eastern branch of George’s Creek, next the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad, and then runs southeast of Frostburg into the premises of James Grose, and on through the Sheatz, Taylor, and William Tiley properties to Braddock Park. About 350 feet north of this park is an old milestone, which is supposed by some writers to have been set up by Braddock.[32] Leaving Braddock Park the line follows the Midlothian road for about four hundred feet; but, soon entering a lane, it crosses the western branch of George’s Creek east of an old spring-house standing near the ruins of the old Musselman farmhouse, and bearing the inscription “C. & S. Musselman, May 30th, 1806.” At this point, one-fourth mile west from Braddock Park, the ascent of Big Savage Mountain begins. Although there are some level spots on the western slope of the mountain, the ascent of more than two miles is very steep and rocky, and the cut is several feet deep in places.[33] The descent for a half mile or more is also very rugged and in places extraordinarily steep.[34] On the east and west slopes the traces of the route are very distinct.

At the foot of the mountain the road unites with a highway a little to the east of Andrew Jackson Moore’s stone house, and continues with it for nearly half a mile, when it apparently turns into a private or secondary road for about another mile to a point where there is a favorable place for fording Savage River, the last water that empties itself into the Potomac.[35] Near a schoolhouse on the north bank of Savage River and a short distance west of the mouth of Carey Run the road begins a very steep ascent of Little Savage Mountain. From this point to the Henry Blocher farm, a little over a mile westward, the course of the road follows closely that of a private way, on either side of which there are for short intervals very clear signs of the location of Braddock Road. From various indications it seems reasonable to conclude that the farm of Henry Blocher, with the adjoining one of George Blocher, marks the location of Braddock’s third encampment, Savage River Camp.[36] There is a local tradition that about five hundred yards west of the Henry Blocher farm a skirmish with the Indians took place, and that near a clump of trees east of Blocher’s house some British soldiers were buried.[37]

From the Henry Blocher farm the line follows the general course of a private road westward for about a mile, crosses Mudlick Run to Read Anderson’s house, and thence leads up a rather formidable hill, on which Braddock’s engineers appear for the first time to have made use of a winding path as a means of ascent. From this hill the road runs by very favorable ground in a nearly straight line to the corner of a wood, and then on through the woods to a township road, which it crosses at a point about a quarter of a mile from the National turnpike. Proceeding in the same straight line westward less than quarter of a mile, it reaches and crosses the turnpike to the north. It was at or near this intersection that the first brigade probably encamped on June 15.[38]

From this point to some woods less than a quarter of a mile westward there is no trace of the road, but through these woods there is a well-marked scar for over half a mile to Two Mile Run. Near this stream are the renowned “Shades of Death,” once a deep forest the tops of whose towering trees intertwined.[39] From the “Shades of Death” the road passes up Red Ridge, crossing another road a few rods to the north of a house now occupied by Henry Meerbach;[40] thence it runs to Wolf Swamp and Red Run,[41] and on to the foot of Meadow Mountain.[42] On the east and west slopes of this mountain the cuts, from six to ten feet deep, are for long distances clearly perceptible. On the western slope the beautiful estate of Little Meadows, now owned by D. F. Kuykendall, of Cumberland, marks the location of the fourth encampment.[43]

A short distance from Little Meadows the road crosses Chestnut Ridge. Thence proceeding westwardly, it intersects the National turnpike about one mile east of the Little Crossings bridge over the Castleman River, runs through the farm of Eli Stanton, where there is a very clear scar, and then crosses the Jennings Brothers’ railroad.[44] A quarter of a mile farther westward it intersects the National turnpike near Stanton’s old mill; but, after following the turnpike very closely for a few rods, it veers off to the south, crossing the Castleman River about three hundred yards above the Little Crossings bridge, near a point locally known as Hickory Hole. On the west side of the river the road veers away to the southwest, and a few rods from the fording enters some woods, in which the scar is well marked. Thence turning westward it passes about a quarter of a mile south of Grantsville, and continues in an approximately straight line to Shade Hill, which shows a scar as deep as any on the mountain ranges previously mentioned.[45] At the foot of the western slope of this hill the road crosses Big Shade Run; and a short distance westward, near Little Shade Run, it passes the house and barn now owned by John P. Miller. This was the place of the fifth encampment.

At this point, in plain view of the National turnpike, the road begins the ascent of Negro Mountain. Following a distinct trace for about a mile, the traveller reaches the farm now owned by G. W. Shaw. The road passes north of his house; and, at a point a quarter of a mile to the westward and about the same distance south of the National turnpike, it intersects a country road which extends northward to the turnpike. Continuing from this point in the same straight line, it crosses the turnpike one-fourth of a mile west of a milestone which bears the inscription “104 to Wheeling To Frostburg 16.” Up the mountain for a distance of less than a mile the scar of the road is clearly seen, as far as the north fork of Spiker Run on the eastern slope. From this point, again, the line is easily followed westward for more than half a mile, until it passes immediately south of the Oak Grove or Mennonite church; but from here to the place at which it intersects the National road on the eastern slope of Negro Mountain, at a lane east of the house of H. C. Butler, there are but slight traces.