History is for Everyone

PA, USA

Carlisle

10 sources organized by credibility tier.

▶Tier 1 — Institutional and Academic (4)

  • Board of War Papers: Carlisle Arsenal Correspondence, 1776-1781 — National Archives and Records Administration

    Continental Army Board of War orders and supply records relating to the Carlisle depot, which served as the primary arms manufacturing and forward supply base for the western theater.

  • Journals of the Military Expedition of Major General John Sullivan, 1779 — Knapp, Peck & Thomson (Frederick Cook, ed.)

    Collected journals of officers on Sullivan's 1779 expedition against the Iroquois, which staged through Carlisle. The primary documentary record of the largest Continental Army western campaign.

  • Pennsylvania Archives, Series 2 and 5: Militia Records and Border Defense — Pennsylvania State Archives

    State archival series covering Cumberland County militia organization, frontier ranger companies, and the Carlisle-based supply network for expeditions against Iroquois and Loyalist forces.

  • The Whiskey Rebellion: Frontier Epilogue to the American Revolution — Oxford University Press (Thomas P. Slaughter)

    Traces frontier political culture from Carlisle and the Cumberland Valley through the Revolution to the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion. Establishes the continuity of frontier radicalism centered on Carlisle.

▶Tier 2 — Reputable Secondary (4)

  • Cumberland County Historical Society: Revolutionary War Collections — Cumberland County Historical Society

    Local historical society holding Carlisle-area family papers, tax lists, and records of the pre-war frontier community that formed the base for Revolutionary military operations.

  • Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections — Dickinson College

    Dickinson College was chartered in 1783 in Carlisle. College archives hold materials on the town's late-war cultural and educational development reflecting the transition to peacetime.

  • Frontier Pennsylvania and the American Revolution — Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

    State-commissioned historical survey of Pennsylvania's western frontier during the Revolution covering the Carlisle depot, ranger units, and the complex interplay of British, Iroquois, and American forces.

  • The War Under Heaven: Pontiac, the Indian Nations, and the British Empire — Johns Hopkins University Press (Gregory Dowd)

    Provides essential background on the Paxton Boys massacre and frontier violence that preceded the Revolution and shaped Carlisle's political culture during the war.

▶Tier 3 — General Reference (2)

For details on how we evaluate sources, see our Methodology.