Fort Lyttleton was one of four important forts erected, at Armstrong's direction, by Governor Morris west of the Susquehanna late in 1755 and early in 1756. It was built "at Sugar Cabins upon the new road"; wrote Morris to Shirley February 9: "It [Fort Lyttleton] stands upon the new road opened by this Province towards the Ohio, and about twenty miles from the settlements, and I have called it Fort Lyttleton, in honor of my friend George. This fort will not only protect the inhabitants in that part of the Province, but being upon a road that within a few miles joins General Braddock's road, it will prevent the march of any regulars into the Province and at the same time serve as an advance post or magazine in case of an attempt to the westward." The site of this fort was on land now owned by Dr. Trout, of McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania--about sixty feet on the north side of the old state road.[48] Fort Morris at Shippensburg was building in November 1755; "we have one hundred men working," wrote James Burd, "... with heart and hand every day. The town is full of people, five or six families in a house, in great want of arms and ammunition; but, with what we have we are determined to give the enemy as warm a reception, as we can. Some of our people have been taken prisoners, but have made their escape, and came to us this morning." There had, as noted, been some sort of fortification here at an earlier date, Fort Franklin. As said previously, Fort Morris was still uncompleted July 23, 1756. It was in Fort Franklin, undoubtedly, that the magazine was placed during Braddock's campaign. Fort McDowell, at McDowell's Mill, was also erected in 1756, being an important point at the junction of the old road into Virginia and the new road to Raystown. The savage onslaughts of the Indians were felt no more severely in any quarter than near here. At Great Cove, in November 1755, forty-seven persons were murdered or taken captive out of a total population of ninety-three. The strategic position of Fort McDowell at the junction of the roads was emphasized by Colonel Armstrong, who, after saying that Forts Lyttleton, Shippensburg, and Carlisle were the only ones that would be useful to the public, added: "McDowell's, or thereabouts, is a necessary post; but the present fort is not defensible."