Bethabara Fort 1756-63

During the French and Indian War, the peaceful Moravians at Bethabara built a five-sided palisade around the central part of their community in only 18 days during harvest time. Later, fortifications were added to the nearby mill and graveyard. Indians never attacked Bethabara. A July 5, 1756, Bethabara Diary entry says that after dinner Br. Jacob Loesch called the Single Brethren together, and they unanimously decided to stop all work except harvesting until a palisade had been built around the houses to make them safe before any Indian incursion, with duties assigned for felling trees, digging the trench, and continuing the harvest.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina · United States