Page:History of Cumberland, Maryland 2.djvu/21

 For years past I have spent much time in gathering scraps of history regarding Fort Cumberland and its surroundings, having no other object than the gratification of my curiosity as to the early events of the place of my birth and that of my ancestors. Becoming constantly more interested in the work, and finding so much of national as well as local importance clustered about the old Fort, I finally determined to embody in as comprehensive a form as possible, for future preservation, all that could be learned of the place, from the time its primeval forests were first disturbed by the crack of the pioneer's rifle up to the close of the centennial year of our nation. The task thus self-imposed was found to be no easy one, but was persevered in from the conviction that it was a duty not to be neglected. The paucity of reliable history, in every section of Maryland, made this duty more apparent. The difficulties to be overcome, and the obstacles to be surmounted, were greater than I had anticipated, since the events of many years were involved in almost total obscurity, or left to the chances of tradition, which is at best uncertain.

Some of the ideas originally entertained as to the scope of this work have been, of necessity, abandoned.