CUMBERLAND — Episode seven of the Preservation Maryland Revolution@250 podcast series, sponsored by the Maryland Two-Fifty Commission, recently featured two Western Maryland history scholars discussing the Whiskey Rebellion of 1791–1794.
Hosted by Nicholas Redding, president and CEO of Preservation Maryland, and Katie Caljean, president and CEO of the Maryland Center for History and Culture, the episode was recorded earlier this year and interviewed Chris Logsdon, president of the Allegany Museum, and Dave Williams, president of the Allegany County Historical Society, who shared their insights into an important chapter in Western Maryland and national history.
The interview can be streamed in its entirety by visiting https://www.preservecast.org/2026/07/31/rev250-ep-7-the-whiskey-rebellion/
While the uprising took place mainly in Western Pennsylvania, President George Washington’s visit to Cumberland in 1794 bookended a military career that began at Fort Cumberland 40 years earlier during the French and Indian War. Local historians share the scale and details of the only time an American president directly commanded American troops in the field. They cover constitutional issues involved in Washington’s decision to personally oversee enforcement of a contentious national tax imposed on whiskey, as well as the deep division between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson over the size and power of the new Federal government.
The interview closes with mentions of the upcoming Allegany Museum Whiskey Rebellion on Sept. 11 and the Historical Society’s Heritage Days celebration on Sept. 12 and 13.