Cresap ' s War Cresap ' s War ( also known as the Conojocular Warfrom the Conejohela Valley where it was located ( mainly ) along the south ( right ) bank ) was a border conflict between Pennsylvania and Maryland , fought in the 1730s . Hostilities erupted in 1730 with a series of violent incidents prompted by disputes over property rights and law enforcement , and escalated through the first half of the decade , culminating in the deployment of military forces by Maryland in 1736 and by Pennsylvania in 1737 . The armed phase of the conflict ended in May 1738 with the intervention of King George II , who compelled the negotiation of a cease - fire . A final settlement was not achieved until 1767 when the Mason - Dixon Line was recognized as the permanent boundary between the two colonies . Background . Pennsylvania ' s Charter ( 1681 ) specified that the colony was bounded " on the South by a Circle drawne at twelve miles [ 19 km ] distance from New Castle Northward and Westward unto the beginning of the fortieth degree of Northern Latitude , and then by a streight Line Westward . . . " Later surveys established that the town of New Castle in fact lay a full south of the fortieth parallel , setting the stage for a boundary dispute . Maryland insisted that the boundary be drawn at the fortieth parallel as specified in the Charter , while Pennsylvania proposed that it be drawn by an elaborate method which purported to compensate for the geographic misunderstanding on which the Charter had been based . This proposal placed the boundary near 39 36 ' , creating a twenty - eight mile wide strip of disputed territory . Because the fortieth parallel lay north of the city of Philadelphia , Maryland pressed its claim most seriously in the sparsely inhabited lands west of the Susquehanna River . By the late 1710s , rumors had begun to reach the Pennsylvania Assembly that Maryland was planning to establish settlements in the disputed area near the river . In response , Pennsylvania attempted to bolster its claim to the territory by organizing a proprietorial manor along the Codorus Creek , just west of the river , in 1722 . This action prompted a crisis in relations between the two colonies , leading to a royal proclamation in 1724 which prohibited both colonies from establishing new settlements in the area until a boundary had been surveyed . However , the two sides failed to reach agreement on the location of the boundary , and unauthorized settlement recommenced within a short time . Triggering violence . In 1726 , the English born Quaker minister John Wright and two associates with their families settled near the river and moved from C . They ' d been coming to the birding swarms along the Conejohela Flats since 1724 and had made friends and converted an appreciable number of Indians , most by working their way through the marshy shallows on the opposite ( west or right ) bank of the Susquehanna . Sometime after building a house and planting a farm , probably with the help of their Indian friends in the second year there , Wright ended up building two medium - to - large dugout canoe s kept and tied off on either bank , creating the seeds of an ad hoc passenger ferry business for those desiring to cross . Sometime few settlers moved across , settling mainly a few miles to the north along Conestoga Creek , but traffic grew sufficient to officially apply for a ferry license in 1730 . Settlement across picked up significantly that year , probably with the promise of regular ferry service across the Susquehanna , greatly easing transportation difficulties , but the inflow alarmed Lord Baltimore about his ability to assert control and collect incomes from the disputed area . By midsummer of 1730 , a number of Pennsylvania Dutch settler families had crossed the river and taken up residence . Determined to counter this development , a Marylander , Thomas Cresap , opened a second ferry service at Blue Rock , about four miles ( 6 km ) south of Wright ' s Ferry . Owing to the royal proclamation of 1724 , the Pennsylvania settlers did not have clear title to the lands that they occupied . Apparently in defiance of the proclamation , Maryland granted Cresap title to along the west bank of the river , much of which was already inhabited . Cresap began to act as a land agent , persuading many Pennsylvania Dutch to purchase their farms from him , thus obtaining title under Maryland law , and began collecting quit - rent s ( an early form of property tax ) for Maryland . In response , Pennsylvania authorities at Wright ' s Ferry began to issue " tickets " to new settlers which , while not granting immediate title , promised to award title as soon as the area was officially opened to settlement . Outbreak of hostilities . Sometime in late October , 1730 , Cresap was attacked on his ferry boat by two Pennsylvanians . According to Cresap ' s Maryland deposition , Cresap and one of his workmen were hailed by the Pennsylvanians and began rowing the two men from the east to the west . Sixty yards into the trip , the Pennsylvanians turned their guns on the Marylanders and a fight ensued with Cresap attempting to use the oars to defend himself . After a short struggle , both Marylanders ended up in the water , holding on to the boat to keep from drowning . The Pennsylvanians tried to force Cresap to let go of the boat , and when Cresap asked if they intended to murder him , one swore that he did . Cresap eventually escaped when the boat drifted to shallow water near a large rock where Cresap was stranded for several hours until rescued by a friendly Indian . It would become clear in later testimony that the target of the attack was actually Cresap ' s workman who was wanted by a Lancaster county landowner for reasons not entirely clear ( possibly debts ) . This workman was captured by the Pennsylvanians and carried forcibly away . Cresap was dissatisfied by the response of the Pennsylvania magistrate to whom he reported the attack . Although the magistrate eventually signed warrants that brought the two Pennsylvanians to court , he first stated that " he knew no reason he ( Cresap ) had to expect any justice there , since he was a liver in Maryland . " ; a statement that the Governor of Maryland would later key on in a letter to the Governor of Pennsylvania . Significantly , Cresap filed charges with Maryland authorities , claiming that Pennsylvania officials had conspired with the attackers and with local native tribes to drive him from the area . , From this point onward , Cresap would maintain that as a resident of Maryland , he was not bound by Pennsylvania law and was not obliged to cooperate with Pennsylvania ' s law enforcement officers . 1732 agreement . In 1732 the proprietary governor of Maryland , Charles Calvert , 5th Baron Baltimore , signed a provisional agreement with William Penn ' s sons , which drew a line somewhere in between and renounced the Calvert claim to Delaware . But later , Lord Baltimore claimed that the document he had signed did not contain the terms he had agreed to , and refused to put the agreement into effect . Beginning in the mid - 1730s , violence erupted between settlers claiming various loyalties to Maryland and Pennsylvania . The border conflict would be known as Cresap ' s War . The issue remained unresolved until the Crown intervened in 1760 , ordering Frederick Calvert , 6th Baron Baltimore to accept the 1732 agreement . Maryland ' s border with Delaware was to be based on the Transpeninsular Line and the Twelve - Mile Circle around New Castle . The Pennsylvania - Maryland border was defined as the line of latitude 15 miles south of the southernmost house in Philadelphia . German farmers renounce Cresap . Depositions of several Germans accuse Cresap and his relatives the Lowes of maltreatment . : Arrival of Maryland militia . Two incursions of Maryland militia into present day York County , Pennsylvania are mentioned in depositions by Pennsylvania natives . : Arrival of Pennsylvania militia . Cresap first obtained a patent from Maryland for a ferry at Peach Bottom , near the Patterson farm , then shot several of Patterson ' s horses . One of the Marylanders , Lowe , was arrested and jailed , but the other Marylanders broke into the jail and freed him . Cresap then obtained one for " Blue Rock Ferry " and several hundred acres of land , about 3½ miles south of Wrightsville , forcibly took possession of John Hendricks ' plantation at Wrightsville . Cresap was no Quaker by any means ; he had previously " cleft " an assailant in Virginia with a broad - ax when clearing disputed land there . Lord Baltimore had been unwilling to entreat with Indians for what he took , but in 1733 , reached an accommodation with the Pennsylvanians , but by 1734 , Cresap was again evicting settlers from their Lancaster and York county homes , rewarding his gang members with the properties . The sheriff of Lancaster County brought a posse to arrest Cresap , but when deputy Knowles Daunt was at the door , Cresap fired through it , wounding Daunt . The sheriff asked Mrs . Cresap for a candle , so that they could see to tend to Daunt ' s wounds , but Mrs . Cresap refused , " crying out that not only was she glad he had been hit , she would have preferred the wound had been to his heart . " When Daunt died , Pennsylvania Governor Gordon demanded that Maryland arrest Cresap for murder . Governor Ogle of Maryland responded by naming Cresap a captain in the Maryland militia . Cresap continued his raids , destroying barns and livestock , until Sheriff Samuel Smith raised a posse of 24 armed " non - Quakers " to arrest him on November 25 , 1736 . Unable to get him to surrender , they set his cabin on fire , and when he made a run for the river , they were upon him before he could launch a boat . He shoved one of his captors overboard , and cried , " Cresap ' s getting away " , and the other deputies pummeled their peer with oars until the ruse was discovered . Removed to Lancaster , a blacksmith was fetched to put him in steel manacles , but Cresap knocked the blacksmith down in one blow . Once constrained in steel , he was hauled off to Philadelphia , and paraded through the streets before being imprisoned . His spirit unbroken , he announced , " Damn it , this is one of the prettiest towns in Maryland ! " Resolution . Following Cresap ' s arrest , Maryland sent a petition to King George II requesting that he intervene to restore order pending the outcome of the Chancery suit . On August 18 , 1737 , the king issued a proclamation instructing the governments of both colonies to cease hostilities . Sporadic violence continued , prompting both sides to petition the king for further intervention . In response , the royal Committee for Plantation Affairs organized direct negotiations between the two colonies , which resulted in the signing of a peace agreement in London on May 25 , 1738 . This agreement provided for an exchange of prisoners and the drawing of a provisional boundary fifteen miles south of the city of Philadelphia . Each side agreed to respect the other ' s authority to conduct law enforcement and grant title to land on its own side of this boundary , pending the final action of the Chancery Court . Because Blue Rock Ferry lay well to the north of the provisional boundary , Cresap did not return to the area following his release in the prisoner exchange . In 1750 , the Chancery Court upheld the validity of the 1732 agreement , which became the basis on which Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon surveyed the modern boundary ( the Mason - Dixon Line ) between Pennsylvania and Maryland in 1767 . Today the conflict area is part of York County , Pennsylvania . Cresap ' s son Michael played a prominent role in Lord Dunmore ' s War ( 1774 ) . For this reason some historians also refer to the 1774 conflict as " Cresap ' s War . " See also . = References =