The fort was the fortified home of William McCord, and probably consisted of a stockade surrounding the farm buildings and a two-story blockhouse with loopholes through which to fire at attackers.

[4] A first-hand account of the attack on the fort and of the subsequent battle was written by Jean Lowry, William McCord's younger sister.

On 1 April 1756, a band of Delaware (Lenape) Indians under the command of either Captain Jacobs or Shingas, attacked the fort, killed Lowry's husband and set the blockhouse on fire, forcing the women and children inside to surrender.

[13] Within a week of the battle, Governor Robert Hunter Morris issued a formal Declaration of War against the Delawares and established a bounty for the scalps of Indians.

Three possible locations have been proposed, based on contemporary documents: Anderson's Grove: A 2003 report by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission proposed that the Battle of Sideling Hill took place near Maddensville (a neighborhood of Springfield Township, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania), at the confluence of Little Aughwick Creek and Sideling Hill Creek at a place now known as Anderson's Grove.

[1]: 25 Juniata Crossing: A few days after the battle, Captain Joseph Shippen wrote to his father, Edward Shippen III, describing the location of the battle: Near Waterfall: The Indians may have been returning to Kittanning along the Raystown Path, an ancient Indian trail that runs from Clay Township through Bedford (formerly known as Ray's Town) to Logstown, northwest of Pittsburgh.

[15]: 274–289  The battle may have taken place in the gap in the mountains created by Sideling Hill Creek, between the present-day towns of New Grenada and Waterfall on Pennsylvania Route 913.

[16] A stone monument with a Celtic cross, listing the names of the colonists killed and wounded as well as the civilian captives taken by the Indians, was erected in 1914 and can be found on Fort McCord Road in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.