Governor William Denny Removed and
Superseded by James Hamilton, Native
of Pennsylvania, October 9, 1759
Following the destruction of the Indian town at Kittanning, September 8, 1756, by Lieutenant Colonel John Armstrong, and the Indian incursions which reached to every section of the frontier, a chain of forts was built the following year which extended from the Delaware River to the Maryland line. These were garrisoned by troops in the pay of the Province.
This defense was made possible only when the Assembly finally awakened to the serious danger and distress, concerted to pass a bill for raising by tax £100,000, with the exemption of the proprietary estates. They also sent Dr. Benjamin Franklin, as provincial agent, to London, to lay their grievance before the King.
Despite the wartime attitude of England, nothing was done to annoy the French or to check the depredations of the savages, until Dr. Franklin’s presence in London, and the fortunate change in the ministry, which brought the master mind of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, to assume control of the government.
Pitt was endowed with a high order of intellect, eloquent, profound and patriotic. He seemed to possess in an eminent degree the full confidence of the nation and the command of its resources.
Franklin’s exertions resulted in gaining the influence of Pitt’s comprehensive mind, and soon his attention was directed to America, when the affairs in the colonies assumed an entirely different aspect.
Pitt’s plans of operation were grand, his policy bold, liberal and enlightened, all of which seemed greatly to animate the colonists and inspire them with new hopes.
The colonists resolved to make every effort and sacrifice which the occasion might require. A circular from Pitt assured the Colonial governments that he was determined to repair past losses, and would immediately send to America a force sufficiently large to accomplish the purpose. He called upon the different Governments to raise as many men as possible, promising to send over all the necessary munitions of war, and pledging himself to pay liberally all soldiers who enlisted.
Pennsylvania equipped two thousand seven hundred men, while the neighboring provinces contributed large quotas. Three expeditions were determined upon, and most active measures taken to bring them to the field of action.