This series of occasional articles is presented in conjunction with this year's Ligonier 250 Celebration and follows the Gen. John Forbes Campaign as it marched across Pennsylvania in 1758. The series is written by Burton Kummerow, author of a new book titled "Pennsylvania's Forbes Trail." The military parade moving across the Pennsylvania countryside in 1758 was something to see. Onlookers, standing next to King's Road to Lancaster, were astonished by hundreds of kilted Highland soldiers and trains of big bronze guns tugged along by strings of horses. The troops, wagons and cannons clogging the road were a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. After waiting almost two months for cargo ships laden with soldiers and equipment, Gen. John Forbes was rushing his army to Carlisle. A British general traveling with his entourage was a rare sight in America. Staff officers prancing on fine horses, a decorated carriage pulled by matched horses bouncing along with Forbes aboard, servants, wagons and two-wheeled tumbrels piled high with tents and camp equipment, all ringed with an escort of green-coated provincial light cavalry, made for an eye-popping cavalcade indeed. The general was leaving a bustling Philadelphia, one of the great and growing ports of the British Empire. The city was home to tens of thousands of European immigrants, the majority German, and several languages could be heard on its streets. Benjamin Franklin's weekly Pennsylvania Gazette listed ships and goods from all parts of the globe sailing up the Delaware River to a mile-long stretch of busy waterfront. Trade in the Quaker City was bringing wealth reflected in fine brick homes filled with exquisite, locally made furniture. Church and public building steeples were reaching to the sky, giving the city an urbane skyline. Philadelphia was Ben Franklin's town. The young immigrant from Boston was now the first citizen in the City of Brotherly Love. Practically everything in the community had his stamp on it. The local printer applied his inquisitive mind and noteworthy persuasive powers to libraries, schools, fire departments, even cobblestone avenues and inventive street lights. In 1758, the 52-year-old internationally renowned scientist had sailed to London to lobby for Pennsylvania interests. He would spend much of the rest of his career as an American ambassador in Europe. Forbes had a mixed reaction to Philadelphia during his two-month stay. Pressed by his many challenges, he urged Colonial governors, with mixed success, to provide their share of the troops and supplies for the expedition against the French. The peace-minded Quakers who controlled Pennsylvania politics were holding war commitments hostage. Forbes needed what he called "coxing, bullying, and even double dealing" to get anything done. He was meeting with "rubs and hindrances in everything." While searching for a "mortal of consequence" to manage the Indian affairs so important to waging a frontier war, the general found an unlikely Philadelphia Quaker ally. Israel Pemberton Jr. was a 43-year-old wealthy merchant devoting his considerable energy and resources to finding peace with the Indians. Pemberton was leading a two-year-old campaign to negotiate a treaty with Pennsylvania's Delaware Nation that could help end the war. Unlike previous British commanders who had little interest in Colonial opinions, Forbes listened attentively to the Quaker's advice. He asked Pennsylvania Gov. William Denny "to send a solemn message among the Delawares and Shawnees to beg a meeting. I hope to persuade many of them at least to remain neutrals for this campaign." On June 29, 1758, Forbes was finally trotting west to Lancaster with his staff and escort. As he crossed the Schuylkill River on "rafts and flats" at the upper ferry and passed his slow-moving siege artillery train rolling through the prosperous farms and stone houses that are now Philadelphia's western suburbs, Forbes' deputy, Col. Henry Bouquet, was already 200 miles ahead. Bouquet had pushed the army's van across several formidable peaks and valleys to Raystown. Later called Bedford, this new fortified camp would soon be the major gathering place for the redcoat army. For the moment, Bouquet and his small force were isolated deep in enemy territory. He faced a long, tenuous supply line as his men frantically raised earth redoubts and log storehouses on the banks of the Juniata River.

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