Paxton Boys uprising

Paxton Boys uprising

(1763) Attack by Pennsylvania frontiersmen on an Indian settlement during the Pontiac Indian uprising. After 57 drunken rangers from Paxton, Pa., slaughtered 20 innocent and defenseless Conestoga Indians near Lancaster, Pa., the colonial governor ordered the arrest of those involved. Because local residents were sympathetic to the “Paxton Boys,” no prosecutions were undertaken. Instead, angered by appropriations insufficient to defend the western frontier, more than 600 armed frontiersmen marched on Philadelphia in 1764. They were met by leading Philadelphians, including Benjamin Franklin, who promised the men a hearing.