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abandoned them. When Franklin’s Junto disbanded, William formed a new one with his friends to continue the discussion of scientific advancements.
    When the time came for William to take over his father’s responsibilities as Assembly clerk, he did so with honor and excellence. He also eventually assumed the role of postmaster general, vacated by Franklin. He continued to help in his father’s bookstore and printshop. While Franklin made enemies in his political pursuits, William defended him from his rivals, writing in the Gazette under the pseudonym Humphrey Scourge – a tactic of which his father approved. As Scourge, he published a salacious pamphlet called Tit for Tat.
    But politics also sometimes strained the relationship between William and Franklin. Though dedicated to his father, William was well-liked in all factions of Philadelphia society, and he started to make friends of the people Franklin opposed. A fellow Mason, James Hamilton was one such friend. He was a prominent Philadelphian and a close friend of the Penns, who commissioned Hamilton lieutenant-governor in 1754. William was a regular guest in Hamilton’s home; they played cards, attended parties together, and danced with Penn wives and daughters. Hamilton was also an active member of the Anglican faith. Although Franklin considered himself Presbyterian, he shunned church membership, and his son joined the Anglican Church. William organized fundraisers to build Christ Church , a new Anglican citadel; its spire, once complete, was the highest in colonial America. He was beginning to assert his independence from his father.
    Perhaps influenced by his friend, William decided to break out on his own and pursue a career as a lawyer. William began to study law with Franklin’s friend and political lieutenant, Joseph Galloway . Franklin, who held lawyers in contempt, was not particularly pleased with this choice, but supported it. He asked friends in England to register William in the Inns of Court, where the elite of the British legal profession studied law. He hoped to make the trip to England with William.
    Before they sailed for England, Franklin and his son shared an adventure on the Pennsylvania frontier. The French had built a fort on the site of the present-day city of Pittsburgh. To drive them out, the British sent Major General Edward Braddock and an army of 2,500 Redcoats. Pennsylvania and the other colonies were to contribute money to purchase supplies for this army, but as expected, the Pennsylvanians clashed with the governor about taxing the Penns’ estates. This angered Braddock, and the Assembly sent Benjamin and William to Frederick, Maryland, where Braddock was organizing troops and gathering supplies, to explain.
    The Franklins discovered a furious General Braddock. The supplies American contractors sold to the army were rotten, and only twenty-five wagons were available to transport tents and supplies for 2,250 men. Braddock was cursing everyone involved, from ministers in England who initiated the expedition to farmers who would not risk a wagon to serve their country. The Franklins watched while young George Washington of Virginia, Braddock’s aide, argued in vain with the general, trying to defend America’s reputation.
    Hoping to calm the general, Franklin assured him wagons were available in Pennsylvania. The general seized him by the arm. “Then you, sir, who are a man of interest there can probably procure them for us, and I beg you will undertake it.” The general took £100 in hard cash from his money box and told Franklin to get to work.
    The Franklins conferred with Sir John Sinclair, Braddock’s quartermaster general. He just had returned from Pennsylvania and was critical of the colony. Franklin noticed Sinclair was wearing a uniform resembling a Hussar , the fearsome light cavalry of the Austrian and German armies, famous for their love of plunder.
    Franklin had several thousand