This committee exercised supreme control of the land and naval forces of the province until October 13, 1777, when its powers were transferred to the body known as the Council of Safety, this comprising the Supreme Executive Council and nine others. The Council of Safety was dissolved December 6, 1777, when the military authority was assumed by the Supreme Executive Council and the Assembly. The aggregate number of men furnished by the Associators during the Revolution was in excess of 35,000. Pennsylvania furnished in all arms of the service, under the various calls, a total of 120,514 men, which number does not include many bodies of militia and many men who were under arms for a brief period, a record of which service was not kept during the early years of the war. Laws were passed during the war relating to the military forces, but these were all repealed by the formal act of March 20, 1780. ---------- Old Northumberland, Mother of Counties, Erected March 21, 1772 The political development of Pennsylvania followed closely in the wake of its expanding settlements. In 1682 the Counties of Philadelphia, Bucks and Chester were formed, with limits intended to include not only the populated area, but territory enough in addition to meet for a considerable time to come the growing necessities of the rapidly increasing immigration. It was not until 1729, therefore, that the extension of the settlements and the purchase of new lands from the Indians led to the erection of Lancaster County. At that time the Susquehanna River marked the western limit of the land purchased from the Indians in the province. But the purchase of October 11, 1736, opened a triangular area west of the river, which was attached to Lancaster until the convenience of the increasing settlements in this region in 1749 demanded the erection of York County, and a year later for the erection of Cumberland County. The northern extension of these counties was limited by the Indian boundary line, marked by the Kittatinny Range. Again the extension of settlements and the treaty of August 22, 1749, demanded new county organizations, and in 1752 Berks and Northampton were formed to include in their jurisdiction the northern portions of the older counties and the newly acquired territory between the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers. Berks embraced the larger area. Additional territory west of the Susquehanna was acquired from the Indians by the treaties of 1754 and 1758, which made the outlying county of Cumberland too large for the convenience of its inhabitants, and in 1771 Bedford County was erected.