Complex sentence: When the war began, British officials initially determined not to enlist Indians as allies in the war effort, but in 1777 Hamilton received instructions to encourage Indian raids against the American frontier settlements of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky.
Split into simpler sentences: When the war began, British officials initially determined not to enlist Indians as allies in the war effort. But in 1777 Hamilton received instructions to encourage Indian raids against the American frontier settlements of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky.