At the start of the American Revolution, not all British colonies on the mainland of North America rebelled against the mother country. Thirteen did; however, the four distinct colonies to the north that made up Canada and, in the south, East and West Florida, did not. They remained loyal to England. As such, the rebellious Americans sanctioned armed invasions of both; Canada in 1775, and East Florida beginning in 1776. And as such, both attempts were doomed to floundering defeats. The Battle of Thomas Creek, May 17, 1777, and Alligator Bridge, June 30, 1778, were the American Southern Army’s second and third, final attempt that failed to bring Florida into the fold of rebellion. As in all three incursions into Florida, the Americans suffered at their own undoing. Each launched invasion was consistent in the lack of funding and supplies plus the persistent squabbling between egotistical politicians and dogmatic military commanders as to whom would give and follow orders – right up to the opening salvos of enemy guns.
East Florida Rejects American’s Overtures. Loyalists Raid North
England retained the long-standing colony of La Florida from Spain in 1763. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 that ended the Seven Years War (French and Indian War in America) gave the British Florida in exchange for Cuba. Because of Florida’s size, the British divided it into two colonies, East and West. The west colony began at the Apalachicola River that drained much of western Georgia before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. This included the Florida panhandle and what is now southern Mississippi, Alabama, to Louisiana. East Florida, which was considerably larger, bordered Georgia at the St. Mary’s River. St. Augustine, about 70 miles south of St. Mary’s, was designated the capital of East Florida and to the West was Pensacola.
Once England took control, many Spanish colonials departed for Cuba. England tried to repopulate the region with new settlers, however with little success. In 1774, British military commander Colonel Patrick Tonyn took over as Governor of East Florida. As relations worsened between England and her colonies, he sought ways to repopulate Florida by capitalizing on loyalist factions to the north. Many of those in Georgia and the Carolinas who had remained loyal to the crown saw their estates and homes confiscated by patriotic forces. As time passed, Governor Tonyn sent agents north to encourage Loyalists to seek refuge in Florida. Over time, larger numbers of oppressed Loyalists found their way south, to a government that remained firmly in England’s hands.
When the thirteen colonies to the north rebelled and open hostilities erupted, Congress’ request for East Florida to send delegates to Philadelphia was refused. With the prospect of war, Florida Tories formed militias to patrol the frontier and protect their land. Parties from both sides, individually and in larger, organized militias, began to take part in raiding parties along the Georgia border. Patriot and Loyalists homes were destroyed and cattle stolen. The Georgia legislature soon got into the act and demanded that the Southern Continental Army take action. They clamored for Continental troops, mainly from North and South Carolina stationed at Charleston under Major General Robert Howe, to invade Florida. The legislature believed that St. Augustine was vulnerable and an expedition to Florida would capture the capital and put an end to loyalist raids.
Florida War Preparations and East Florida Rangers are Born
On July 18, 1776, Governor Patrick Tonyn reported to Secretary of War for the American Department, Lord Germain, that “a detachment his Majesty’s Troops composed of a captain and 70 privates were sent to Saint Mary’s River (Georgia border about 70 miles north of St. Augustine) to protect the loyal inhabitants…” Governor Tonyn was alarmed at his resources to prevent an invasion of Florida from the north. He described the garrison at St. Augustine as “composed chiefly of foreign recruits refractory, and mutinous inclined…not many above two hundred veterans fit for duty…”
Governor Tonyn knew that England had more than enough on its plate than to be concerned about a Florida garrison defending a small population that had little impact on the overall economy. He therefore decided to take matters of defense into his own hands. In December, 1775, a loyalist from Georgia who had lost his home and estates ended up at St. Augustine. He had not only been forced out of Georgia, but had been horribly tortured. Thomas Brown had his skull fractured by the butt end of a rifle, was tied to a tree while Sons of Liberty beat him remorselessly, scalped three times, they scorched his skin with fire, stripped him naked and poured boiling tar over him, pooling into his boot that scaled his foot and incinerated two toes. Lastly, he was feathered and paraded through the streets of Augusta. How he survived is nothing short of a miracle.
Needless to say, Governor Tonyn had found his man; one who had been ‘radicalized’ and ready to terrorize the cursed ‘patriots’ of Georgia. Tonyn commissioned Brown to Lt. Colonel and gave him the resources to recruit and train a select body of loyalist militiamen; many like himself had been driven from their homes. By early 1776, a fast-moving mounted infantry was born; the East Florida Rangers. One hundred and thirty men, organized in four companies and engaged to serve for three years, the rangers were a combination of inhabitants of East Florida and refugees from Georgia and the Carolinas. They would be the most active of Florida’s answer to American aggression and would later support England’s invasion of Georgia and the Carolinas.
Of the British regular garrison, Colonel Augustine Provost received a temporary commission to Brigadier General and placed in command in the summer of 1776. So too, his brother, Lt. Colonel James Marcus Prevost was present. Under General Prevost’s command were detachments of the 60th Regiment of Foot, the American Regiment, that had been organized in the last war, consisting of foreign troops stationed in the Americas (why Governor Tonyn complained to Secretary Germain that his troops were all foreigners). Also, the 16th Regiment of Foot, which had been posted to Pensacola in 1767. They had been ordered to New York City in 1776 to aid in the British invasion of that city, but returned to Florida the following year in early 1777. They were garrisoned both at Pensacola and St. Augustine. So too, remnants of the 14th Foot, who had been decimated by disease during their years at St. Vincent and further reduced by sixty of their small numbers in 1775 when ordered to aid Governor Lord Dunmore in Virginia.
Of warships, Governor Tonyn had but one fourteen-gun ship Rebecca, plus converted merchantmen, Meredith, Triumvirate, and Hawke, each ship mounting ten guns. Lastly, the Seminole Native American nation had been at odds with American settlers for a number of years. They actively joined the East Florida Rangers as scouts for intelligence gathering and skirmishers under their leader Ahaya, known to the British as Cowkeeper.
First Invasion into East Florida
After the British attempt to capture Charleston, South Carolina was thwarted at the Battle of Fort Sullivan, June 28, 1776, Major General Charles Lee answered the call by Georgia’s Legislature and looked south to Florida. He helped organize an expedition into Florida using militia and Continental troops. However, the expedition began to unravel shortly after it got underway when Lee was called north in early August, 1776. The troops gradually made their way south; hindered by Lt. Colonel Brown’s East Florida Rangers and Seminole allies. Because of inadequate funding, disease and desertions, plus the fact that both militia and Continental troops argued over who was in command, the expedition ground to a halt by October of that year.
Prior to going home, this expedition had built a line of forts between Florida and Georgia, including Fort Howe, Fort McIntosh and additional forts and blockhouses at Darien, near the Florida border, and Beard’s Bluff. This was also the first of three failed invasions by Georgia Militia leader, Colonel Elijah Clarke, would on March 3, 1779, would lead one of the flank attacks that would defeat Loyalist Militia at the Battle of Kettle Creek. So too, this invasion highlighted another influential Loyalist leaders who would prove be a thorn in the side of American troops in Georgia’s ongoing partisan war for several years to come; Daniel McGirth.
Second Invasion; a Disaster of Planning and Execution
On February, 17, 1777, Fort McIntosh fell to Lt. Colonel Brown. Situated on the Satilla River, 70 miles south of Savannah, it was garrisoned by 40 men from the 3rd South Carolina Regiment and the 1st Brigade of Georgia Militia. All but two of the captives were released. By then, the 400-man Georgia militia had dwindled down to 200. The Georgia legislature requested Continental troops from General Robert Howe of North Carolina, commander of the American southern army. General Howe did not have any more spare troops to post in the Georgia frontier. He was under constant pressure from the Carolinas to return their Continental troops while fulfilling General Washington’s persistent demands for more soldiers to be sent north.
Under pressure from Georgia President (same as governor) Button Gwinnett, Howe finally relinquished. By April, he’d sent 150 Virginian recruits and 160 from South Carolina to aid the Georgia militia defending the border. Georgia had at their disposal five or six small military vessels armed with cannon, as well as sixteen military transports. These were used primarily to disrupt supply vessels to and from St. Augustine, while also continuing trade with the other colonies. They would be part of the developing plan to reclaim Fort McIntosh and attack St. Augustine.
In planning this second invasion of Florida, the same problems of leadership resurfaced. Governor Gwinnett demanded total control over the expedition instead of Georgia’s Continental General Lachlan McIntosh. A heated debate between the two men ensued which would eventually boil over, resulting in a duel later in the year. As civilian, Gwinnett called a council of war over the head of General McIntosh, to which he did not even invite the general. At this council, it was decided that the militia, a little over one hundred volunteers under Colonel John Baker, would march overland. The Continental troops, commanded by Colonel Samuel Elbert, second to General McIntosh and a slight to the general, would travel by ship along the coast. In twelve days’ time, they would rejoin at Sawpitt Bluff, fifty miles north of St. Augustine. From there they would plan their attack on the city.
Battle of Thomas Creek, May 17, 1777
The invasion got underway on May 1, 1777. The ground troops under Baker had a difficult time slogging through rivers swollen by spring rains. On May 4th, they were attacked by Seminole; two militiamen were wounded and one Native American killed. In rage, the Georgians mutilated the body, leaving it for the warriors to find later. Baker carried on with determined diligence and as agreed, reached Sawpitt Bluff on the 12th. There they waited.
Meanwhile, Colonel Elbert’s Continentals slowly inched their way along the coast. Eighteen days after departure, on May 18th, they reached Amelia Island, 13 miles long and 2 miles wide nestled between the mouths of St. Marys River to the north and Nassau River to the south, still fifteen miles north of the rendezvous point. Elbert ordered all cattle and hogs commandeered. For reasons of his own, he also decided to gather all the island’s inhabitants. While doing so, the Americans were fired upon, seriously wounding two and killing the detachment’s leader, Lt. Ward. Enraged, Elbert ordered all the dwellings and farms destroyed.
Elbert’s further delay by ravishing Amelia Island was a moot point. By the time he had landed on the island, already six days later than the planned rendezvous with Baker, the Georgia militia, on May 17, 1777, had already been attacked and routed. On May 14th, having received word of the militia’s presence at Sawpitt Bluff, Colonel Brown advanced with 40 Rangers. He sighted the camp and ordered a night raid to scatter the horses. Seminoles under Ahaya made off with 40 horses. The next morning, Ahaya staged an ambush, tying up the horses. Baker saw through it and in a flanking maneuver, some of his men untied the horses while another group scattered them. The Seminole were chased by the militiamen resulting in two Georgians wounded and one or two Native Americans killed. Again, the Baker’s men scalped and mutilated the bodies. These acts of barbarism would return to haunt the Georgians.
By now, May 16th, with no sight of the Continental troops, and with the British cognizant of his presence, Baker decided not to wait for another attack, and ordered a retreat back to Georgia. Rather than tracing his steps, he set off further inland and followed the creeks to afford better locations to ford the rivers. That evening of the 16th, Baker camped at Thomas Creek. He was not aware that Brown’s Rangers and Seminole allies had teamed up with Colonel James Prevost’s regulars; now numbering over 250 men, and were camped nearby. That evening, Prevost and Brown planned their attack for the next morning.
Baker broke camp on the 17th and continued his march along Thomas Creek. At approximately 9 AM, Brown’s militia rose up and within fifty yards of the Georgians, fired a devastating volley into their lines. The startled rebels turned and fled, running headlong into Prevost’s 100 regulars. At that moment, Seminole warriors leaped from the side of the road to attack. The result was a total rout of panic-stricken men clawing their way through the swamp to escape.
The battle lasted but five minutes with a total British victory. Three Americans had been killed and nine wounded. Between thirty to forty rebels were taken captive. Of the escaping Americans, most trudged through the quagmire and stumbled home, though some of the wounded died in the swamps. Lt. Colonel Clarke had been wounded, but found his way back to Georgia. Of the American captives, they faced the wrath of the Seminole determined to exact revenge for the dismemberment of their slain warriors. Reports ranged that fifteen to twenty-four prisoners were killed, leaving fifteen to be taken back to St. Augustine in shackles.
A few of Baker’s men found their way to Amelia Island to report to Colonel Elbert as what occurred at Thomas Creek. At this same time, two of Governor Tonyn’s ships, 14-gun Rebecca, Captain Mowbray in command, and 10-gun Hawke ran up against the 16-gun brig that had accompanied the Continentals. The British ships had been anchored at the mouth of the St. John’s River when a strong wind whipped up the seas and forced the ships to take to open water. The British spotted the American brig and a fierce action ensued. The Americans received the worst of the battle and remained silent for several minutes. As Mowbray brought his sloop about to board the brig, a lucky shot took away the Rebecca’s topmast and rent the mainsail. Unable to maneuver, the British broke off the attack, leaving the brig to limp away. With Baker’s militia routed, food and supplies running low, and his escort severely damaged, Colonel Elbert called off the attack and sailed back to Georgia. He left a strong detachment to march along the coast, some 70 miles to Georgia, with orders to destroy farms along the way. Following this failure, the Georgians abandoned all their military posts south of the Satilla River which is about thirty miles north of the Florida frontier.
Calls for a Third Invasion. As Before, Constant Squabbling Between Local Government and Continental Forces
East Florida’s Governor Tonyn had always disagreed with Swiss born British Brigadier General Augustine Prevost’s tactics towards their enemy to the north. Prevost had orders from England to ignore recurring forays from Georgia and keep a tight defensive position at St. Augustine. Governor Tonyn believed in a more vigorous defense that approved of posting his militia along the Georgia frontier. As such, he continued to sanction foraging raids into Georgia’s backcountry to help offset the loss of shipped food and supplies by patriot privateers. To this effect, Tonyn deployed Colonel Thomas Brown’s East Florida Rangers along the St. Marys River, the boundary then as now between Florida and Georgia. The vengeful Brown, eager to grind an axe, wasn’t about to sit on his hands. From his posting, he conducted regular raids into Georgia to harass the hated Whig settlers; burning their homes and absconding with their cattle and grain. These excursions by Florida Rangers reignited the call by Georgia legislators for the Georgia military and Southern Army to once and for all put an end to British aggression from Florida.
In January, 1778, the Georgia state legislature debated a new expedition to Florida. In February, Georgia’s assembly authorized now Governor John Houstoun to organize a third expedition against East Florida. Former Chief Legislator Button Gwinnett had been voted out of office on May 8, 1777 (ironically during the second invasion he organized). He died on May 19, 1777, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence to do so, from a wound he received in a duel with his adversary, General Lachlan McIntosh. Like his predecessor, Houstoun firmly believed that the Georgia legislature commanded all aspects of military actions involving state matters. In other words, the decision to march upon Florida was to be made by the state and therefore he, as its leader, would command the invading force. This of course was contrary to Congress sitting in Philadelphia, who considered all military matters theirs to command. As such, Continental officers, those having received their commissions from Congress, would be in charge of all troops on the field, whether they be Continental soldiers or militiamen, regardless of the state they represent. The dogmatic position Governor Houstoun took would bring him in direct confrontation with the commander of the Southern Army, Major General Robert Howe.
Howe, a wealthy landowner from North Carolina, received his commission as brigadier general in March, 1776. He had been with General Charles Lee at Charleston when General Henry Clinton’s invading force was beat back at the Battle of Fort Sullivan, June 28, 1776. He remained in Charleston and with the death of General James Moore in April, 1777, took over command of the southern theater. Howe was promoted to Major General in October, 1777.
Like the previous year, Howe had his hands full trying to maintain a southern army that was deficient in manpower as it was in receiving much needed supplies from Congress and local governments. With the Carolinas demanding their Continental troops be sent home and Washington’s orders to keep sending troops north, he could not afford to deplete his force further by launching an invasion into East Florida. He, like Provost in East Florida, believed in a strong defense and further argued that any invasion in the spring would hinder recruiting militia volunteers as it was the growing season and they were needed home.
While Governor Houstoun insisted another invasion be launched and he be given total control of the military, he also refused to fund Continental forces in his state, nor allow state’s militia commanders to follow orders from Continental officers. From the very beginning of this third invasion into East Florida, the constant haggling, lack of necessary supplies and food, and councils of war organized by politicians, right up to the moment both sides clashed on the field of battle, doomed the project to dismal failure.
Brown’s East Florida Rangers Stir Up Trouble
While the Americans haggled, Brown forced their hand. His four companies of forty men each were stationed along St. Mary’s River, staring into Georgia. He had been extremely active in raiding; burning frontier settlements and supplying St. Augustine with over 3,000 head of stolen cattle. Early in March, with a force of 100 Rangers and 10 Seminoles, Brown raided deep into Georgia and captured and burned the patriot outpost at Fort Howe, and former Fort Barrington; a large blockhouse on the banks of the Altamaha River, only sixty miles south of Savannah. Not satisfied with this feat that enabled his men to forge further into Georgia, he sent three large parties north, two in the Georgia backcountry and one as far as South Carolina, to gather information and stir up Loyalist sentiments to join him in East Florida.
The destruction of Fort Howe and the raids far north was the last straw. These actions led Georgia’s leadership to conclude that a British invasion of the state was being planned, and military preparations began to accelerate. Whatever General Howe’s former sentiments, he reluctantly agreed with Georgia’s legislature to launch an invasion into East Florida.
Naval Action
While the Americans began planning a land incursion into East Florida, Colonel Samuel Elbert, along with three armed row galleys, Washington, Lee, Bullock, were being outfitted for support. They were anchored on the Frederica River, Georgia, separating Saint Simos Island from the mainland, 30 miles north of St. Marys and the Florida border. In early April, Captain Thomas Jordon of the Galatea learned of the three anchored ships. He ordered the Rebecca (repaired since last year’s battle with the American brig) and Hinchenbrook, both under Captain Mowbray’s command, to enter the channel and destroy the ships.
The two British ships entered the river on April 19, 1778, and at a point called Racoongut, where the water became suddenly shallow. The ships were hard ground and could not pull off. Colonel Samuel Elbert, who had commanded continental troops in the second invasion and was detached along the coast, took advantage of the British peril and brought up two artillery pieces to bombard them. When the tide ebbed, the two British ships became hopelessly stuck in the shallow water. American musketry began to take their toll on the ships’ crews and they had to take to their boats and abandon the vessels. Attempts to destroy the boats before pulling off failed and both vessels fell into the American hands.
Americans Organize and March South
In early April, Howe ordered 400-500 of Georgia’s Continental troops to move south. They arrived at the burned-out Fort Howe on April 14th and set up camp to begin receiving further reinforcements. Later in the month they were joined by 600 South Carolina Continentals under Colonel Charles Pinckney. By early May, a considerable number of State Militia arrived from South Carolina, led by Colonel Andrew Williamson, and from Georgia, commanded by Governor John Houstoun; bringing the total number for the invasion to 1,300.
General Howe arrived on May 10th and began organizing the march south. Conditions in the camp were from unpleasant to unbearable; the weather was hot, tempers flared, and already supplies were a concern. With a growing number of desertions already depleting the force, Howe took drastic actions and began executing those caught; at least 11 men would face the firing squad. The expedition finally began crossing the Altamaha Rifer on May 28th, but progressed at a snail’s pace. They didn’t cross the Satilla until June 21st and finally reached the Florida frontier at St. Marys River on June 26th, sixty miles south of Fort Howe.
General Howe did not have a unified command. Arguments continually arose as to who was in command and what orders needed to be followed. Colonel Pinckney assumed control over his South Carolina Continentals. So too did Colonel Williamson assert that he would independently command his South Carolina militia. And Governor Houstoun demanded that he had total control of the invasion force and the militia would only follow his orders. At St Marys General Howe and Governor Houstoun reached an impasse. Governor Houstoun wanted to march directly along the coast and take St. Augustine. Howe wanted a more inland approach and first capture Fort Tonyn, 25 miles up the St. Mary’s River near present day Mill’s Ferry. Since the two could not agree, Houstoun stayed put and steamed on the coast with his militia while Howe took the continentals under his command to capture the fort. Houstoun, furious over what he considered Howe’s insubordination, made things difficult for the general. When food, supplies, and horses arrived from the Georgia legislature for use by the invasion force, he ordered them directly to his militia on the coast, denying Howe’s requests for resupply.
Governor Tonyn and General Prevost were aware of the American progress. Brown’s Loyalists and Seminole warriors continued to perform reconnaissance, occasionally skirmishing with the Americans and testing the security of their camps as they progressed south. General Prevost began to march some of his troops towards the Nassau River, 60 miles north from St. Augustine, placing most of them on the main route to the capital city. Brown’s scouts immediately alerted him to Howe’s movement towards Fort Tonyn. He quickly decided to abandon and burn the fort; fading into nearby Cabbage Swamp and towards the Nassau River, a dozen miles to the south. Howe arrived at the ruins of Fort Tonyn on June 29th and decided his next plan of action; a move that proved to be the only and last major action between the Americans and British in Florida.
Battle of Alligator Bridge, June 30, 1778
The morning of June 30th, Howe sent a force of 100 cavalry under the command of Colonel James Screven to locate and attack Brown’s Rangers. Some accounts state incorrectly that Screven held the rank of Brigadier General at this time. Howe had marched to Fort Tonyn with continental soldiers from Georgia and South Carolina while the militia remained with Governor Houstoun on the coast. Therefore Screven, a Georgia native since 1769, would hold the rank no higher than Colonel of cavalry in Howe’s force. Screven would later resign his rank as colonel in the Continental Army and accept a commission from the Georgia militia as Brigadier General, a rank he would hold when killed in a skirmish on November 22, 1778 against his old rival, Colonel Thomas Brown.
Colonel Screven’s horsemen pursued Brown’s men towards the Nassau River. Accordingly, Brown, cognizant of Screven’s pursuit, ordered some of his men to circle around behind Screven’s troopers while Brown stood ready for a frontal assault with his main force. Accounts state that Screven managed to gain information on Brown’s position; some report that the cavalrymen came across loyalist deserters. Screven’s troopers were able to avoid Brown’s trap and in turn, ambush the Loyalists, killing some and scattering the rest.
Brown and his Rangers made straight for the Alligator Bridge that spanned Alligator Creek, a tributary of the Nassau River about 14 miles south of Fort Tonyn. Unknown to the Americans, General Prevost had been preparing defenses along roads leading to St. Augustine. Detachments from the 16th Foot and 60th Regiment of Foot (Royal Americans), along with Loyalists Rangers led by Georgia refugee Daniel McGirth, totaling 200 men, had constructed a redoubt of logs and brush to defend the bridge. General Prevost’s younger brother Major James Marcus Prevost was in command.
As Brown made a beeline for Alligator Bridge, Screven’s horsemen overtook them. As a result, Brown’s men were chased directly into the British position at the bridge. This created some confusion among the British. At this stage of the war, there were no regular uniform to distinguish loyalist from patriot militiamen. So too, southern Continental Troops were dressed similarly to their militia counterparts. At first, the regulars thought the mass of men pouring down the road towards them were Brown’s men. When it became apparent that those in the rear were firing upon those beating towards the British line, Prevost’s regulars quickly took up positions and began firing.
Brown’s men came up behind the British regular troops but then quickly took advantage of the American’s sudden halt. While battle lines formed and a firefight ensued between Screven’s cavalry and Prevost’s regulars, Brown and his Rangers slipped off into the woods to come at the Americans from the flank. Men on both sides began to go down. Screven was wounded in this exchange and a group of patriot horsemen narrowly escaped being trapped. Outnumbered and in fear of further flanking attacks, Screven ordered a retreat, escaping with most of his men.
The Americans suffered nine killed while the British reported five deaths. Of the wounded, or number of American captives, there is no mention. The next day, July 1st, Prevost’s forces filtered north towards Fort Tonyn. They surprised a detachment of American troops repairing a bridge over one of the many local creeks who took off at the sight of the British. Rather than risk a major confrontation with what Prevost believed to be a superior force, he retreated, felling trees across the road. It turned out that he need not have bothered, for there would be no further sortie by General Howe to the south.
Disease, Desertion, and Disagreement and the Invasion Fizzles Out
Divisions in the American camp at Fort Tonyn and with the militia still positioned along the coast meant that there would be no further advance south. By the first week of July, the Continentals at the fort were out of food. Though Governor Houstoun had ample for his militia, he refused to send supplies to Howe. By the time Houstoun’s militia crossed the St. Marys River on July 6, Howe’s command had dwindled to 400 effective soldiers. The bickering between Continental and Militia commanders only intensified as food stuff began to run low for all. On July 11th, General Howe ordered a Council of War, which was not attended by Houstoun nor any commanders of his militias. Three days later, Howe gave up and ordered a general retreat of Continental Forces north to Georgia, followed shortly by the militia.
Aftermath
General Howe had reasoned that by his incursion into Florida, he had succeeded in squashing any attempt England might have in invading Georgia as well as ridding the southern former colony of the pesky East Florida Loyalists. Within six months, he would be proven wrong on all accounts. Secretary of War Lord Germain and the Commander-in-Chief of American Forces in America, General Henry Clinton, were in agreement that the conflict in the north had hit a stalemate. The war would move south. On December 29, 1778, General Howe surrendered his forces at Savannah, Georgia to Lt. Colonel Archibald Campbell, who had arrived from New York with 3,100 highly trained regular troops that included the famed 71st of Foot, Fraser’s Highlanders, the largest and fiercest regiment in England’s arsenal. So too, the Prevost brothers, along with Brown and his Rangers, would show up in Georgia in January, 1779 to wreak havoc. And within eighteen months, on April 12, 1780, the Americans would lose their entire Southern Army to the British; restoring Georgia to her former status as a British Colony, the only state to have done so.
As for Brown and the East Florida Rangers; the unit would disband when General Clinton captured Charleston in 1780. Brown would form a new Loyalist Regiment, the Kings Georgia Rangers. They would ride the wave of England’s invasion of the south, joining the British as they ran rampant through Georgia and the Carolinas. By 1781, with the British pulling back and General Cornwallis heading north to Virginia, East Florida, would see a large number of Loyalist refugees resettling south. St. Augustine would gain notoriety as a British prison, housing Continental soldiers and some high level politicians: four signers of the Declaration of Independence would spend their war years behind bars – Thomas Heyward Jr., Arthur Middleton, Edward Rutledge, and Josiah Smith.
With the conclusion of the American Revolution and the Treaty of Paris in 1783, both Floridas reverted back to Spain. The colonies would continue to see a boom of former American loyalists resettling as well as increased productions of rice and indigo. With the War of 1812, and Spain choosing the losing side, the United States encouraged illegal settlements further south, particularly West Florida, which was annexed by the U.S. in 1817. In 1819 Spain relinquished both Floridas to the U.S. and in 1821, the two colonies became one Florida and official territory of the United State.
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RESOURCE
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Cashin, Edward J (1999). The King’s Ranger: Thomas Brown and the American Revolution on the Southern Frontier. Fordham Univ Press.
“History of the East Florida Rangers.” Historic Florida Militia, Inc.
Jones, Charles C. The History of Georgia in Two Volumes. 1883: Houghton, Mifflin & Company, Boston, MA.
Lynch, Wayne. “James Screven Ambushed” Journal of the American Revolution.
McCall, Hugh, Captain. History of Georgia, Vol. 1 Containing Brief Sketches of the Most Remarkable Events Up to the Present Day. 1784: Reprint Edition 1909: A. B. Caldwell, Atlanta, Georgia. The Battle is described on pages 403-405.
Olson, Gary D. “Thomas Brown, Loyalist Partisan, and the Revolutionary War in Georgia, 1777-1782, Part I.” The Georgia Historical Quarterly. Vol. 54, No. 1 (Spring 1970), pp 1-19.
Ouzis, Clay. Samuel Elbert and the Age of Revolution in Georgia, 1740 – 1788. 2022: Mercer University Press, Macon, GA.
Searcy, Mary (1985). The Georgia–Florida Contest in the American Revolution, 1776–1778. University, AL: University of Alabama Press.
Pennington, Edgar Legare. “East Florida in the American Revolution, 1775-1778.” The florida Historical Society Quarterly. Vol. 9, No. 1 (Jul 1930) pp 24-46.
Troy, Michael. “Battle of Alligator Creek” March 7, 2021: American Revolution Podcast.
Troy, Michael. “Thomas Creek.” March 1, 2020: American Revolution Podcast.
Wilson, David K. The Southern Strategy: Britain’s Conquest of South Carolina and Georgia, 1775–1780: 2005: University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, SC.