Now riding along behind the front horse, Aaron knew that this morning the captain’s leadership abilities would be fully tested. All the men were challenged by the discipline of military service and proud of their progress in marksmanship and tactics, which most of them had assumed would be used in defending their own homes and families against possible Indian attacks. Their ranks had grown steadily, and their commitments and political attitudes increasingly unified, slowly changing under Clarke’s strong influence and by the news they’d received from the northern colonies. Elijah was always outspoken and would not brook any open dissent from his support of the decisions of the Continental Congress, including an embargo of trade with both Britain and the Tory merchants in Savannah. It was obvious that the captain was becoming less interested in possible battles with the Creeks and Cherokees and more fascinated with news about the growing armed struggle against the king’s forces. Some of the militiamen also shared the intense condemnation that Carolinians felt toward the “pacifists and cowards” in Georgia.

This morning the men were assembling far to the southeast of their homes, near the junction of Kiokee Creek and the Savannah River. This was one of their favorite meeting places, on a high bluff overlooking the water and far enough off the main trail so their campsite was not disturbed by travelers who might be going to and from Savannah. Aaron had some trepidation about the meeting, because Clarke had informed Micajah and him the previous evening that he would require all the men to join him in a commitment to support the revolutionary Minutemen in their direct opposition to British forces. Although he was loyal to Elijah Clarke and increasingly dominated by him in their common military commitment, it was not easy for Aaron to accept this mandate to express disloyalty to the crown. His father had come from Liverpool, and he had never before questioned his own role as a British citizen. Not much of a religious man, he had always considered his first loyalty to be to the king. As had all the other men, he had taken solemn oaths to that effect when they had signed land deeds and various other official papers, and routinely offered toasts to “His Majesty the king.” It was easy for him and other Englishmen to condemn Parliament and there were plenty of reasons to do so, but he had an uneasy feeling that Clarke’s present attitude bordered on treason.

When the men arrived at their camp on Kiokee bluff, they staked out their horses, stowed their few supplies in the lean-to sheds, and prepared for a two-day training session. This morning, however, instead of dividing into platoons, Clarke had the men assemble in the open space for what they assumed would be a lecture on military tactics.