Now emboldened, the Council of Safety decided to send sixty-three barrels of rice and £122 in currency to the boycotted Bostonians, and a few days later, on July 4, 1775, there was a meeting of the provincial congress at Tondee’s tavern, with all districts and parishes represented. Lachlan McIntosh and four other of his clansmen from St. Andrews were among the most militant. After electing Archibald Bulloch as president of the Council of Safety and George Walton as secretary, they resolved to join all other colonies in restoring American liberties and in healing the unhappy divisions between Great Britain and her colonies, but made it clear that their loyalty was to the king and not the Parliament. They framed a new government for the colony, voted to create an army and navy, raise money, and set other policies for a people struggling for liberty. They also named four delegates to represent the colony in Philadelphia and to bring back decisions and recommendations to their fellow Georgians. The four Georgia delegates, including the Reverend Zubly, were seated in the Continental Congress, two of them wearing homespun. Given Zubly’s strong and vocal support of the crown, however, he was soon forced to leave Philadelphia under a cloud, but the others remained, and the colony continued to be represented by Lyman Hall, George Walton, and Button Gwinnett.

With little opposition, the leaders in Savannah approved all recommendations of the Continental Congress, including a total boycott of trade with Great Britain and Ireland and an end to all slave trade from Africa or anywhere else, which they presumed would be damaging to the British slave-trading economy. They pledged to act with frugality so as not to need the boycotted goods, including refusing to wear any adornments other than just a piece of black crepe or ribbon at funerals, to horserace or game, or to attend shows or plays. They also advocated severe punishment for any merchant who might violate these restraints. The boycott against British goods hurt Georgia more than any other colony because she had no currency of her own, produced only rice, lumber, indigo, and skins, manufactured hardly any necessary items, and had long been heavily dependent on imports from Britain. All these announced actions were focused on the Parliament, with the presumption of continuing loyalty to the crown.

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