When Brown arrived in Savannah, he delivered a sealed envelope to the governor, who was informed in the document that the newly commissioned lieutenant was well educated, proficient with guns and the sword from their use in his hunting and dueling activities, had never had any real military training, and was apparently averse to taking orders. What he had was a sharp intelligence and total loyalty to the British government, and he was to be treated with respect and consideration during a stay of at least four years in the colonies. He was to be introduced to top officials in both Georgia and South Carolina.

Without further instructions, the governor did not know what to do with him, but after a brief conversation he found that Brown was thoroughly familiar with the steps being taken in the Parliament to address some of the legitimate complaints of the colonists, and was an enthusiastic supporter of the government’s policies. After some consideration, Governor Wright decided that Brown should be encouraged to live in northeast Georgia, where almost unlimited land had become available under the Indian treaty of 1773. He gave Brown twelve contiguous land grants totaling 2,600 acres, most of which were above the Little River, an area still disputed by some of the young Creeks. A nearby fort protected the southern portion, and this is where the first development was begun, to be named Brownsborough. It lay in the confluence of Kiokee and Greenbriar creeks, about twenty miles northwest of Augusta. Because of Brown’s good education and “gentlemanly bearing,” Governor Wright decided to appoint him magistrate, the governor’s official representative in that remote area, and Brown volunteered to make a confidential report from time to time on the attitude of the people along the upper Savannah River. Brown was attracted by the somewhat clandestine nature of his assignment, but he had no desire to create trouble or to endanger himself. After claiming his property, he assigned Herring and the indentured men to clear and work almost two hundred acres of open cropland and to care for a small herd of sheep, cows, and hogs. Brown soon learned that his overseer was a competent and honest manager, and although he maintained an interest in the land as a place to hunt and a source of income, he took temporary lodgings in Augusta while the plantation was being developed. He spent most of his time visiting taverns in a wide area, where he could enjoy himself and also ascertain the opinions of his neighbors.

•  •  •

In Georgia and South Carolina, the governors now had to deal with provincial congresses that professed continuing allegiance to the crown but were known to be supporting the American cause as expressed, sometimes violently, in the north. In both colonies, real power was vested in the councils of safety.