It soon became obvious to Brown that Governor Patrick Tonyn and the military commanders in St. Augustine had great influence in London, far exceeding that of the royal governors in either Charles Town or Georgia. In the continuing competition for troops and supplies, the Florida post always seemed to prevail. It seemed that London authorities had relegated the two other southern colonies to a low priority, and that the days of Lord William Campbell and Sir James Wright might be numbered. Except for sporadic Spanish threats to Pensacola, in western Florida, British control of the colony was not seriously challenged, even after fighting had broken out in the northern colonies and radical groups, with which Brown had become all too familiar, were threatening the peace in the southern colonies.

Here, also, the British were able to have friendly and mutually supportive relations with the Indian tribes along the coast, whose influence extended all the way northward to Virginia and westward to the Mississippi River. In all the coastal regions, there was a constant pressure on the American settlers to move westward, always arousing the animosity of the native tribes. The British officials, and especially those in Florida, were not considered guilty of this obsession with new lands, since their duty assignments in the colonies were relatively brief and their homes and families remained in England.

•  •  •

When Brown reported to the headquarters of Colonel Augustine Prevost, Major Howard Furlong met him and took the envelope into the colonel’s private office. Brown was deeply concerned about the possible contents of the message and waited impatiently until the major reappeared and led him down the hall to his own room. Brown hoped the man was well aware of the rumor that his father was the prime minister.

“Lord William has given us a brief report of your unfortunate experience in Augusta and has informed us of your limited military experience and your eagerness to be of service. The colonel doesn’t have time to meet with you, but I have set aside time to hear your own, more complete description of what happened.”

Brown recounted the events in Georgia, struggling to control his almost overwhelming feeling of anger. The major asked a number of questions, and Brown was impressed with his personal interest and obvious intelligence. Here was a man who seemed to have all the attributes of a competent field commander and was the first person who showed Brown the respect of discussing in any depth what had happened.