Colonel Lachlan McIntosh had followed closely the progress of the Continental army under George Washington, but was frustrated by its limited role of merely protecting the rights of the northern colonists as part of the British Empire. He was delighted when, in February 1776, Washington put Major General Charles Lee in command of the Southern Military Department, covering Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. He had met him briefly in Savannah and knew that Lee had spent several years as a plantation owner in Florida and realized the importance of protecting the colonies from a British northward thrust. Lachlan hoped that some regular Continental troops might be coming to Georgia, and that a successful strike against St. Augustine might now be possible. Thoroughly familiar with the coastal area and having been involved since boyhood in conflicts with Spanish troops operating out of Florida, Lachlan knew how difficult such a military operation would be. Only the deployment of a large contingent from the Continental army could make the attack successful, and special influence by Lee would be necessary to induce General Washington to spare an adequate number of troops from his own beleaguered force in the north. An official military operation against Florida would encourage the Council of Safety to give McIntosh the support he was still lacking in his new position as commander of its militia.

The provincial government in Savannah had cast its lot completely with the revolutionary cause by naming Lyman Hall, Button Gwinnett, and George Walton as delegates to the Continental Congress. Both collectively and individually, these men were outspoken advocates of independence and they were given a free hand to vote accordingly. Their simple instructions were to protect the interests of their remote and beleaguered colony.

The most intriguing news in Savannah was that Gwinnett had expressed his strong preference to stay in Georgia and made it clear to everyone that he was distressed and infuriated to have Lachlan McIntosh as the state’s military commander, which had been his own ambition. He finally agreed to go to Philadelphia in May only with the understanding that he would be deputy to the president of the Council of Safety and therefore second in command of the colony’s government. He was determined to reverse the appointment of McIntosh, and he believed that this high political position would open opportunities to reach his goal of taking over command of Georgia’s troops. Lachlan McIntosh was well aware of Gwinnett’s comments and was somewhat amused by them. He was completely confident that his lifelong commitment to military service ensured his position, but within a few days of his appointment he was faced with a more immediate challenge: a military engagement with British forces.

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