Thomas Brown quickly learned of these plans, but was unconcerned. With 350 Florida Rangers, Brown felt equal to the challenge of facing 600 Continental troops and perhaps 1,000 Georgia militia, both groups dispirited by a lack of unified leadership and with their first duties considered to be protecting their families and operating their farms. Backed by more than a thousand British regulars stationed in St. Augustine and a fleet that controlled the sea, Brown was delighted to give Major Furlong an account of what he considered to be ludicrous activities around Savannah, expressing himself in the slang expressions of his own Rangers. He presumed that the informal report would be widely distributed.

The leaders of the rebels are like dogs in a pissing contest. The Georgians despise each other, and the so-called Continental commanders have little control over them. General Charles Lee was disgusted when he was in Georgia, and requested a transfer out of the Southern region. General Robert Howe replaced him and is visiting Savannah, but will not be able to referee successfully between President Button Gwinnett, a traitor who signed the Declaration of Independence, and Brigadier General Lachlan McIntosh, who is the most able military commander in the colony, but has few forces and limited authority. Not only do the two compete for control over their incompetent forces, but they hate each other and struggle for political and military power. The only thing on which the two Georgia leaders agree is not to submit to the command of a Continental officer.

After a few days in Savannah to explore plans for a possible attack on Florida, General Robert Howe returned to Charles Town in disgust, leaving a few of his troops in Savannah. After Howe’s departure, Gwinnett assumed that his political title empowered him to move against the British, so he planned another Florida excursion. Despite the urging of his closest associates, Gwinnett refused to notify Continental Commander Lachlan McIntosh of his plans. Few recruits came forward when Gwinnett attempted to put together a force of militia, and an aggravated Council of Safety made a last-minute call to McIntosh for help with the expedition.

In April 1777, the forces finally began moving toward Florida, but a new argument broke out before they were halfway to the Florida line. The intense animosity between Gwinnett and McIntosh made it impossible for either to take orders from the other, or even for their subordinates to cooperate in planning or executing the military operation. Both Gwinnett and McIntosh refused to move their forces farther southward unless the other would submit to his own leadership. Finally, the council ordered the two leaders and their troops to return to Savannah, where each man marshaled political supporters and attempted to justify his actions.