Perhaps predictably, the old debate about ultimate command was resumed between General Robert Howe and the provincial leaders. Immediately after his arrival in Savannah, General Howe infuriated the Georgians by refusing to participate in any meetings with them in uniform, insisting that he would only consult with them as a civilian. Emphasizing his own military career and status as Continental commander, General Howe claimed the right to overall command and refused to serve under the youthful and inexperienced Governor Houstoun. Meanwhile, Commodore Bowen insisted that his galleys were a naval force and therefore under his exclusive command. Colonel Williamson, leading the South Carolina militia, refrained from participating in the debate, but refused to agree that he would accept orders from other leaders. In order to resolve the impasse and minimize past mistakes, they all finally decided to retain their independence but to consult closely with one another and to clarify responsibilities before the major strike was launched.

Having full information from Brown about these discussions and aware of the formidable size of this force of Georgia militia and Continental troops, Governor Tonyn was concerned that some of the settlers south of the Altamaha might shift their allegiance and join a victorious force of invaders, and he was not at all certain of the loyalty of the Creeks and Seminoles. The governor’s main commitment was to defend St. Augustine, and he issued instructions for the Rangers to stay in contact with the enemy’s troops, skirmish to delay their progress, but avoid a pitched battle. This was, in fact, Brown’s standard and preferred tactic.

Governor Tonyn had rarely had to call on the regular troops stationed in St. Augustine. In almost every case, he had been able to defend Florida and to harass the local Whigs with only the Rangers and a small group of loyalists from Georgia and Carolina, almost all of whom had been recruited and led by Thomas Brown. This relatively cautious and dormant policy was completely compatible with the character of General Augustine Prevost, who never came forward to demand a more vigorous role for his Redcoats. Now, however, the situation was about to change.

CHAPTER 32

Last Invasion of Florida

MAY 1778

The Altamaha was a mighty river as it approached the sea, and as Elijah Clarke and Aaron Hart sat on its southern bank they discussed the regions of the state that were drained by its two main tributaries, the Ocmulgee and the Oconee. The stream’s multiple sources were 250 miles northwest of them, extending more than one hundred miles above Augusta, and the slow-moving waters that flowed past them had drained only lands still controlled by the Creeks and Cherokees. Permanent white settlements existed alongside the stream for less than thirty miles, from their present location to the sea. They hated to admit how small a portion of the state they actually controlled.