It was important to recapture Savannah and Charles Town for two strategic purposes: to convince European leaders that Britain was crushing the revolution and to provide bases from which to destroy all revolutionary forces in America before they could benefit from the treaty that had been signed with France in February promising money, weapons, and soldiers. By taking Georgia and then South Carolina, they would be cutting off vital food and other supplies that had been moving northward to the Continental army. It was logical to begin with Savannah, because of the invulnerable British base in Florida, the effectiveness of the Rangers, and the apparently tepid support for independence in the backcountry of Georgia. Victory would be inevitable if Britain controlled the seas.

The British realized that Savannah was almost invulnerable to an invasion from the sea and could be taken only after a tedious and costly siege, but they were prepared to make this sacrifice in time and casualties because of its importance. The final plan, evolved during the summer months, was for Prevost to attack through southern Georgia with two thousand ground troops while General Clinton would send a large additional force by sea from New York, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell. At the same time, Indian Superintendent John Stuart and Thomas Brown would arouse the Creeks and Cherokees to support the British cause. Whigs were not to be punished or abused, but offered complete amnesty if they would only profess their loyalty to the crown and forgo support for the Continentals.

General Prevost insisted that Brown, as merely a provincial officer, not be included in this detailed planning, but Governor Tonyn invited the Ranger commander to each briefing because he had been advocating the same plan for at least a year before it was adopted in London. Furthermore, Brown’s intelligence information was excellent, and he had become much more effective in dealing with the Indians than Stuart, who had lost much of his former vigor and was inclined to remain close to his office in Pensacola.

By this time, General Sir Henry Clinton’s long-delayed instructions had been received that “provincial” Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Brown and the Florida Rangers would be under the direct command of General Prevost, but Brown soon learned that his superior officers rarely exerted any real authority except in an organized battle. Knowing that Elijah Clarke was still in Savannah with his militia, Brown decided to send a Ranger strike force 150 miles up the river into Wilkes County, instructing them to let their movements be known as widely as possible. The property of twenty loyal Whig settlers was destroyed and several were killed in attacks on their homesteads, which created consternation among militia members who had been recruited into the Georgia forces. Many of them either insisted on being relieved of their duties or simply deserted and returned to their farms and families.