Feeling himself to still be vulnerable, Brown gathered as much information as possible about the relative strength of Whigs and Tories in the southern states, and shared the assessment with his superiors in Savannah and St. Augustine. In Virginia, influenced by proximity to the northern fighting forces, Whigs far outnumbered Tories, and there was almost an equal division of loyalties in North Carolina. With British forces rapidly expanding their hold on South Carolina, Tory loyalty was surpassing that of Whigs and, as usual, Georgia’s overwhelming loyalty was to the crown. In London, British leaders planned for future peace talks with the assumption that the two southern states were joined to Florida as an integral part of Britain and, at the same time, the Continental Congress considered omitting Georgia and South Carolina from those still defending independence.

In July 1780, while returning from one of their forays against the Indians and Brown’s troops in upcountry Georgia, Clarke and Dooly decided to call another meeting at one of the forts in the Hornet’s Nest to decide how they might be more effective in opposing the forces of Lord Cornwallis. While the word was being spread for the men to gather, they decided to visit their wives and families.

Thomas Brown had posted one of his most skilled Creek warriors to watch the small cabin that housed Dooly’s family, and he hastened to report the colonel’s arrival. The second night he was home, five Tories entered the home, caught Dooly in bed, and hacked him to death. They were under orders not to harm his wife and family, but they were permitted to ransack the house. They found a jug of whiskey but no food except some cornmeal, and decided to go to a nearby cabin to celebrate their successful mission and to assuage their hunger.