Battle Of Thomas Creek

The Battle of Thomas Creek on May 17, 1777 was the final engagement in the second of three disastrous attempts by American forces to invade British East Florida during the American Revolutionary War.

A small group of Rangers and Indians, led by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Brown, advanced the next morning to engage the American forces; at the same time, the main body of troops, under the command of Major Mark Prevost, advanced in three columns to surround them. The advance guard sighted the Patriots at around 9 in the morning, and Brown promptly set up an ambush. His men delivered a surprise volley at 50 yards (46 m) from the front and flank, and the commander turned his column in the direction from which Prevost was expected to appear. The Patriots, already shaken, were quickly overwhelmed by the large numbers of regulars appearing in the underbrush. About half of the Georgians fled at first sight of the enemy; the commander followed soon after, carrying with him a handful of supporters. Some 40 men, including one Captain Ignatius Few, surrendered. Of these, all but 16 (including Captain Few) were put to death by the Indians in revenge for their fallen comrade. It would appear, from British eyewitness accounts, that these were the sole casualties of the battle.