East Florida Rangers

In the early summer of 1776, the American Rebels assembled a force of more than two thousand men in Savannah, Georgia, under the command of Colonel William Moultrie. The mission of this force was to invade and conquer Florida. Fortunately for Florida, command problems and widespread sickness so crippled this small army that it never advanced farther than Sunbury, Georgia. Even had it actually invaded, Florida was no longer quite as defenseless as it had been a few months earlier. The first contingent of the King’s 60th Regiment of Foot (Royal Americans) had arrived in St. Augustine under the command of Colonel, later Brigadier General, Augustine Prevost.

The 60th had been raised in America for service in the French and Indian War. In 1776, its two American manned battalions, the 1st and 2nd, were serving in the West Indies. Its newly reconstituted 3rd and 4th battalions, manned by Irish, German, and English recruits, were posted to Florida. They were to comprise the principal English Regular Army force in Florida throughout the Revolutionary War, and were to leave only after the cessation of hostilities.

As important to the future survival of British Florida as the arrival of the 60th Foot, was the arrival of Thomas Browne, formerly of Augusta, Georgia. A man of quite considerable competence and energy, Browne had been tarred, feathered, and partially scalped by Georgia Rebels for his loyalty to King George III. Recognizing his merits, Governor Tonyn commissioned Browne a colonies, and authorized him to raise, equip, and lead a force of irregular militia. This force would be called the East Florida Rangers. Rarely numbering more than two hundred, Browne and his Rangers, assisted by a large band of partially red-coated Seminole Indians, were to perform signal services to the crown during the next few years.

These Indian and militiamen were desperately needed to help protect British Florida. Except in relatively standard set-piece battles, the British regulars were quite unsuitable for use in scouting activities or rough and tumble backcountry guerrilla warfare that would constitute much of the military activity in Florida during the Revolutionary War. For this type of warfare, the locally raised frontiersmen, farmers, and Indians were to prove entirely suitable.

When first formed, the Rangers were few in number. A 1775 census indicated a potential unenrolled militia manpower pool of 42 men between the St. Marys and St. Johns Rivers, 53 in the area south of the St. Johns, and 200 Minorcans, Greeks, and others associated with the settlement at New Smyrna. Of course, these figures left out the militia in and around St. Augustine itself, and also the free blacks who had served so long and so well in local militia companies. When first organized in 1776, the East Florida Rangers was authorized to raise seven companies of white troops and four of blacks. In addition, there were several bands of Seminoles, usually led by Chief Cowcatcher, associated with the Rangers. It wasn’t much, but more help was on the way.

In 1776, as events to the north became more and more uncontrollable, King George III declared British East Florida to be a haven for Loyalists from the other southern colonies. Over the next several years, thousands of Loyalist refugees would find their way to Florida. They contributed the men for two full regiments of Loyalist regular soldiers and dozens of recruits to the East Florida Rangers. All would fight long and well for the king.

Command confusion among the Rebels was nearly matched by that of the British in Florida. Governor Tonyn, who controlled the Rangers, Indians, and other militia, thought the best defense of Florida should be made at the border with Georgia, or beyond. Colonel Prevost of the 60th Foot, with little faith in irregular militia troops and with few Regular British troops to command, thought the best, indeed the only proper defense of the province should be centered on the city of St. Augustine and its great fort. Considering the acrimonious relationship between the two men and the fundamental difference in their respective views, it is remarkable, in the end, this divided vision and command did not prove disastrous to the British cause.

During the winter of 1776-1777, Colonel Browne led his Rangers and Indians into Georgia, savaging Rebel areas and capturing a Rebel blockhouse fort, Fort McIntosh, on the Satilla River. A contingent of British Regulars under Lieutenant Lewis Fuser, an unnecessary relief force sent by Colonel Prevost, arrived at the Satilla River too late to fight but in time to participate in the surrender to the fort. The combined British force then returned to Florida with prisoners and captured booty of equipment, cattle, and horses.