BATTLE OF THOMAS CREEK

In May 1777, 400 soldiers from the Continental Army and 165 members of the Georgia militia organized in Sunbury, Georgia, just north of the Florida border for an expedition into British East Florida in retaliation for raids conducted by British Loyalists. Traveling by water, the Continentals encountered British troops at Amelia Island, which delayed their rendezvous with the Georgia militia who traveled by land. On May 17, a small force of 109 Georgia militia men was ambushed by a mixed force of British Army, Loyalist militia, and Native Americans near the mouth of Thomas Creek in Northeast Florida. Lieutenant Colonel John Baker of Georgia forces and 41 of the Georgia militia men survived the battle. The encounter was the first major engagement and the second of the three failed attempts by American forces to invade British East Florida. It is considered the southernmost battle of the American Revolutionary War.