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The Battle of Thomas Creek, or the Thomas Creek Massacre (May 17, 1777), was an ambush of a small force of Georgia militia cavalry by a mixed force of British Army, Loyalist militia, and Indians near the mouth of Thomas Creek in northern East Florida. The encounter was the only major engagement in the second of three failed attempts by American forces to invade East Florida in the early years of the American Revolutionary War. The invasion attempt consisted of a naval flotilla carrying Continental Army troops and a company of militia cavalry traveling overland. The flotilla was delayed in reaching the rendezvous point, and British intelligence had learned of the expedition and located the cavalry. The British established an ambush, which broke up and scattered the cavalry, taking more than 30 prisoners. Indians with the British forces were reported to kill a number of the captives in cold blood afterward, in revenge for the death of one of their own in an earlier skirmish. Colonel Samuel Elbert, the invasion commander, abandoned the expedition when his flotilla was confronted by narrow channels and prepared British defenses. A 1778 expedition against East Florida failed due to leadership disagreements, although there was a skirmish at Alligator Bridge. ==Background== (詳細はLoyalist Thomas Brown in February 1777 against his state, Georgia President Button Gwinnett organized an expedition against the capital of British East Florida, St. Augustine. General Robert Howe, commander of the Continental Army's Southern Department, agreed to contribute some Continental forces, and authorized Colonel Samuel Elbert's 2nd Georgia Regiment and Brigadier General Lachlan McIntosh to participate.〔Nester, p. 163〕〔Heitman, p. 27〕 McIntosh and Gwinnett were bitter political enemies, and could not agree on issues of command and strategy. As a consequence, Howe and the Georgia legislature gave command of the operation to Colonel Elbert. (Another consequence of the disagreement between McIntosh and Gwinnett was a duel they fought on May 16; both men were wounded, and Gwinnett died several days later.)〔Nester, p. 164〕 In addition to the 300 Continentals from the 1st and 2nd Georgia Regiments, the expedition included some militia cavalry led by Colonel John Baker. Sources vary on the exact size of Baker's company; it is reported to be either about 100 or 200 men.〔Searcy, p. 93〕〔Russell, p. 83〕〔Cashin, pp. 64–65〕 The expedition left Sunbury on May 1.〔 Baker's cavalry rode overland while Elbert's Continentals sailed via the inland waterway with the expectation of meeting at Sawpit Bluff, near the mouth of the Nassau River in what is now Duval County, Florida. Baker reached Sawpit Bluff on May 12.〔Cashin, p. 64〕 The flotilla, under the command of Commodore Oliver Bowen, was delayed by contrary winds, and did not reach Amelia Island until May 18.〔〔Siebert, p. 70〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Thomas Creek」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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