Sawpit Bluff - History

History

Second Invasion of East Florida by Georgian Patriots

Almost immediately upon the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, hostilities began between British loyalists in Florida and Patriots loyal to the new nation to the north. The British spent the remainder of 1776 deflecting Patriot raids from the Georgia side of the St. Marys. In the Spring of 1777, British forces pushed across the St. Marys River, capturing Fort McIntosh on the Satilla River, and raiding Georgia farms for some 2000 head of cattle.

The American response was swift: an invasion of St. Augustine was planned, and Patriot forces began moving south. Lt. Col. Samuel Elbert and 400 Continental troops were to rendezvous with Col. John Baker and his force of about 100 Georgia cavalry militia on May 12 for the march south to St. Augustine.

The expedition left Sunbury on May 1. Baker's cavalry rode overland via the King's Road while Elbert's Continentals sailed down the inland waterway with the expectation of meeting at Sawpit Bluff, near the mouth of the Nassau River. Baker crossed the St. Marys River and advanced toward Sawpit Bluff, reaching it on May 12 and finding that Elbert had not yet arrived. He and his men encamped there for the next three days, and made several raids on habitations between the Nassau and Trout Rivers. The flotilla, under the command of Commodore Oliver Bowen, had been delayed by contrary winds, and did not reach Amelia Island until May 18.

Having learned from a local resident that authorities had been alerted to the expedition, Baker moved west to find a more strategic location to wait, and encamped on the banks of Thomas Creek, a tributary of the Nassau River. Meanwhile, Brown's Indians and rangers had been reinforced by British regulars under the command of Major Mark Prevost, bringing their total force to about 200 men. They crossed the St. Johns and encamped at Rolfe's Sawmill on Trout Creek; their scouts located the American camp on the night of May 16–17.

Brown's rangers and Indians set up an ambush ahead of Baker's route, while Prevost's regulars advanced behind Baker. When Baker's column reached the ambush around 9:00 am, Brown's men delivered a surprise volley. Baker and his men turned to flee, directly into Prevost's oncoming regulars. The Patriots were quickly overwhelmed by the large numbers of rangers and Indians appearing in the underbrush. About half of the Georgians fled at first sight of the enemy; Baker, his horse taken by one of his companions, escaped into the swamps.

The superior British force defeated the Americans at the Battle of Thomas Creek in the southernmost battle of the American Revolutionary War, and the only one fought in present-day Duval County. Colonel Baker and forty-two of his men escaped, making their way through the marsh, and across the St. Marys River to Georgia. Elbert reached East Florida with his men two days after the battle, landing on the northern end of Amelia Island.

The Revolution of East Florida

Armed parties of the so-called "Patriots of Florida" made forays from Sawpit Bluff to Talbot Island during the Revolution of East Florida, or Patriots' War, in 1812. On August 28 of that year two Spanish gunboats commanded by Capt. Tomás Llorente sailed up Two Sisters Creek to Sawpit Bluff and shelled the house of William Fitzpatrick.