1776 1777 1778 1779 The Battle of Alligator Bridge took place on June 30, 1778, and was the only major engagement in an unsuccessful campaign to conquer British East Florida during the American Revolutionary War.

The frontier between the rebel state of Georgia and the Loyal British province of East Florida was for the first three years of the American Revolutionary War the scene of ongoing raiding.

Political and military leaders in Georgia believed that East Florida's capital, St. Augustine, was vulnerable, and repeatedly promoted expeditions to capture it.

The second, in 1777, had command, supply, and logistical issues; only a company of cavalry actually entered East Florida, only to be ambushed in the Battle of Thomas Creek.

Tonyn and Prevost squabbled over control of Brown's regiment and disagreed on how the province should be defended against the recurring forays from Georgia.

He was opposed in this idea by the Continental Army's Southern Department commander, General Robert Howe, who (like his counterpart Prevost) sought a more defensive posture.

These actions led Georgia's leadership to conclude that a British invasion of the state was being planned, and military preparations began to accelerate.

Governor Tonyn deployed several ships in the Frederica River, separating Saint Simons Island from the mainland, seeking to neutralize several row galleys in the Georgia arsenal.

On April 15 Colonel Samuel Elbert decided to launch an attack against three of them that were anchored near Fort Frederica, a relic of the 1740s War of Jenkins' Ear.

Brown and Indian forces continued to perform reconnaissance, occasionally skirmishing with the Americans and testing the security of their camps.

The militia finally crossed the Saint Marys on July 6, adding some strength to the Continental force, which had been reduced by disease and desertion to only 400 effective soldiers.