James Oglethorpe led the colonization of Georgia for Great Britain and had chosen Savannah as the principal port for the new colony.

In the 1730s, Spain and Great Britain were disputing control of the border between Georgia and La Florida, where the Spanish had several settlements and forts.

Accompanied by rangers and two Native American guides, Oglethorpe picked St. Simons Island as the site for a new town and fort.

In 1737, Oglethorpe returned to England to acquire more funding and permission to raise a regiment of soldiers; he gained Parliamentary approval for both.

A Spanish boarding party had gone aboard a British brig Rebecca, off the Florida coast, and found that its captain Robert Jenkins was smuggling.

Parliament used the nearly forgotten incident to rally public opinion to their side in 1739, but the war was over trade and territorial competition between Britain and Spain.

Spanish governor Don Manuel de Montiano commanded the invasion force, which by some estimates totaled between 4,500 and 5,000 men.

Faced with a superior force, Oglethorpe decided to withdraw from Fort St. Simons before the Spanish could mount an assault.

He ordered the small garrison to spike the guns and slight the fort (doing what damage they could), to deny the Spanish full use of the military asset.

After landing troops and supplies, and consolidating their position at Fort St. Simons, the Spanish began to reconnoiter beyond their perimeter.

On 7 July the Spanish undertook a reconnaissance in force along the road with approximately 115 men under the command of Captain Sebastian Sanchez.

Near Fort Frederica, Sanchez' column made contact with Oglethorpe's soldiers, under command of Noble Jones.

Fortunately for both sides, at this point it was later in the afternoon and it started to rain, causing the smoke from the muskets to hang in the air.

He wrote to the deserter, addressing him as if he were a spy for the British, saying that the man just needed to continue his stories until Britain could send more men.

Its position was further secured in 1763 when Spain ceded Florida to Britain in an exchange of territory under the Treaty of Paris ending the Seven Years' War.