After fleeing a particularly violent tarring and feathering by Patriots outside of Augusta, Georgia, Thomas Brown sought refuge among loyalists in East Florida in 1775.

[1][2] In June 1776, Brown received authorisation from Governor Patrick Tonyn to form and lead a loyalist unit to be named the East Florida Rangers.

[3][4] The East Florida Rangers were mounted on horseback, but were not a cavalry unit per se, using their horses not for fighting but for transportation over the great distances in the region.

[5][6] William Henry Drayton, who served as a delegate for South Carolina to the Continental Congress, referred to the rangers as "splitshirt banditti" and a parcel of horse thieves and villains.

[7][8] In June 1778, the East Florida Rangers partook in the effort to defend Fort Tonyn from a Continental invasion led by General Robert Howe.

Seventy-six members of the East Florida Rangers, led by Lt. James Moore, attempted to flank the advancing American army.

[10] Following the repelling of an attack on Augusta in September, the KCR fortified their position with the construction of Fort Cornwallis adjacent to Saint Paul's Church.

[12] Lt. Col. Brown, commanding a force of approximately 300 militiamen and 200 African Americans, refused to engage due to exaggerated reports of the patriot's strength.

General Andrew Pickens and 400 American troops managed to cut off relief forces sent to alleviate Fort Cornwallis at Ninety Six, allowing for the Siege of Augusta to begin.