[2] Upon arrival, Bowles resigned his commission, and left the fortification, where he was captured by Muscogee raiders and brought back to one of their settlements.

While he was living with the Creek Tribe, a Spanish expeditionary force mustered and began to lay siege to British forts along the Gulf Coast.

A trading firm in nearby Nassau, who sought to break the Panton, Leslie & Company's monopoly in Florida, decided to employ Bowles thanks to his knowledge of territory and his good standing with the tribes and, more specifically, the Creek leader Alexander McGillivray.

Despite the massive failure of his mission, Bowles was not about to give up and began to focus on the idea of carving out a sovereign Indian nation in Florida.

After designing a flag and constitution for his state, Bowles raised an army and began to carry out raids of Spanish territories in Florida.

William Augustus Bowles died in 1805, at Castillo Morro, in Havana, Cuba, having deliberately starved himself to death in defiance.