The Florida Society Sons, Daughters and Children of the American Revolution organizations and the City of Jacksonville will commemorate the 249th anniversary of the May 17, 1777, Battle of Thomas Creek at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 28. This Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) National Color Guard event will take place at 2145 Arnold/Gold Star Family Parkway Road off I-95, Exit 366 west on Pecan Park Road. Seaton Creek Historical Preserve Park is on the north side of Jacksonville.
In May of 1777, 400 soldiers from the Continental Army and 165 members of the Georgia Militia combined in Sunbury, Georgia, on the Florida border for an expedition into British East Florida in retaliation for raids to the north by British loyalists. Traveling by water, the Continentals encountered British troops at Amelia Island, which delayed their rendezvous with the Georgia Militia who traveled by land. On May 17, a small force of 109 Georgia Militia men was ambushed by a mixed force of British Army, Loyalist Militia and Native Americans near the mouth of Thomas Creek in Northeast Florida.
Lt. Col. John Baker of the Georgia forces and 41 of the Georgia militia men survived the battle. The encounter was the first major engagement and the second of three failed attempts by American forces to invade British East Florida. The Battle of Thomas Creek is considered the southernmost battle of the American Revolutionary War.
The annual commemoration of the Battle of Thomas Creek is one of several public historical activities to be presented by the SAR-Jacksonville Chapter as part of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
The Battle of Thomas Creek is listed as a Florida Heritage Site and sponsored by the Florida Society, Sons of the American Revolution, City of Jacksonville and the Florida Department of State.
More detailed information about each event may be found on the Jacksonville Chapter, Florida Society, Sons of the American Revolution FaceBook page.
The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history and teaching American history to future generations.
To gain membership, verifiable bloodline proof to a descendent who fought in the Revolutionary War is required. If interested, the Jacksonville Chapter, with its almost 200 members, have processes and strategies to trace those connections.
For more local information regarding genealogic research, contact Gray Chandler, Chapter Registrar at: chan840@bellsouth.net or 904-303-9170.
