The Province of Georgia had managed to remain relatively neutral before the events of spring 1775, but radicals in the Georgia provincial congress had come into power during the summer of 1775 and progressively stripped Georgia's Royal Governor, James Wright, of his powers.

While Wright had requested a naval presence near Savannah, Patriots in Charleston, South Carolina had intercepted his request and substituted for it a dispatch indicating he did not need such support.

The dispute in Georgia had reached a crisis point when British men-of-war began arriving at Tybee Island in January 1776.

On January 12, three ships were seen at anchor off Tybee Island; by January 18 the fleet consists of the HMS Cherokee, HMS Siren, HMS Raven, HMS Tamar, and a number of smaller vessels.

Wright's opinion, expressed to Joseph Clay and others, had been that the fleet has been sent to punish the local rebels.

In fact, these ships were the beginnings of a fleet assembled to acquire provisions in Savannah for the beleaguered British troops in Boston.

In December 1775 General William Howe had ordered an expedition to purchase rice and other provisions in Georgia.

By early February the entire fleet has assembled off Tybee Island.

It is under the overall command of Captain Andrew Barclay (or Barkley) on the HMS Scarborough, and includes HMS Hinchinbrook and two transports, HMS Whitby and HMS Symmetry, carrying about two hundred British army regulars from the 40th Foot under the command of Major James Grant.

The arrival of the first ships in January had prompted the Georgia Committee of Safety to order the arrest of Wright and other provincial representatives of the Crown on January 18.

Joseph Habersham, a major in the Georgia militia, had placed Governor Wright under house arrest, and had extracted a promise from the governor that he would not attempt to communicate with the British ships.

Wright, who continues to be harassed in spite of his confinement, fears for his life, and escapes the mansion on the night of February 11.

He makes his way to the plantation of a Loyalist supporter and is taken from there to the Scarborough.

In the meantime, Georgia's provincial assembly had met, elected representatives to the Second Continental Congress, and begun the process of raising regiments for the Continental Army.

After Governor Wright arrives aboard the Scarborough he writes a letter to the remaining members of his council, in which he expresses frustration over getting assurances of safety and access to the desired supplies from the Patriot authorities.

Georgia had, along with the other twelve colonies, in 1774 adopted the terms of the Continental Association created by the First Continental Congress banning trade with Great Britain.

With negotiations effectively failed, Barclay orders his fleet into action on February 29.

His objective is a number of merchant vessels docked at Savannah, whose owners are desirous of moving their goods, something that will become possible on March 1 when the previous constraints are to expire.

His Majesty's Ships Scarborough, Tamar, Cherokee, and Hinchinbrook sail up the Savannah River on March 1 to Five-Fathom Hole, accompanying transports carrying two to three hundred men under Grant's command.

Hinchinbrook and one of the transports now sail up the Back River, a secondary channel of the Savannah River.

The transport anchors opposite the port area, while Hinchinbrook, in an attempt to take a position above the town, grounds on a sandbank in the river.

Gunfire from Joseph Habersham's militia clear Hinchinbrook's decks, but without suitable boats, Habersham is unable to attempt the taking of the vessel, which floated free on the next high tide.

Late on the evening of March 2, Grant's men are landed on Hutchinson Island.

They make their way across the island, and, at 4:00 am on March 3, take over a number of the rice boats anchored near the island.

Due to their success at remaining quiet, and possibly with the collusion of the ship captains, the alarm is not raised in Savannah until 9:00 am.

The arrival of the ships on March 1 prompts the Committee of Safety to issue calls for the defense of the town and the ships, which are forwarded along with a request for assistance to South Carolina's Committee of Safety the next day.

When the alarm is raised, Colonel McIntosh takes three hundred militiamen and sets up three four-pound cannons on Yamacraw Bluff.

He now sends Lieutenant Daniel Roberts and Major Raymond Demeré II under a parley flag to one of the occupied ships; they are promptly arrested.

When a second, larger, parley arrived to discuss the release of the two captives and the ships, the situation turns nasty when Captain Rogers, leader of the party, is insulted.

After he fires at someone on the occupied ship, the British respond in kind, wounding one and very nearly sinking the parley group's boat.

Following that boat's retreat, McIntosh opens fire with the cannons on the bluff, beginning a gun battle that lasts or four hours.

The Committee of Safety, when it meets to discuss the situation, decides that the supply ships should be burned, and a company of militia is assembled to accomplish this task.

One supply ship, the Inverness, is torched and set adrift toward the occupied vessels, causing a scramble as the British troops hurry to abandon them in the face of the arriving fire ship.

During the confusion, the Patriot militia and battery are active, raking the scurrying British crews with musket fire and grape shot.

Two of the occupied vessels manage to get away downstream, and two more escape the flames by going upstream, but are forced to dock, and their crews are taken prisoner.

Three ships succumb to the flames, which burn well into the night.

The action is assisted by the timely arrival of five hundred South Carolina militia sent in response to the earlier appeal.

Colonel McIntosh sends a parley to Captain Barclay the next day, offering a prisoner exchange.

When Barclay refuses the exchange, the Committee of Safety orders the arrest of the remaining members of Wright's council.

This move proves successful; the British-held prisoners are released in exchange for promises of protection of those councilors.

In spite of the action, the British successfully sail most of the merchant ships down the Back River, although some of the ships need to dump a portion of their cargo in order to make it down the shallow channel.

Once they reach Tybee Island, the desired provisions, amounting to sixteen hundred barrels of rice, are loaded onto the two British transport ships.

The fleet remains anchored off Tybee Island while negotiations go on over the exchange of prisoners.

During this time the fleet detains several arriving vessels, which are later disposed of as prizes.

On March 25, a band of militia from Savannah burns all the houses on the island to deny their use to Wright and the ships' officers.

Barclay weighs anchor on March 30 and sails north, leading the convoy of merchant ships and transports.

As the British had abandoned Boston earlier in March, he first puts into Newport, Rhode Island, where the local Patriots deny him any assistance and fire at his ships using field artillery.

He eventually rejoins the British forces at Halifax, Nova Scotia in May.

The battle and Wright's departure mark the end of British control over Georgia until Savannah is recaptured by British forces in December 1778.

Governor Wright will return, and Savannah will then remain in British hands until 1782.