In early February 1779, American and British forces faced each other across the Savannah River, with the British controlling Georgia and the Americans South Carolina, as both sides maneuvered for a decisive struggle in the South. General Benjamin Lincoln, commanding six or seven thousand American troops, sought to flank the British above Augusta and drive General Augustine Prevost's forces toward the Georgia coast. After Colonels Elijah Clarke and Andrew Pickens defeated the Tory General Boyd at Kettle Creek, Lincoln ordered General John Ashe to join General Andrew Williamson opposite Augusta. When Colonel Archibald Campbell evacuated Augusta and marched down the Georgia side of the river to join Prevost at Hudson's Ferry, Lincoln ordered Ashe, with 1,800 men, to cross the Savannah River, follow Campbell as far as Freeman-Miller Bridge on Brier Creek, and secure his position there. Ashe arrived on February 27 to find the bridge burned, and after he left on February 28 for a council of war at Black Swamp, South Carolina, General Bryant moved the American camp up the creek near this spot, posted pickets, placed infantry at the burned bridge, and sent Colonel Leonard Marbury to Paris' Mill fourteen miles upstream. On March 1, Bryant was joined by Major Ross with 300 fatigued horsemen. After reconnoitering Ashe's position, Prevost decided to strike from the rear before the Americans could consolidate. In a highly skillful maneuver, Colonel Mark Prevost placed Major McPherson and the First Battalion of the 71st Regiment at Buck Creek as a decoy while he led about 1,500 British troops up the west side of Brier Creek, reached Paris' Mill on March 2, found the bridge destroyed, sent infantry and light horse across the creek, cut off Marbury's dragoons from Ashe's force, captured some, and forced others to escape across Burton's Ferry. Prevost then built a bridge and crossed on the morning of March 3. Although Ashe had returned by midday on March 2 and had been directed to secure his position and wait for Williamson, Rutherford, and Lincoln before beginning a general offensive, he remained unaware of the British movement. On the morning of March 3, Ashe sent Major Ross and 300 light horse to reconnoiter Prevost at Hudson's Ferry, but Ross, after encountering McPherson's men at Buck Creek, failed to warn Ashe. About 2:30 P.M. on March 3, Ashe received word from Colonel Smith at Burton's Ferry that the British were approaching, and within minutes they appeared on the main road, deployed, and formed a battle line from this vicinity to the Savannah River swamp. Ashe, Samuel Elbert, and Bryant hastily reversed their front and tried to form an American line, with Elbert's and Colonel McIntosh's men on the left near the creek, Bryant in the center, and Colonel Young on the right, but confusion spread as ammunition was distributed. British cannon fire struck the unprepared American center, which broke and retreated in disorder; the British burst through the gap, and soon Young's right wing also broke and fled into the Savannah swamps. On the American left, Elbert and McIntosh, with sixty Continentals and 150 Georgia militia, made a fierce final stand that forced the British to bring up reserves, and they fought until nearly every man was dead or wounded before Elbert, McIntosh, and the survivors surrendered. The defeat shattered the carefully laid American plan to win control of the South and bring the war to an early end, while the last stand of the Georgians remained the battle's chief source of solace and inspiration.