arrival of John Ashe and more than 1,000 North Carolina militia Lincoln sent to add to the 1,000 militia that were already across the river from Augusta in South Carolina. On the way back to Savannah, Campbell turned over command of his men to Augustine Prevost's brother, Mark. The younger Prevost turned the tables on Ashe, who was following him south, surprising and very nearly destroying his force of 1,300 in the March 3 Battle of Brier Creek. Second attack on Charleston By April, Lincoln had been reinforced by large numbers of South Carolina militia and received additional military supplies through Dutch shipments to Charleston. He decided to move toward Augusta. Leaving 1,000 men under the command of General Moultrie at Purrysburg to monitor Augustine Prevost, he began the march north on April 23, 1779. Prevost's reaction was to lead 2,500 men from Savannah toward Purrysburg on April 29. Moultrie fell back toward Charleston rather than engaging, and Prevost was within on May 10 before he began to see resistance. Two days later he intercepted a message indicating that Lincoln, alerted to Prevost's advance, was hurrying back from Augusta to assist in the defense of Charleston. Prevost retreated to the islands southwest of Charleston, leaving an entrenched guard at Stono Ferry (near present-day Rantowles, South Carolina) to cover his retreat. When Lincoln got back to Charleston he led about 1,200 men, mostly untried militia, after Prevost. This force was repulsed by the British on June 20, 1779, in the Battle of Stono Ferry. The rear guard, having succeeded in its objective, abandoned that post a few days later. Prevost's foray against Charleston was notable for his troop's arbitrary looting and pillaging, which enraged friend and foe alike in the South Carolina low country. Defense of Savannah In October 1779, French and Continental Army forces tried to retake Savannah. Under the leadership of General Lincoln, and with the assistance of a French naval squadron commanded by Comte d'Estaing, it was a spectacular failure. The combined French-American forces suffered some 901 casualties, to the British 54. The French Navy found Savannah's fortifications similar to those that had defied Admiral Peter Parker at Charleston in 1776. The artillery bombardment had little effect on the defenses, but unlike Charleston—where Clinton decided against attacking Fort Moultrie by land—Estaing decided to press the assault after the naval bombardment had failed. In this assault, Count Kazimierz Pułaski,