Spanish commander at Pensacola to equip the Apalachee with firearms prevent further raids from Carolina into Florida. D'Iberville went so far as to offer equipment and supplies for that purpose. Following the destruction by Carolinian raiders of the Timucuan mission of Santa Fé de Toloca in May 1702, governor of Spanish Florida Joseph de Zúñiga y Zérda authorized an expedition into the Creek territories. Battle Zúñiga ordered Don Francisco Romo de Uriza, a Spanish captain, to San Luis de Apalachee, where he raised a force of about 800 Apalachee and Spanish from the surrounding mission communities. Uriza's report has not been found, so a breakdown of his force is not presently known. Word of this reached the Apalachicola community of Achita, where Carolina trader Anthony Dodsworth (referred to in Spanish documents as "Don Antonio") was meeting with the local tribes. According to a report an Indian woman made to Manuel Solano, the deputy governor at San Luis, about 400 warriors, principally Apalachicolas and Chiscas, went with Dodsworth, two other white men, and two blacks, to meet Uriza's force. They left Achita on roughly October 7, the same day Uriza left Apalachee. The exact date of the battle is unknown; the woman reporting to Solana saw the battlefield on October 18, the day Uriza and the remnants of his force returned to the Apalachee town of Bacacua. Dodsworth assembled his force, which numbered about 500, with the blessing of the Apalachicola chief Emperor Brim. The two forces met near the Flint River when the Apalachee made a predawn attack on the Apalachicola camp. Anticipating the possibility of this sort of attack, Dodsworth and the Apalachicolas had arranged their blankets to appear occupied and concealed themselves near the camp. When the Apalachee attacked the false camp, the Apalachicolas fell upon them. With the superiority of their weapons, the English-allied Indians routed the Spanish force. Uriza was reported to have only 300 men when he returned to Apalachee. Aftermath The defeat immediately put Zúñiga on the defensive. He ordered the fort at San Luis to be completed and adequate supplies for a siege laid in. The battle further stirred up passions in Charles Town, where Governor James Moore had already secured approval for an expedition against St. Augustine after learning that war had formally been declared in Europe between England and Spain. His expedition departed Charles Town in November and failed in its