At the outbreak of the War of Jenkins' Ear in 1739, General James Oglethorpe, governor of Georgia, encouraged by some successful raids by British colonial Rangers in the frontier, decided to raise a significant expedition to capture and destroy St. Augustine, capital of Spanish Florida [REF].
Approaching St. Augustine, a British party under Colonel John Palmer, composed of 170 men belonging to the Georgian colonial militia, the Scottish Highlander 42nd Regiment of Foot (old) and auxiliary native allies,[REF] rapidly occupied Fort Mose, strategically sited on a vital travel route [REF].