Brown, Thomas | South Carolina Public Radio

"B" is for Brown, Thomas (1750-1825). Soldier. Brown was among the most notorious Loyalist commanders in the South during the American Revolution. He immigrated to Georgia in 1774, established a large plantation, and became embroiled in local politics—particularly expressing his opposition to the revolutionary movement. In 1775, a committee of the local Sons of Liberty captured and tortured him when he refused to renounce his allegiance to the king. He later fled to British St. Augustine and was commissioned a lieutenant colonel and authorized to raise a regiment of mounted rangers. During the war, he hanged rebel prisoners for parole violations. As Superintendent of Indian Affairs, he made his headquarters first in Savannah and later in St. Augustine. When the British evacuated those towns, Thomas Brown moved to the Bahamas to start life anew.