British Reaction
   
Britain took action against the maroons during the North American phase of
the War of Jenkins’ Ear (1739-1742), when British forces under Colonel James Oglethorpe attempted to take St. Augustine, capture its free blacks, and destroy Mose. The English King directed his orders specifically at the black fugitives of Florida, instructing Oglethorpe to,
"Spare no personal labor nor danger towards freeing Carolina of a place from whence their Negroes were encouraged to massacre their masters and were openly harbored after such attempts."
The British captured and briefly held Fort Mose, but the Negroes fought hard to regain it.
In a decisive battle in 1740, the blacks retook Mose, killing 75 British soldiers in the process. British agents were especially dispirited to report the discovery of decapitated and mutilated
corpses on the scene, revealing the bitter end of their countrymen.
  
Sources:
Landers 35, Easterby 3: 87, 115-57, Twyman 42, 64.
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