Thomas Brown Surrenders Fort Cornwallis

On June 5, 1781, Thomas Brown surrendered Fort Cornwallis and the Augusta garrison to Pickens and Lee. The surrender terms were controversial: Brown and his surviving men were to be escorted out of Georgia under Patriot protection. That protection proved necessary — Georgia militiamen who had suffered under Brown's command attempted to kill him during the withdrawal, and Patriot officers had to physically shield him to prevent a massacre.

Brown's survival under escort was the final act of a command he had held for over a year. The capture of Augusta ended British military control of the Georgia interior. No British force would hold Augusta again. Georgia's Patriot government, which had been functioning in exile and in the backcountry, returned to the town.