He became active in the Provisional Congress of Georgia and its outgrowth, the Georgia Council of Safety. At the suggestion of a committee of the Council of Safety, the companies of the Georgia Militia decided to elect their own officers. As a result, all officers loyal to the king were replaced with staunch supporters of the oppositionist cause. On February 4, 1776, Elbert was made a lieutenant colonel and later colonel in the Georgia Militia. "Samuel Elbert contributed as much as any other man to the early movement for Georgia’s independence", according to researcher C. E. Purcell.