| The Seige of Savannah back - next | |
The British easily captured the city from the rebels in 1778, following a slave through the marsh to bypass the defenses. This set the stage for the second bloodiest battle of the Revolution. September 8, 1778 a French fleet of 42 ships with 4,000 soldiers aboard arrived off Tybee. American forces from Charleston under General Benjamin Lincoln approached Savannah from the north. The British, believing the French fleet to be occupied in the Caribbean, were taken by surprise. With a garrison of about 700, Savannah was ripe for the taking but the allies waited, delaying an assault until the British garrison was reinforced by Col. John Maitland and the Seventy First Highlanders who had been at Beaufrot, South Carolina when the French arrived. Commanded by a cautious Count Charles-Henri d'Estiang, the French shelled the city with little real effect. During the three-week bombardment a great deal of property was damaged but only one British soldier was killed. |
 Revolutionary War cannon captured at Yorktown and given to Chattam Artillery by George Washington in 1791 |
| During one
night of the bombardment the French gunners
were drunk and firing on their own men. Finally,
at dawn, October 9, 1779 thousands of French
and Americans attacked the British positions
and were slaughtered. It was the bloodiest
hour in the Revolution. American hero, Sergeant
Jasper, was killed on the ramparts trying
to save his unit's battle flag. Polish patriot
Casimir Pulaski, fighting for the American
cause, was killed in a rash calvary charge.
Black troops from Haiti in the French reserve
came forward to cover the retreat of the shattered
attackers. In an hour a thousand casulaities
resulted. During a truce, hundreds of French
and American soldiers were buried in a mass
grave in the vicinity of what is now the visitor's
center. The city was held by the British until
1782 although guerilla efforts by men like
Colonel Francis Marion, a survivor of the
seige, continued. back- next |
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