Siege of Savannah

1779

LAMAR Institute Publication Series Report Number 119

Savannah was established in 1733 as the first town in the British colony of Georgia. From its original rectangular configuration, which was comprised of four wards, Savannah continued to expand throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, replicating the town plan as new wards were added. Military fortifications were part of the design from the onset, but the main focus of defense was along Savannah's waterfront. By the mid-1750s, as shown on a plan of the town drawn by William DeBrahm, a defensive perimeter encircled the town. On DeBrahm's 1757 map the southwestern defense of the town was just beyond the corner of Jefferson Street and Oglethorpe Avenue (formerly South Broad Street). By the 1770s the defensive buffer was significantly broadened to encompass additional wards that were added to the city in the ensuing decades. Land use in the study area in 1770 was predominantly rural, as shown in a detail of a map originally drawn by Thomas Shruder. An outer set of earthworks was built in the vicinity of Spring Hill by the Americans to defend the town prior to the December, 1778 siege by the British. The city was taken by the British with relative ease. Two contemporary maps show the plan of the fortifications at the time of the 1778 siege (Anonymous 1778, Kollock 1891).

When the city was captured by the British these fortifications were strengthened, as shown in at least 10 contemporary maps (Anonymous n.d.a, n.d.b, 1779, 1780; Wilson 1780; Wylly 1779; Prevost 1779, 1784; Carrington 1881; Jones 1874). An artists rendition of the Spring Hill battlefield viewed from the French perspective facing north, by Pierre Ozanne, also provides some information on the fortifications on Savannah's southwestern flank (Ozanne 1779). These maps vary substantially in their accuracy and detail, however, and none was sufficiently precise to allow the pinpointing of potential archaeological features in the study area. The Wilson (1780) map and the Prevost map (1784) provide the best detail on the relative position of British troops and fortifications. The manuscript version of Prevost's map, which is housed at the Library of Congress, was not examined for the present study.

Written accounts of the siege, including firsthand accounts, secondary contemporary accounts, and later histories, were studied for specific information on features in the Spring Hill vicinity. These include published works by Lossing (1852), Jones (1879, 1968, 1890), Hough (1975), Lawrence (1951), Steward (1969), Kennedy (1974), and Rogers (1997); primary accounts by John Wilson (Davis 1986), Benjamin Lincoln (Allis 1967), and others (Library of Congress Manuscript Division 1779); and unpublished secondary works by Reede (1975).

The most deadly engagement in the American and French allies' siege of British-held Savannah from September through October, 1779 was the attack on the Spring Hill and Ebenezer Redoubts that defended Savannah's southwestern flank. American, French, and other allies (including a number of Haitians soldiers) losses were quite high (possibly as many as 750) compared to British losses, which totaled less than 100. Although contemporary estimates of the number of men killed in this battle vary wildly, it is clear to all that several hundred people died on the battlefield on October 9, 1779. A unknown number of those killed were buried on, or near, the battlefield. Their burial is weakly documented in contemporary military accounts, as well as mid-nineteenth century newspaper accounts of revolutionary war graves that were disturbed by railroad construction crews in the Spring Hill locale in the 1840s. War records indicate that the American and French allies were granted several truces during the battle to gather and bury their dead, and the British buried their own dead, as well as those of the allies who had reached their parapet. Although some of the war dead may have been later interred in other cemeteries (such as Bonaventure cemetery near Thunderbolt), many were left on the battlefield.

The combined forces of the Americans, led by Major General Benjamin Lincoln; the French, led by Admiral Count Charles-Hector Theodat d'Estaing; and other allies numbered approximately 7,000 men. The French troops included 250 grenadiers and provisional regiments from Martinique, Guadeloupe and St. Dominique in the West Indies. Other American allies included the Irish Brigade, whose ranks were devastated in attacks on the fort.

The British, led by General Augustine Prevost, held Savannah with 2,500 British and Loyalist troops. The British redoubt at Spring Hill was manned by South Carolina Loyalist troops commanded by Captain Thomas Tawse and Lt. Colonel Thomas Brown. Brown was a notorious Loyalist leader who commanded a diverse group that included Creek Indians and Rangers. Soldiers from Colonel Maitland's 71st Scottish Highlanders, the British 60th Regiment, grenadiers attached the 16th Regiment of Foot, and a small contingent of British Marines were deployed to defend the Spring Hill redoubt. Notable soldiers who died in the siege included Sergeant William Jasper, of the 2nd South Carolina Continentals; Brigadier General Kazimierz Pulaski, who led the rebel cavalry, and Captain Tawse, commander of the Loyalists (Rogers 1997).

Several military maps shows the position of the combined British forces that surrounded the city. The southwestern flank of Savannah was protected by Wissenbacks Hessians, a German mercenary regiment that included a number of African-Americans from South Carolina; the 2nd Battalion of the 71st Highland Regiment; and North and South Carolina Loyalists.

The battle for Savannah was one of the most severe losses of the war for the Americans and the story attracted worldwide attention. A contemporary newspaper account in the Royal Gazette from the British perspective of the October 9th siege is presented below:

"On Saturday the 9th, about daybreak, an attack was made by the French and rebels upon the redoubt to the right of our lines, on the road leading to Ebenezer, the battery near the Spring, and on the redoubt by Colonel Maitland tent, into which the Colonel, Governor, and Lieutenant Governor, repaired. The attack was made with great spirit and impetuosity by the French, supposed to be about 35900 [sic, 3590?] of the flower of their army, to which were joined about 2500 rebels, consisting of the Virginia and South Carolina continentals and South Carolina militia. Count D'Estaing acted as first and General Lincoln as second in command. The morning being very foggy favoured them in their assault which continued abut an hour, when they were beat back, and most shamefully retreated with great precipitation. The troops who alone defeated this formidable force consisted of 26 dismounted dragoons --- 28 battalion men of the 60th regiment --- 64 South Carolina Loyalists --- in the redoubt on the Ebenezer road, where Capt. Tawes commanded, and who fell in bravely defending it.90 of Col. Hamilton North Carolina Loyalists --- 75 militia, under Captain Wallace, Tallemach, and Polhill --- in the redoubt in which Col. Maitland was.74 Grenadiers of the 60th regiment --- 37 Marines -- Who were ordered to support the redoubts, and bravely charged the enemy with their bayonets. Besides the above, the spring battery of six guns, manned with 21 sailors, under the command of Capts. Manby and Steil, did very great execution, which contributed much to the glorious success of the day. On the left the Rebels made two feints: one on Major Wright redoubt by Gen. Williamson with 500 men, the other on Col. Cruger by Gen. Huger with 700; but both parties soon retreated having about 50 men killed and wounded. After the retreat of the enemy from our right, 270 men, chiefly French, were found dead, upwards 80 of whom lay in the ditch and on the parapet of the redoubt first attacked, and 93 more within our abbatis. Two Rebel standards were once fixed on the redoubt on the Ebenezer road; one of them was carried off again, and the other, which belonged to the second Carolina regiment, was taken. Since the attack we have learnt from French officers, deserters, and others, that they lost in killed and wounded 700 men, some say 1000, and others 1500, reckoning 63 officers in the list of slain. Amongst the wounded were Count d'Estaing and the famous Polish Count Pulaski; the former received a musket shot in his arm, and another in his thigh, the latter a grape shot in his groin, and is since dead. The Rebels, by the best information we can get, lost in killed and wounded about 500.Our loss on this ever memorable occasion was only Capt. Tawes and 15 privates killed, and 35 wounded, amongst them Lieut. Smollett Cambell of the Light Dragoons, and Lieut. James Wallace of the first company of militia. Our whole force, Regulars, Militia, Volunteers, and Sailors, on duty, did not exceed 2350 men. A flag was soon sent in by the enemy, desiring a truce for the burial of their dead, and receiving the wounded, which was agreed to till three in the afternoon, and then prolonged till dark. During the night there was a slight cannonading on both sides, and many deserters came in. Sunday 10th, several flags passed and truces were agreed to for the above purposes. Some deserters came in during the night" (The Royal Gazette cited in The Pennsylvania Gazette, March 22, 1780).

Another contemporary Royal Gazette account provided a similar version of the siege:

9th. At Drum-beating in the Morning, the French attacked us warmly on the Right, and endeavored to storm the Redoubt and Ebenezer Battery. The Grenadiers of the 60th Regiment advanced to support them, and after an obstinate Resistance by the French, they drove them back with great Slaughter. Their Loss is reported to be 600 or 700 killed, wounded, and Prisoners; our Loss, Captain Tawes, of the Dragoons, who died nobly fighting on the Parapet of the Redoubt; 7 of the 60th killed and wounded, and two Marines killed and four wounded. A Flag from the French, to bury their Dead, which was granted. At 8 at Night the French beat a Parley, but were refused by us. They fired Cannon and Shells during the Night without any other Effect than destroying the Houses.

10. This Morning sent a Flag to bury their Dead. The Rebels sent one for the same Purpose. The Truce lasted from ten till four, P.M. The French fired several Cannon when it expired. Between 8 and 9, P.M., our Picquets fired on the Right several Shot. The Lines lay on their Arms all Night, and the Seamen stood to their Cannon. No other firing from either Side during the Night.

11th. This Morning very Foggy. No Alarm from the Enemy. Our Line very alert and in high Spirits. The French and Rebels sent in Flags of Truce the greatest Part of the Day; the Enemy employed burying their Dead, carrying off their Wounded, and searching for their Missing. The French take off all their Cannon and Mortars during the Night, leaving only some small Field-pieces to amuse us. Our whole Lines in Spirits, ready for another Attack. Several Deserters, French and Rebels, came in, and all report that the Enemy are moving, and that their Loss in the Attack is much more than we imagined. The Rebels miss 1,300; the French Loss uncertain, but greater than the Rebels, as they fought like Soldiers, and were killed and wounded; but the Rebels' loss is from Desertion immediately after the Defeat (Royal Gazette, December 15, 1779, cited in Hough 1975:73-74).

A letter from a loyalist citizen of Savannah, dated November 24, 1779, provided these casualty estimates: "The French lost 67 Officers killed, and 594 Privates killed and wounded. The Rebels lost 633" (Hough 1975:81). The British officer T. W. Moore provided a gruesome account of the siege, which was published in the Royal Gazette, December 29, 1779:

From this Time till the 9th, we kept firing by way of Amusement at each other; but on that Morning, just before Day, our Lines were attacked from Right to Left, and it was not many Minutes before we found the real Storm was to the Right, on a Redoubt called the Carolina Redoubt; and as I had the Honour of being one of General Prevost's Aids-de- Camp during the Siege, I was ordered to haste to a Redoubt manned by the Militia, to hearten them up. This was about 200 Yards from the Scene of Action.

I found there brave Tories full of Spirit, ready to pour upon the Enemy (who were firing on them at too great a Distance to kill) in Case they came within their Shot. On being convinced the Attack was not a Feint, I pushed on and arrived just as Victory had declared in our Favor; and such a Sight I never saw before. The Ditch was filled with Dead, and in Front, for 50 Yards, the Field was covered with Slain. Many hung dead and wounded on the Abattis; and for some hundred Yards without the Lines, the Plain was strewed with mangled Bodies, killed by our Grape and Langridge [chainshot].

I posted back to my General (who is as brave as Caesar), and gave him the pleasing Account. Soon after a Flag came from d'Estaing for Liberty to bury their Dead, and requested their Wounded. ‘Twas granted. Another Flag came from General Lincoln, who commanded the Rebels, for the same Purpose, which was also granted; and the whole Day was taken up in this Service...the Rebels lost over 500. The French honestly own they have lost in killed 800, and many wounded...Killed and Wounded on our Side during the Siege, 163 (Hough 1975:85-86).

A French account of the siege, published in the Paris Gazette, January 7, 1780, placed French casualties as follows: "Total of the Killed, 15 Officers, and 168 Subalterns and Soldiers. Total of the Wounded, 43 Officers, and 411 Subalterns and Soldiers" (Hough 1975:175).

An account by the American Major Thomas Pinckney placed the losses in the siege as follows:  "The loss of both Armies in killed and wounded amounted to 637 French and 457 Americans, 1000. The Irish Brigade in the French Service, and our 2d Regiment, particularly distinguished themselves and suffered most. The Loss of the British amounted only to fifty-five" (Hough 1975:168).

Although the British were quick to gloat over their smashing victory, soon followed by the capture of Charleston, South Carolina, the tide of war eventually turned against them at Yorktown. In 1782, fearing the advancing American Army of General Anthony Wayne, the British authorities handed over the keys to Savannah to the American Colonel Henry Jackson without major incident and evacuated their troops and many Loyalists for St. Augustine, Florida. In 1791 on his victory tour, President George Washington visited Savannah and the site of the 1779 Siege. In a newspaper account of the visit, General Lachlan McIntosh, who had participated in the attack, memorialized the site by saying:

the earth-mounds covering the slain, the lines of circumvallation, the approaches, the sand-batteries and gun chambers had not then yielded to the obliterating influences of time and an encroaching population. The scars of the siege were still upon the bosom of the plain (cited in Jones 1890:323).

Although historians and military leaders continued to deify the heroic, albeit poorly planned and implemented and unsuccessful siege, the collective memory of the siege in the minds of many of Savannah's residents quickly faded. In the decades following the American Revolution the Spring Hill locale was urbanized and vestiges of the important military events were obliterated by development. A 1782 plan of Savannah and its environs (Waring 1970b) does not show the outer defenses nor does it show any features in the study area but it does show a road labeled "Ebenezer Road' and a "Jewes burying ground" are located south and west of the study area. The single most destructive agent were the railroads and their facilities. The land surfaces at Spring Hill were drastically modified and vast amounts of fill were imported from outlying uplands to fill gullies and swamps. Several newspaper accounts of these land altering activities included important clues to the whereabouts of the war dead. The earliest located thus far read as follows:

"LIBERTY COUNTY, Dec. 20, 1842.
"To W. H. Bulloch, Esq.
"Dear Sir:- I enclose you the annexed communication in regard to the erection of a monument, to the memory of the officers and soldiers who fell whilst attempting to storm the works of the British at Savannah, Oct. 9, 1779. It is an enterprise which must ensure the good will of all; and you will much oblige a subscriber by giving the following brief remarks a place in your columns. "Respectfully, H.

"Approaching the city, a short time since, by the Ogechee road, a few hundred paces in the rear of the old barracks, a small mound was pointed out to me, as one of the spots where the ashes of those heroes repose who fell, October 9, 1779, in the ever memorable siege of Savannah. The rude tumuli which was hastily erected over their remains, amid the gloomy silence which pervaded our stricken ranks, are now almost obliterated and levelled to the ground by the peltings of the thousand storms, which have beat upon them for more than sixty years. Citizens of Savannah, why do the bones of those gallant spirits whose lifeblood once watered your now prosperous soil moulder on without tablet or inscription, with no requiem but the signing of the mournful pines, and destined ere long to be lost in the tide of oblivion? The lofty column which rears its marble head, towering high o'er the summit of Bunker, tells truly where the gallant Warren and his brave compatriots fell, and proclaims the truth, that although long departed, still they live fresh in their country's memory. Did Jasper and the hundred who with him shared a bloody grave, fight in a less nobler cause, or come to a more inglorious end than they whose deeds that proud monument perpetuates? Every southerner will quickly answer no. Let us then as soon as the iron hand that fetters our energies is relaxed, and things glide on in their wonted channel, speedily erect a memorial worthy of their exalted fame, ere every landmark which shows their resting place be swept away by the corroding hand of time. There are many in the country who would, I am persuaded, contribute liberally to such an object at any time that a subscription may be opened; for surely there can be no project originated, calculated in such a degree to touch the chord of patriotism and make it to vibrate, as an appeal in behalf of those whose blood was shed freely as a ransom for our liberties. The Green and Pulaski monument is an evidence that our citizens are already imbued with this noble spirit; and we sincerely hope that in succeeding ages, the stranger's inquiry will not be in vain for the last home of the brave who died in battle beneath your walls. H." (Daily Georgian, December 30, 1842:p.2, c.7).

A second newspaper article less than three years later contained a description of more than 30 British graves that were being disturbed by railroad laborers:

"Revolutionary Relics
During the last two or three days, the laborers engaged in excavating the earth near the Central Rail Road Depot, have disinterred a number of skeletons, supposed to be the remains of British officers and soldiers, slain at the hard fought siege of Savannah, in October, 1779. They were buried in the vicinity of the Spring Hill redoubt, where was the heat of the action.

The graves of thirty and more tenants have been disturbed by the improvements of the day, and decayed sculls and other bones exposed to the inspection of the curious. We have in our possession pieces of plaid, composing part of the uniform of one of the slain; also some buttons, indicating by the stamp on them, that they belonged to soldiers of the 79th and 90th Regiments. A small piece of gold was also found, and a buckle, &c. Further excavations will probably lead to other discoveries. Col. Maitland's regiment was the 71st"(The Georgian, January 23, 1845:p.2, c.4).

The reference to the 79th and 90th Regiments is problematic, since neither regiment partook in the action. A follow-up article appeared one month later:

"More Revolutionary Relics.
The laborers at the Rail Road Depot, on Tuesday, disinterred the remains of other officers or soldiers who were buried during the siege of Savannah. Numerous bones and skulls were exposed to the light of day- also, a portion of a military cap, several belt buckles with portions of the belts- a small gold buckle, probably a shoe buckle, an ivory comb, and last, not least, a moiety, apparently of a pistareen as the larger portion of the letters of the word Hispaniarum are visible. This piece of silver coin has a hole bored in it indicating that it was divided as a keepsake, or mememto of love or affectionate regard for some friend, from whom the wearer was separated. Both he who wore it and she for whom it was worn have been numbered with the dead, while curious eyes at this day can only conjecture the use of this mutilated coin, which perhaps served as a talisman to nerve the brave soldier in the deadly conflict" (Daily Georgian, February 27, 1845:p.2, c.4).

A third newspaper article, which carries a residual tone of anti-Union sympathy characteristic of the Reconstruction era, appeared 16 years later:

"Revolutionary Relics--Discovery of Human Bones, Old Coins, & c.
On Saturday last, while the workmen were engaged in excavating for the foundation of the new Freight Depot for the Savannah and Charleston Railroad, a number of interesting and curious relics of the past were discovered, which carry us back to the first rebellion in 1776 and by violent contrast to struggles more recent for the same great principles of self-government. The new freight depot is being built in the yard of the Central Railroad, south of the passenger depot. At this point was unearthed the bones of several human beings, and amongst them a human skull, to which was still adhering a bunch of hair, plaited in three plaits.

This skull evidently was that of an Indian, or one of the old school gentlemen of the period. There were also found a number of coins which, from their position (being in a pile together), had been in a bag or purse which had passed away into mother earth, saving the metal behind. Amongst the coin were two one dollar silver pieces and five Spanish quarters, bearing dates from 1754 to 1776.

Some of the bones were found in a regularly made grave, and it is reasonable to suppose had the excavation been continued more of these relics of the past would have been brought to light. Who knows but that old "Tomochichi" himself may not claim these remnants of mortality as his own, or that some of the distinguishing old "Rebs" who followed the noble Count Pulaski at the siege of Savannah may not quietly sleep at this spot, even amid the continual bustle and noise of the iron horse as it daily goes and comes.

This spot is a portion of the hill upon which, during the siege of Savannah in 1779, the Americans had erected a redoubt, and the conclusion is not harsh to suppose that the remains found are those of some of the first "Rebs" who died gallantly during battle for the right of self government.

We hope the coin will be collected and preserved and that the Georgia Historical Society will through some light upon this interesting inquiry" (Savannah Morning News, June 6, 1870:p.3, c.2).

The preceding reference is less informative as to the identity of the human remains but they indicate continuing encounters between railroad construction crews and human burials in the vicinity of the Spring Hill redoubt. As late as 1850, remnants of the French siegeworks, approximately 5 feet deep, were purportedly visible in Savannah (Lossing 1852:737).