Savannah, Georgia - History (part 7 of 16)

Naturally it would be presumed that volunteers for the patriotic act of arresting the royal governor could easily be had among the youthful constituency of the "Liberty Boys," and the immediate offer of Major Joseph Habersham was accepted. Well did he perform the self imposed duty. Selecting the very hour when that official was in consultation with his council in his own home, the young man, disregarding the sentinel at the door of the mansion, walked into the presence of his excellency, touched him on the shoulder, and said, "Sir James, you are my prisoner!" The act was one that might well produce the greatest astonishment not only on the part of the one arrested, but also of the witnesses to the bold transaction. Its effect on the latter resulted in a precipitate retreat from the house - their presence of mind, as has been well stated, giving way to a very hasty absence of body. Left alone with his prisoner, Habersham secured from him a pledge to make no effort to depart from the town or to communicate with the royal troops at Tybee. It was deemed advisable, however, to place a guard on duty all the time to report any manifestation of the prisoner's inclination to abuse the privileges granted him or to make any attempt to escape. Despite such precaution, the royal governor did make his escape sometime'in the night of the 11th of February, by exit through the rear of his house, and made his way down to the river where a boat and crew, awaiting his coming, took him. by way of Tybee Creek, to the warship Scarborough, under the command of Captain Barclay, reaching her about three o'clock in the morning of the 12th. From that point he wrote, on the day of his arrival to one of the royal council, C'apt. James- Mackay, urging upon him, "as the best friend the people of Georgia have," to plead with them to consider well the course they had taken and to escape the inevitable punishment following subjugation by a return to their true allegiance, promising, in that case, on his arrival in England, his influence in their favor as to past offenses. The appeal, of course, had no effect, though the president of the provincial congress, Archibald Bulloch, made a courteous reply to the letter. For the reason that the communication of the president made no response to the offer of his services as a peacemaker. Governor Wright did not consider it a satisfactory acknowledgment of his overture, and then ventured this laconic expression of his opinion as to the result of the rejection of his offer: "However, if Georgians will not be their own friends, the province will blame them and not me who through friendship put it into 'their power to be happy."

When the provincial congress met in Savannah on the 20th of January, 1776, it proceeded to the election of a president, and the choice again fell on Archibald Bulloch at the election held two days after* wards. Following this action, on the 2d of February five delegates to the Continental Congress were appointed, namely, Archibald Bulloch, John Houstoun, Lyman Hall, Button Gwinnett, and George Walton, and the last three were the signers of the Declaration of Independence from Georgia.

The state of affairs brought about by the escape of Sir James Wright and the uncertainty as to the manner in which the province should be governed, necessitated the prompt action of the provincial congress in the matter of providing rules or laws for the guidance of the people. Nothing definite or permanent could, under the circumstances, be accomplished in this matter, but, as the groundwork of a more stable government, a temporary constitution was adopted and declared to be in effect in the month of April, 1776, and it is. herewith given in full :

"Whereas, the unwise and iniquitous system of administration obstinately persisted in by the British Parliament and ministry against the good people of America hath at length driven the latter to take up arms as their last resource for the preservation of their rights and liberties which God and the constitution gave them ; people of this Province, having lately arrived at Cockspur, his Excellency Sir dames Wright, Baronet, and King's Governor of Georgia, in aid of the views of the administration, and with a design to add to those inconveniences which necessarily result from a state of confusion, suddenly and unexpectedly carried off the great seal of the Province with him ;

"And whereas, in consequence of this and other events, doubts have arisen with the several magistrates how far they are authorized to act under the former appointments, and the greatest part of them have absolutely refused to do so. whereby all judicial powers are become totally suspended to the great danger of persons and property;

"And whereas, before any general system of government can be concluded upon, it is necessary that application be made to the Continental Congress for their advice and directions upon the same ; but, nevertheless, in the present state of things, it is indispensably requisite that some temporary expedient be fallen upon to curb the lawless and protect the peaceable :

"This Congress, therefore, as the representatives of the people, with whom all power originates, and for whose benefit all government is intended, deeply impressed with a sense of duty to their constituents, of love to their country, and inviolable attachment to the liberties of America, and seeing how much it will tend to the advantage of each to preserve rules, justice, and order, do take upon them for the present, and until the further order of the Continental Congress, or of this, or any future Provisional Congress, to declare, and they accordingly do declare, order, and direct that the following rules and regulations be adopted in- this Province - that is to say -

"1st. There shall be a President and Commander-in-Chief appointed by ballot in this Congress, for six months, or during the time specified above.

"2d. There shall be in like manner, and for the like time, also a Council of Safety, consisting of 13 persons, besides the live delegates to the General Congress, appointed to act in the nature of a Privy Council to the said President or Commander-in-Chief.

"3d. That the President shall be invested with all the executive powers of government not inconsistent with what is hereafter mentioned, but shall be bound to consult and follow the advice of the said Council in all eases whatsoever, and any seven of said Committee shall be a quorum for the purpose of advising.

"4th. That all the laws whether common or statute, and acts of Assembly which have formerly been acknowledged to be of force in this Province, and which do not interfere with the proceedings of the Continental or our Provincial Congresses, and also all and singular the resolves and recommendations of the said Continental and Provincial Congress, shall be of full force, validity, and effect until otherwise ordered.

"5th. That there shall be a' Chief Justice and two assistant judges, an Attorney-General, a Provost-Marshal, and Clerk of the Court of Sessions, appointed by ballot, to serve during the pleasure of the Con- press. The Court of Sessions, or Oyer and Terminer, shall be opened and held on the second Tuesday in June and December, and the former rules and methods of proceeding, as nearly as may be, shall be observed in regard to summoning of Juries and all other cases whatsoever.

"6th. That the President or Commander-in-Chief, with the advice of the Council as before mentioned, shall appoint magistrates to act during pleasure in the several Parishes throughout this Province, and such magistrates shall conform themselves, as nearly as may be, to the old established forms and methods of proceedings.

"7th. That all legislative powers shall be reserved to the Congress, and no person who holds any place of profit, civil or military, shall be eligible as a member either of the Congress or of the Council of Safety.

"8th. That the following sums shall be allowed as salaries to the respective officers for and during the time they shall serve, over and besides all such perquisites and fees as have been formerly annexed to the said offices respectively :

Under this Constitution Archibald Bulloch was elected as the head of the government with the full title of president and commander-inchief, John Glen became chief justice, William Stephens was made attorney-general, and James Jackson filled the office of clerk of the court.

This constitution was the code by which the province was governed until the adoption on the 5th of February, 1777. of the first regular constitution made and promulgated by a convention chosen for that purpose, and its provisions were, sustained by the official conduct of Archibald Bulloch who. as chief executive, served the people as faithfully and conscientiously as well as any man within the confines of this or any other province could have done. For the position he was probably better equipped in every way than any of his associates in the convention which elected him; and because of his fitness for such leadership they undoubtedly insisted upon his assuming the position.

A conflict between the royal troops and the newly established provincial militia was inevitable, and it came early in March, when some vessels with cargoes of rice were ready to sail from Savannah. They amounted to eleven in all. and were the property of loyalists, or, at least, of persons not in sympathy with the American cause but standing ready to violate the resolutions of non-intercourse adopted by congress.

It happened that on the first day of that month the order of the Continental Congress which prohibited the exportation of rice expired, and the Council of Safety, assuming that the war vessels at Tybee would attempt to capture those rice ships, took positive action to prevent it. Indeed, on the last of February the Scarborough, Ilinehinbroke, - St. John, and two transports with troops moved up the river as far as "Five Fathom Hole." The action of the Council of Safety was in the form of resolutions as follows:

"Resolved that no ships loaded with rice or any other article of produce, in this Province, shall be permitted to sail .without leave of the Council of Safety or next Congress, except such vessels as are or shall be permitted to sail for the purpose of procuring the necessary -means of defence.

"Resolved that in case any loss shall be sustained by such detention, the Delegates from this Province shall be instructed to apply to the Continental Congress to make the reimbursement for such loss a general charge.

"Ordered that the rudders he unshipped, and that the rigging and sails be taken away and secured from the several vessels now riding in the port of Savannah."

Colonel Lachlan McIntosh was detailed to see that the order was enforced, and, on the 2d of March, the Council of Safety resolved "for the safety of the Province and the good of the United Colonies.

"That the houses in the town of Savannah and the hamlets thereunto belonging, together with the shipping now in port of Savannah the property of or appertaining to the friends of America who have associated and appeared or who shall appear in the present alarm to defend -the same, and also the houses of the widows and orphans, and none others, be forthwith valued and appraised.

"Ordered that Messrs. Joseph Clay, Joseph Reynolds, John McCluer, Joseph Dunlap and John Glen, or any three of them, be a committee for that purpose, and that they make a return of such value and appraisement to the Council of Safety to-morrow morning at 9 o'clock or as soon after as possible.

"Resolved That the delegates for this Province shall be instructed to apply to the Continental Congress for an indemnification to such persons as shall suffer in the defence of this town or shipping.

"Resolved That it shall be considered a defection from the cause of America, and a desertion of property in such persons as have left or who shall leave the town of Savannah or the hamlets thereunto belonging during the present alarm, and such persons shall be precluded from any support or countenance towards obtaining an indemnification.

"Resolved That rather than the same shall be held and occupied by our enemies, or that the shipping now in the port of Savannah should be taken and employed by them, the same shall be burnt and destroyed.

"In the Council of Safety, Savannah, March 2nd, 1776. - Whereas many householders in the town of Savannah, and the hamlets thereunto belonging, have basely deserted their habitations since the commencement of the present alarms:

"These are therefore to cite and admonish all persons holding any property in the town or hamlets, or shipping aforesaid, forthwith to repair to headquarters in Savannah to defend the same, on pain of suffering all the consequences contained in the foregoing resolutions.

When he secured refuge on board the Scarborough Sir James Wright endeavored to secure supplies for the fleet through the aid of the assembly, but a refusal having been given to the request, the royal party resorted to the expedient of trying to obtain what was needed by a capture of the eleven rice boats, and then happened the conflict of which mention has been made. Two of the vessels sailed up Back river on the 2d of March, it having been found by soundings that it was practicable to do so, and one of them anchored just opposite the city while the other, in attempting to make a circuit of Hutchinson's island and reach the scene of action from above, went aground at the extreme western point of the island. That night Majors Maitland and Grant marched their troops from the first vessel, and boarded the merchant vessels on the south side of the island, their presence being discovered by the citizens the next morning. A company of riflemen, led by Maj. John Habersham, attacked the grounded ship and drove every man from deck. The intention of that officer to secure the vessel as a prize was thwarted for the want of boats, and she floated off at high tide and escaped. Colonel McIntosh, at the head of three hundred men, made a stand atYamacraw Bluff, and there threw up breastworks where he stationed three fourpounder guns, and then sent Lieut. Daniel Roberts, of the St. John's Rangers, and C'apt. Raymond Demere. of St. Andrew's parish, under a flag of truce, to demand the release of Captain Rice and his boat's crew, who had in the discharge of duty under the order of the Council of Safety been detained as prisoners. Roberts and Demere were arrested and held as prisoners, but were subsequently (about March 20th) exchanged for eight loyalists whom the liberty people had seized in retaliation, among them James Edward Powell, Anthony Stokes and Josiah Tattnall, three of the royal council. In the meantime, insulting replies having been made to the demand for the release of Rice, Roberts and Demere, two shots were tired from the four-pounders at the vessel, which brought the response that the British would treat with the enemy through two men in whom the greatest confidence could be placed, and accordingly Capt. James Screven, of the St. John's Rangers, and Capt. John Baker, of the St. John's Riflemen, were sent. They took with them twelve men of Baker's company and rowed over to the vessel, demanding the release of the prisoners. The demand meeting with an insulting reply, Baker fired at a man on the vessel. Small arms and swivels were discharged at the small boat which was nearly sunk, and one man was wounded. Firing upon that boat was kept up as long as it was within range, and the battery on shore opened upon the vessel. This was kept up for about four hours, when the Council of Safety met and resolved that tire be set to the shipping. Volunteers for this service were not wanting, and among those who thus shared in the act were Capt. Oliver Bowen, John Morel, Lieut. James Jackson, Thomas Hamilton and James Bryan. One vessel, called the Inverness, with a cargo of deer-skins and rice, was set adrift in the river in a state of conflagration, and the incident is at this point well described by William Ewen, president of the Council of Safety, to the body of the same name in South Carolina: '"Upon this, the soldiers in the most laughable confusion got ashore in the 11131*811. while our riflemen and field-pieces with grape shot were incessantly galling them. The shipping was now also in confusion. Some got up the river under cover of the armed schooner, while others caught the flame, and, as night approached. exhibited a scene as they passed and repassed with the tide, which at any but the present time would be truly horrible, but now a subject only of gratitude and applause. The ships of Captains Inglis and Warded neither got up the river nor on fire. They were ordered on shore and now are prisoners of Capt. Screven in the country, and their vessels brought down close into a wharf. They were permitted to write to Captain Barclay in the evening, to inform him of their situation and to request an exchange of prisoners, which the latter peremptorily refused. ' '

Nobly did the South Carolina Council of Safety redeem their promise to help the Georgians, and Colonel Bull with 350 militia besides 150 volunteers from Charleston, reached Savannah just in time to unite with their neighbors in bringing the conflict to a close, with the result showing three of the vessels burnt, six dismantled, and two escaping and going to sea. The British, in making their way back to Tybee, landed a party of marines at Skidaway to collect supplies, but Lieutenant Hext with a company of militia drove them away. and. on the same day, in a skirmish on Cockspur island Lieutenants Oates and LaRoche were killed.

Of that incident, Bishop Stevens, in summing up the account, says: "The scenes of that day and night were solemn and terrific. The sudden marshalling of troops, the alarm of the people, the hurried cleath-Volley, and the vessels wrapped in flames, every mast a pinnacle of fire, their loosened sails forming the element which was destroying them, and mak- ing the darkness hideous with a lurid glare, combined to form a scene of awful and soul-stirring sublimity. Hitherto, they had but heard of British aggression, but now, their own soil was moist with the blood of their slain; their quiet homes had been assailed; their property pillaged; and their province threatened with desolation and ruin. The crisis had arrived - they met it like heroes."*

The affair was undoubtedly creditable to the Georgians, but Governor Wright reported to Lord Dartmouth an exaggerated account of it, claiming the capture of "14 or 15 merchant -ships and vessels of one sort or other, and on board of which there is about 1600 barrels of rice. It was attended with very little loss. 1 think on the side of the King's troops none are hurt: only four sailors are wounded and three of them very slightly, and on the part of the rebels I believe only one or two are wounded. The rebels burnt a ship, a brig and two small vessels, and have detained three or four more which were so situated that they could not be brought away."

Wishing to avoid the cramped quarters on board the vessels and to enjoy the comforts of home as far as possible, the officers of the war-ships and the refugee governor occupied, whenever they so desired, the houses then standing on Tybee island. Considering it a little more in the way of comfort than their enemies deserved, the Council of Safety deemed it a most proper act on their part to have those houses removed, and under the orders of that body an expedition was formed with their destruction in view, and the president, Archibald Bulloch, personally led that party, burning every house except one occupied by a sick mother and her children. This was done while the destroying force worked under a constant fire from the man-of-war Cherokee and an armed sloop, in spite of which not a man was killed, while two marines and a Tory were killed on the island and one marine and several Tories were captured by Bulloch's troops.

The Council of Safety not only directed that the buildings on Tybee island be destroyed to prevent their occupancy by Sir James Wright and the other loyalists, but on the 2d of March, 1776, they took similar steps in reference to the houses in Savannah in the event that the town should at any time have to be evacuated, resolving ''That rather than the same shall be held and occupied by our enemies, or the shipping now in the port of Savannah taken and employed by them, that the same shall be burnt and destroyed." Commenting on that action, Hugh McCall, the historian, says (History of Georgia, Vol. 2, p. 60, Savannah, 1816) : "There are many instances of conflagration by order of a monarch 'who can do no wrong,' but there are few instances upon record where die patriotism of the citizen has urged him on to the destruction of his own property to prevent it becoming an asylum to the enemies of his country." This incident is one of many which might lie cited in proof of the unselfish spirit of the Americans in the trying times of the Revolution; but we will here mention only one of which we are reminded at this point - - that of Mi's. Motte, of South Carolina. The story is briefly told by Alexander Garden in his "Anecdotes of the Revolutionary War," and his own words will answer our purpose: "The patriotic enthusiasm of Mrs. Jacob Motte demands particular notice. When, compelled by painful duty, Lieutenant Colonel Lee informed her 'that in order to accomplish the immediate surrender of the British garrison occupying her elegant mansion, its destruction was indispensable,' she instantly replied, 'the sacrifice of my property is nothing, and I shall view its destruction with delight, if it shall in any degree contribute to the good of my country.' In proof of her sincerity she immediately presented the arrows by which combustible matter was to be conveyed to the building."

Grandly did South Carolina come to the aid of the Georgians in this first conflict. Under Col. Stephen Bull and Major Bourquin these people, to the number of 450, hastened to render such assistance as they could give, and, according fo Drayton, the various detachments were stationed in*sueh way as to protect the interests of Georgia in every way. At Ebenezer forty acted as guards to the public records and the gunpowder which being more that requisite for the occasion had been removed to that point. The adjutant, Thomas Rutledge, certified on the 15th of March that the following troops served during that crisis: the Charleston Volunteers, Charleston Rangers, Charleston Light Infantry, Charleston Fuzileers. Beaufort Light Infantry, St. Helena Volunteers, Euhaw Volunteers, Huspa Volunteers, Light Horse or Poeotaligo Hunters, detachments from Oakety Creek, St. Peter's Black Swamp, Pipe Creek,. Boggy Gut, New Windsor and Upper Three Runs, and the Beaufort Artillery.

Eight vessels, unhurt and escaping capture in the conflict, were left at or near their moorings, and, in order to assure their keeping the Council of Safety decreed that their rigging should be removed and taken to land, and their rudders unhung. That duty was entrusted to Colonel Bull, lmt it was rumored that "the Carolinians had taken possession of Savannah," and that officer therefore turned the matter over to Lieutenant Stick who did what was necessary in good order, assisted by forty men detailed from the Georgia militia. The troops from South Carolina then departed, and the Georgia provincial congress, on the 24th of March, adopted a resolution "That the thanks of the Congress be returned to Stephen Bull, Esqr., of Sheldon, Colonel of me Granville County regiment of militia, for his important services in command of the Colony forces in Savannah; and that he be desired to signify their thanks to the officers and men then under his command." It is proper to state here that the cost of this relief expedition to Georgia paid by South Carolina amounted to £6.212. 7s. 6d.

The province then rested entirely in the keeping of Archibald Bulloch as president and commander-in-chief, the military being under the immediate command of Col. Lachlan McIntosh.

Before his arrest Governor Wright had applied for and obtained leave of absence, and he acknowledged to the Earl of Dartmouth, in a letter dated December 11, 1775, the permission given him to return to England, in these words: "Two days ago I had the honor to' receive the duplicate of your Lordship's letter of the second of August concerning the leave of absence which his Majesty has been most graciously pleased to give me, and of which I retain a grateful sense, and return your Lordship my best thanks." After his capture and the events thus far recorded in this chapter he availed himself of the consent to leave, and, after making the ship Scarborough practically his home until the end of March, 1776, he sailed for Halifax which place he reached on the 21st of April. From that place he proceeded to England where he remained until the early summer of 1779 when he was directed to return to Savannah, that place having been taken from the Americans by the British under command of Sir Archibald Campbell in December, 1778. Sir James Wright reached Savannah on the 14th of June, 1779.

With the members of the council at this time this history is not particularly concerned, but a few words just here in connection with one of them, John Graham, may not be considered untimely. The date of his appointment nowhere appears, but, in a letter of November 3, 1775, he is mentioned as one of the number by Sir James Wright. During his confinement, on the Scarborough the royal governor further wrote of that councillor, that he had "suffered an exceeding great loss" "by the burning of the ship Inverness by the rebels." John Graham had lived in Georgia many years, and we find that he made application to the council on the 5th of June, 1759, for a piece of marsh containing 250 acres adjoining "two farm lots known by the numbers one and two at Thunderbolt purchased by the petitioner from Isaac Young, and surrounded by Thunderbolt Creek." He also secured a deed to a tract of land on the Savannah river afterwards known as Mulberry grove and confiscated by the state of Georgia at the end of the Revolutionary war and presented to Gen. Nathanael Greene. This matter we will treat of. more at large later on in this history. The first time we find the place Thunderbolt mentioned is in a list of effects received from Georgia for the benefit of the colony, when, under date March 13, 1733, acknowledgment is made of the receipt of a gift "by Mr. Samuel Baker, merchant" of "a cask of Pot Ash made at Thunderbolt in Georgia." We next hear of it through General Oglethorpe when writing to the trustees on the 27th of February, 1735-6, he mentioned the purchase by himself from a sloop of a cargo of provisions "on condition that she should go up and deliver them on St. Simon, and the Capt. of these two ships went up in her to sound the Bar, and I went within land, and having passed by Skidawav and Thunderbolt both which are in a very good situation, I arrived at St. Simon the 18th." Elsewhere it is related that I he place was so called "from the fall of a Thunderbolt and a spring thereupon arose in that place which still smells of the bolt.*" It is doubtless true that a sulphur spring formerly sent forth its waters at that spot, and that the tradition thus mentioned had its origin in that fact. Artesian wells recently bored in that neighborhood produce a flow of water strongly impregnated with sulphur.

From the time of the incident of the conflict opposite the city in connection with the shipping in the harbor, until the news of the formal withdrawal of the thirteen colonies from the control of the English government was received, Savannah was virtually without excitement or disturbance of any kind. The troops within the limits of the province were so stationed as to keep the people well-guarded .against surprise or attack from any quarter. To prevent the stealing of cattle the line marking the Florida boundary was watched by a force of sixty mounted men, while all danger from an onslaught by way of the west from the Indians was averted by the posting in that quarter of a troop of cavalry; but it was not an easy matter to guard the sea-coast, and the people had to rely entirely upon the fighting qualities of the male inhabitants in a hand to hand fight with such of the enemy's troops as might at any time land on the soil. There was not a vessel in the harbor which would serve as protection against an English fleet or even one armed ship of war. Truly it was fortunate that at that particular time no trouble in the nature of an invasion occurred to mar the serenity of the Georgians in a time when they could not afford to make a very stout resistance or to stand the loss from their little military force of even one man. An attack at that time would have resulted not only in disaster to their resources both of men and stores, but would have disheartened them at the very time when their spirits should have been enthused over the rapturous news of the important action of the Continental Congress.

It is doubtful whether the excitement over the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United Colonies was anywhere within the limits of those colonies as intense as it was in the town of Savannah. It was over a month after its formal confirmation that the news was received here, towit, on the 10th of August, when President Archibald Bulloch obtained by the hands of a special messenger a copy of that precious document, together with a letter from the Hon. John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress. No less than four times was it read in public on that memorable day. First, it was read in the presence of the Provincial Congress, assembled for that purpose, and it was with unbounded delight that the representatives of the people listened to its words of patriotism, courage and determination. Again, to the assembled people in the public square, just in front of the public assembly hall, it was deliberately read to all who had received notice of its reception by the legal head of the new administration, and at its

The Grenadiers in front; the Provost Marshal on horseback, with his sword drawn ; ,the Secretary, bearing the Declaration; His Excellency, the President; the honorable, the Council, and gentlemen attending; the Light Infantry; the Militia of the town and district of Savannah; and lastly the citizens.

Marching thus to the liberty pole, at Tondee's tavern, on the northwest corner of Broughton and Whitaker streets, they were joined by the Georgia battalion, and the document was listened to for the third time, after which the military under command of Colonel McIntosh fired thirteen rounds both from the small arms and the cannon. Moving from that point the vast crowd made its way to the battery at the eastern end of the bay. where the trustees' garden also was located, when for the fourth and last time the declaration was read amid the greatest rejoicing, and the siege guns at that point fired a final salute. The festivities did not end even there, for the president, joined by the members of council. Colonel McIntosh, the militia and many gentlemen dined under the cedar trees, the banquet concluding with the drinking of the toast ''Prosperity and perpetuity of the United. Free and Independent States of America." But the most imposing part of the celebration was still to come. At night fall the town was illuminated, and, in effigy, his majesty George the Third was solemnly interred in the presence of what was probably the largest procession ever before gathered within the town's limits, consisting of the grenadiers, light infantry, the Georgia battalion, the militia, and the citizens generally, preceded by drummers beating muffled drums, after marching to the place of burial, and the reading of this impressive burial service: "For as much as George the Third, of Great Britain, hath most flagrantly violated his Coronation Oath, and trampled upon the Constitution of our Country and the sacred rights of mankind : we, therefore, commit his political existence to the ground - corruption to corruption - tyranny to the grave - and oppression to eternal infamy; in sure and certain hope that he will never obtain a resurrection to rule again over these United States of America. But, my friends and fellow citizens, let us not be sorry, as men without hope, for Tyrants that thus depart - rather let us remember that America is free and independent; that she is. and will be, with the blessings of the Almighty, Great among the nations of the earth. Let this encourage us in well doing, to fight for our rights and privileges, for our wives and children, and for all that is near and dear unto us. May God give us His blessing, and let all the people say Amen."

As in Christ Church parish, so in all the other parishes were the good tidings of the adoption of the act declaring freedom from British oppression received with signal demonstrations of the hearty approval and exultation of the people: and Georgia was classed as a free state, leagued with the other twelve for active measures in maintaining the new relation into which they had entered among the separate political bodies of the world.

Savannah Held By British

Capture of Savannah by British - Dispositiox of Ah eric ax Forces - The British Exter Savaxxaii - Proclamation of Royalists - Com- IXG OF THE FrEXCII FLEET - -D'EsTAIXG DEMANDS SURRENDER OF Savaxxaii - British Defence of Savannah - Combined French- American Advance - Allied Forces Bombard Savannah - Humanity and Obstinacy - Disaster to the Allies - Count Pulaski's Death Wound - The Siege from a British Standpoint.

Having passed from a province, subject to the laws and regulations adopted by a legislative body whose acts were enforced only after approval by the royal authority of England, to a free and independent state, it became necessary that Georgia should have a constitution of her own. and, to that end. President Bulloch issued a proclamation calling for a general election of representatives to meet in Savannah on the first Tuesday in October, 1776. Elections were held in the various parishes from the first to the 10th of September.

True to the principles actuating the electors in choosing them, the delegates met at the appointed time in Savannah, and the importance of the matter committed to them was so apparent that their deliberations were well considered and carefully planned, so that a constitution entirely satisfactory to all was not completed until the 5th of February, 1777, and at that time the instrument then adopted and promulgated met the hearty approval and indorsement of convention and the mass of the people. Under it Georgia acted and was sustained as a commonwealth for twelve successive years.

President Archibald Bulloch did not live to see the independence of the state and the Union acknowledged by England, for before the end of the month in which the first state constitution in the adoption of which he had taken a leading part had been made public, lie died literally "in harness," and the mourning of the people was genuine and unalloyed. His successor, Button Guinnett, did not long hold office. Elected on the 4th of March, only 'to serve until the choosing of a governor under the terms of the new constitution, he sought the position of commander under the resolution of the assembly in the formation of a brigade on the continental establishment, but was defeated by Col. Lachlan Mc- Intosh with whom he sought a quarrel and by whom he was mortally wounded in a duel on the Kith of May following, dying from said wound twelve days afterwards.

It is needless to recount the various historical incidents in the state prior to the taking of Savannah by Lieut-Col. Archibald Campbell, late in 177S. They do not form a part of the history of Savannah.

The autumn of that year brought with it the alteration in the plan of Lord George Germain in the .matter of conducting the warfare on the colonies. Active measures were employed in the effort to force back the allegiance of Georgia and South Carolina whereby Gen. Augustine Prevost was to invade the former by leading an expedition from East Florida, and at the same time Colonel Campbell, witli a force proceeding from New York, was to make a direct attack upon Savannah. This plan, it was thought, would bring Georgia to an immediate surrender. The appearance of some vessels, the forerunners of Campbell's fleet, at Tybee at the opening of December was the first intimation of his proposed invasion. The weather was threatening, and the consequent return to deep water of those vessels, caused the fear of the Georgians to subside, and the impression that no danger confronted the city so possessed the mind of the governor that he even ordered the return of the public records which, for safety, had been removed; hut before the order could be obeyed the fleet reappeared when Captain Milton was despatched to Charleston with the precious archives. Colonel Campbell's report on this subject shows that he sailed from Sandy Hook November 27, 1778, and that his force consisted of the. Seventy-first Regiment of foot, two battalions of Hessians, four battalions of provincials, and a detachment of the royal artillery, under escort of a squadron of the royal navy commanded by Commodore Parker. On the 23d of December all of the ships, except two horse sloops, were anchored off Tybee, and on the 27th they were safely lying in the Savannah river.

Sir James Baird was the commander of a light company of ttte Seventy-first Highlanders, and to his band one corps of the light infantry of the provincial battalions was attached, while another corps of the provincials was added to the company of the Highland Regiment under Captain Cameron. Acting cautiously, in his ignorance of the strength of the Americans, Baird's company, guided by Lieutenant Clarke of the navy, and manning two flatboats, proceeded to Wilmington river where two men were captured, and on their information it was decided that a landing of the troops should be made the next morning at the plantation of Mr. Girardeau, now known as Brewton Hill, less than two miles from the town, and the first solid ground available for the purpose between Savannah and Tybee. With the flow of the tide the man-of war Vigilant, galley Comet, armed brig Keppel and the armed sloop Greenwich, leading, and followed by the transports in three divisions, sailed up the river, and at four o'clock in the afternoon the Vigilant on approaching the Girardeau place was fired on by two galleys commanded by the Americans which retreated when the war vessels opened on them with one shot. Delayed until the tide was too low, and darkness coming on, the troops could not be landed until the morning following when the first division, under Lieutenant-Colonel Maitland, debarked at Girardeau's and made its way by a march of about eight hundred yards over a narrow causeway to the family residence, standing on a bluff. The first to reach shore and proceed towards the high ground was the light infantry under Captain Cameron; but at the point which he proposed to reach a force of forty men commanded by Capt. John C. Smith, of South Carolina, was stationed, and that body opened tire upon the British killing Cameron and two Highlanders, and wounding live others; but the Americans were forced to retire in the direction of the main army, and the first division of the British troops with one of the companies of the second battalion of the Seventy-first Regiment, the first, battalion of Delancey, the AVellworth battalion, and part of Hessians of AVissenbach \s regiment occupied the bluff. Leaving a. company of the second battalion of the Seventy-first Regiment, and the first battalion of Delancey to guard the landing place. Colonel Campbell marched his forces towards Savannah, the light infantry in the lead, followed by the volunteers from New York, and then came the first battalion of the Seventy-first Regiment with two six-pounder guns, and the AVellworth battalion of Hessians with two three-pounders, the rear being brought up with part of the AVissenbach Hessian battalion. The main road, when reached, was guarded by the last named against any attack from the rear. A swamp, densely wooded, protected the left of the British line, while the open plantations on the right in a state of cultivation, were patroled by the light infantry. AVhen Tattnall's plantation was reached, a little before three o'clock in the afternoon, a stop was made in the progress of the march, and the light infantry was formed in line on the right, at a point about two hundred paces from the gate enclosing the grounds belonging to Governor AVright.

Informing himself of all the movements of the British, Gen. Robert Howe encamped his army of Americans at a point southeast of Savannah where he waited, anxiously expecting reinforcements from South Carolina, both of continental troops and militia. His army was in no condition for the coming encounter, having just passed through the unhappy Florida campaign which brought sickness and disease to about one-fourth of his troops, and left him at this time with only a numerical strength of 672, exclusive of the militia. The troops of Colonel Campbell, on the other hand, numbered more than two thousand. Notice of the fact that a conflict was imminent was given on the 28th of December, and on the next day this order was issued to the American forces:

"Parole, Firmness. The first brigade is to be told off into sixteen platoons of an e'qual number of files; the odd files to be formed into one platoon on the right wing of the brigade to act as light infantry according to exigencies.

"The second brigade to be told off into eight platoons of an equal number of files to lie formed on the left of the first brigade in order to act as light infantry as will be directed.

"The artillery of both brigades and the park to be posted before and during the action as shall be directed, and defend their ground until further orders. The artillery when ordered or forced to retreat are to fall into the road leading to the western detile where Colonel Roberts is to take as advantageous a post as possible to protect the retreat of the line."

At that date there were three highways leading into Savannah : the one from Thunderbolt and Brewton Hill; that by which the Ogeechee and White Bluff population made their way into .the town ; and one running from the west known as the Augusta road, leading through the swampy ground bordering on Musgrove creek.

Col. Samuel Elbert called the attention of General Howe to the great importance of holding Brewton Hill, and offered his aid in gaining control of that point, but Howe did not comprehend the importance of the suggestion, and most foolishly made his stand at a point not far from the southeastern limit of Savannah, probably the most disadvantageous that could have been chosen.

The most condensed account of the fall of Savannah, and. at the same time, probably as accurate as any we have, is given by Bishop W. B. Stevens whose narrative from this point follows:

"Expecting the attack on the great road leading to Brewton 's Hill [Girardeau's plantation], General Ilowr had burnt down a little bridge that crossed a small rivulet, and about three hundred feet in the rear of this marshy rivulet, a trench was cut which soon filled with water, so that the trench, the stream and the marsh through which it flowed, offered serious embarrassment to the advance of the enemy. At this point General Howe had placed two cannon that flanked the causeway, and three that bore directly on its front. Thus stationed, the Americans awaited the onset.

"Colonel Campbell had discovered their position, and having detailed a proper guard to cover the landing, pressed on to the attack. The light infantry, under Sir James Baird, advanced first, supported by the New York volunteers, under De Laneev. These were followed by the first battalion of the 71st, with two six-pounders: and part of Wissenbaeh's battalion of Hessians which formed the rear. By 3 P. M. they had reached the open country near Tattnall's plantation, anti halted atvhile, as if preparing for the battle.

"Advantageously posted as the Americans were, it would have been quite hazardous to have offered them battle in front, for they were too well protected by the intervening marsh and stream and ditch. The aim of Colonel Campbell, therefore, was to gain, if possible, their rear, or turn their extended Hanks. In this desire he was fortunately aided by an old negro. Quash Dolly.* who informed him of a private path, leading through the wooded swamp, by which he could gain, unperceived, the rear of the Americans. This path had been pointed out to General Howe, in the morning, by Colonel Walton, as being a place necessary to guard and secure; but it was culpably and, as the event proved, disastrously neglected. Manoeuvering in front, as if about to attack the left flank of General Howe, the Americans opened their fire upon the enemy, who, however, received it in silence, not a gun being fired in return. Perceiving the Americans thus deceived by the feint, the British commander lost no time in directing Sir .James Baird, with the light infantry and the New York volunteers, to follow the guidance of the negro, and secure the rear of the Americans. They reached their destined point, unperceived by General Howe, and suddenly issuing from the swamp attacked a body of militia which had been posted on the great road leading to the Ogeeehee. As soon as this firing gave notice to the commander that Major Baird had effected his purpose,' he gave orders for the whole British column to advance at a rapid pace: while the artillery, which had been previously formed behind a slight rising ground, to conceal it from view, was instantly run forward to the eminence, and began to play upon the Americans. With a destructive fire thus unexpectedly pouring in upon them in front and rear our troops were thrown into confusion, and thus were compelled to make a hasty retreat. The center of the American line, with the commanding general, were enabled, by the exertions of Col. Daniel Roberts- - who had partially secured the road leading to the causeway over Musgrove's swamp - to pass in comparative safety; the right flank, under Colonel Huger, attempting to go through the town, rushed between two fires, and many were bayoneted in the streets; the left, under Colonel Elbert, finding it impracticable to pass the causeway, now in possession of the British, cast away their arms and accoutrements, and, throwing themselves into the swamps and rieefields, sought, by swimming the creek, then in full tide, to reach the Augusta road, though thirty men lost their lives in this perilous attempt.

"While Colonel Campbell had been thus successful by land, Sir Hyde Parker had not remitted his vigilance in the fleet. As soon as he discovered that the troops had made an impression on the American line, he moved up the small armed vessels to the town, sending the 'Comet' galley as high up as the ebb-tide would permit, securing the shipping and commanding the town from all approaches on the Carolina side. This movement completely shut in Savannah from succor, and was effected with the loss of only one seaman killed and five wounded; while the squadron captured one hundred and twenty-six prisoners and seized three ships, three brigs, and eight smaller vessels.

"The British entered Savannah without opposition, and. notwithstanding the assurance of Colonel Campbell in his official dispatches, 'that little or no depredation took place, and that even less than had ever happened to a town under similar circumstances,' yet the soldiers and officers did commit atrocities and cruelties upon the inhabitants of a character more worthy of savages than of men." upon the common, and eleven wounded. He also stated that through prisoners he had the information that thirty were drowned in the swamp while trying to escape. Besides the loss in killed and wounded, the Americans had thirty-eight officers and 415 non-commissioned officers and privates fall in to the hands of the enemy as prisoners, and the loss of property also was great, including forty-eight pieces of cannon, twenty-three mortars, ninety-four barrels of powder, a fort, and all of the shipping in port. Numbered among the prisoners were the 'Rev. Hoses Allen, chaplain of the Georgia brigade, and the Hon. Jonathan Bryan whose patriotism was unbounded and whose example was such as many younger men would have done well to imitate. The former was captured in an attempt to escape capture by swimming to land. Others captured were Mordecai Sheftall, deputy commissary general of issues to the continental troops, his son, Sheftall Sheftall, Edward Davis, Dr. George Wells, David Moses Vallotton, and James Bryan, son of Jonathan Bryan. These were all sent on board prisonships and they were submitted to the most cruel and inhuman treatment. The names of the ships were the " Nancy,' r Captain Samuel Tait: the "Whitby," Captain Lawson; the "Eleanor," Captain Rathbone, and the "Munificence."

General Howe was on all sides censured and criticised for the manner in which he managed his side of that affair, and the general assembly of the state appointed a committee "to take into consideration the situation of the state since the 29th of December, 1778," which reported as follows: "Your Committee are of opinion that the delegates of this State should be directed to promote a trial of Major-General Howe who commanded on that day. They find that the good people of the state were still further discouraged by the said Major-General Howe crossing Savannah River the next day with the troops that escaped from Savannah, ancl ordering those at Sunbury and Augusta to do the same, leaving the state at the mercy of the enemy without any Continental troops, instead of retreating to the back country and gathering the inhabitants. The country, thus abandoned, became an easy prey to the British troops, they marching up and taking post at Augusta and sending detachments to every part, of the State." General Howe's conduct was investigated by a court of inquiry, but he was acquitted.

Savannah having fallen into the control of the British, and Governor Wright being still in England, the command was given to a military officer, Colonel Innis, aide-de-camp to Sir Henry Clinton. Ilis military spirit was shown by an immediate proclamation ordering the citizens of the district, including the town, to surrender to the military storekeeper all their arms, ammunition, and accoutrements, as well as to make known where such articles were secreted, threatening them with severe punishment in case of failure to comply with the requirements.

Combining their authority in one general order. Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell and Sir Hyde Parker, on the 4th of January, 1779, published the fact that a fieet. and army were actually within the borders of

Georgia for the protection of the friends of the royal government, and pledging protection to all who would renounce their allegiance to the cause of liberty and to those ''who reprobated the idea of supporting a French league, and wished to embrace the happy occasion of cementing a firm union with the Parent State free from the imposition of taxes by the Parliament of Great Britain, and secured in the irrevocable enjoyment of every privilege consistent with that union of force on which their material interests depended"; and such as should be willing to secure the rights promised by that document were expected to present themselves in person at Savannah and take the oath prepared for that bear true and faithful allegiance to his Majesty, King George the Third, my lawful Sovereign, and that I will, at all risks, stand forth in support of his person and government. And I do solemnly disclaim and renounce that unlawful and iniquitous confederacy called the General Continental Congress, also the claim set up by them to independency, and all obedience to them, and all subordinate jurisdictions assumed by or under their authority. All this I do sincerely promise without equivocation or mental reservation whatsoever. So help me God."

This action was followed a week after by another px-oclamation offering "a reward of ten guineas for every committee and assemblyman taken within the limits of Georgia," and a further offer of the amount of two guineas "for every lurking villain who might be sent from Carolina to molest the inhabitants." Various other matters, such as fixing the prices of merchandise, granting licenses, naming the amount of fines for disobedience to the regulations, etc., were attended to in the matter of local trade and the conduct of the people, until the return of Sir James AV right on the 14th of July, 1779. Savannah, then, was during the remainder of the period covered by the Revolution, until its evacuation by the British on the 11th of July, 17S2, the headquarters of the loyalist government, and the capital of the state was removed to Augusta.

At the time of the disaster under General Howe that officer was in command only in expectation of the early arrival of Gen. Benjamin Lincoln who. on the 26th of September, 1778. had been named by the Continental Congress to take command of the army in the southern department of the United States. Lincoln relieved Howe at Purysburg cn the 3d of January. 1779. just five days after the loss of Savannah.

France became the ally of the United States on the signing of the treaty at A'ersailles. February 6. 1778. and, in furtherance of that treaty a fleet of French vessels sailed from Toulon on the 12th of April. Twelve ships of the line and four frigates, all under the command of Count d'Estaing, comprised the fleet, and a delay in the passage caused the prime object of its sailing to be frustrated, bringing about a change in the plan whereby the ships after operating for a while along t lie northern coast sailed to the AA'est Indies, capturing Grenada and St. Vincent. Here d'Estaing received letters from the French minister,

General Lincoln, and M. Plombard, the French consul at Charleston, asking his co-operation with Lincoln in the capture of Savannah. That request met with his approval, and sailing from the Windward Islands, he reached the Georgia coast September 3, 1779. Not expecting the appearance of a formidable naval force, Sir James Wallace, in command of the British fleet off Tybee, was forced to surrender to the French some of his ships. Before the time appointed for his joining Lincoln, which was set for the 17th of September, d'Estaing landed on Tybee, causing the evacuation of that post by the British, and proceeded to Ossabaw where Col. Joseph Habersham awaited him with instructions as to the landing of the troops. During that time General Lincoln was gathering together the militia and securing recruits for his army. In the evening of the 12th, soldiers amounting to twelve hundred, selected from the regiments, were landed at Beaulieu, formerly the residence of President William Stephens, where a detachment of the enemy with two field-pieces had been posted, but the approach of the fleet caused the immediate withdrawal of that force. Some difficulty having been encountered in the landing of the troops, it took ail of three days, the 13th, 14th, and 15th, to effect that object. Meanwhile Count Pulaski had made a junction with the French, and the march for Savannah beginning in the morning of the 16th, the encampment that evening was made at Greenwich, about three miles from the town. The centre of this force was commanded by d'Estaing, the right by Dillon, and the left by Noailles. The Georgia continentals, commanded by Gen. Lachlan McIntosh, and on duty at Augusta, received orders from General Lincoln to take the British outposts and open the way to the coast, and, having done so, retired to Miller's plantation, there to join the troops under his command.

General Lincoln was occupied on the 12th and 13th in transporting his forces across the Savannah at Zubly's Ferry, and that work was retarded by the want of boats, as the British had destroyed all they could find. A junction with the advance guard of General Lincoln's army was made by McIntosh in the afternoon of the 13th, and those combined troops made camp at Cherokee Hill.

Count d'Estaing, on the 16th, having with him the grenadiers of Auxerrois and the chasseurs of Champagne and Guadeloupe, and .before the arrival of Lincoln with his American forces, thinking it time to take some definite step, sent a communication to Maj.-Gen. Augustine Prevost, the ranking officer of the British army, demanding the surrender of the town of Savannah, doing this, as will be seen, in the name of the King of France.

The demand was in the following words: "Count d'Estaing summons his Excellency General Prevost to surrender himself to the arms of his Majesty the King of France, lie admonishes him that he will be personally answerable for every event and misfortune attending a defence demonstrated to be absolutely impossible and useless from the superiority of the force which attacks him by land and sea. He also warns him that lie will be nominally and personally answerable henceforward for the burning, previous to or at the hour of attack, of any ships or vessels of war or merchant ships in the Savannah River, as well as of magazines in the town.

"The situation of the Morne de l'Hopital in Grenada, the strength of the three redoubts which defended it, the disproportion betwixt the number of the French troops now before Savannah and the inconsiderable detachment which took Grenada by assault, should be a lesson for the future. Humanity requires that Count d'Estaing should remind you of it. After this he can have nothing with which to reproach himself.

"Lord Macartney had the good fortune to escape in person on the first outset of troops forcing a town sword in hand, but having shut up his valuable effects in a fort deemed impregnable by all his officers and engineers, it was impossible for Count d'Estaing to be happy enough to prevent the whole from being pillaged."

"Savannah, September 16th, 1779 - Sir: I am just now honored with your Excellency's letter of this date, containing a summons for me to surrender this town to the arms of his Majesty the King of France, which I had just delayed to answer till I had shown it to the King's Civil Governor.

"I hope your Excellency will have a better opinion of me and of British troops than to think either will surrender on general summons without any specific terms.

"If you, Sir, have any to propose that may with honor be accepted of by me, you can mention them both with regard to civil and military, and I will give my answer. In the meantime I promise upon my honor that nothing with my consent or knowledge shall be destroyed in either this town or river."

"Camp before Savannah, September 16th, 1779 - Sir: I have just received your Excellency's answer to the letter I had the honor of writing to you this morning. You are sensible that it is the part of the Besieged to propose such terms as they may desire, and you can not doubt of the satisfaction I shall. have in consenting to those which I can accept consistently with my duty.

"I am informed that you continue intrenching yourself. It is a matter of very little importance to me. However, for form's sake, I must desire that you will desist during our conferences.

"The different columns, which I had ordered to stop, will continue their march, but without approaching your posts or reconnoitering your situation.

"P. S. I apprise your Excellency that I have not been able to refuse the Army of the United States uniting itself with that of the King. The junction will probably be effected this day. If I have not an answer therefore immediately, you must confer in the future with General Lincoln and me."

" Savannah. September, 16th, 1779 - Sir: I am honored with your Excellency's letter in reply to mine ot' this day. The business wp have in hand being of importance, there being various interests to discuss, a just time is absolutely necessary to deliberate. I am therefor to propose that a cessation of hostilities shall take place for twenty-four hours from this date; and to request that your Excellency will order your columns to fall back to a greater distance and out of sight of our works or I shall think myself under the necessity to direct their being tired upon. If they did not reconnoiter anything afternoon, they were sure within the distance."

Consenting to the cessation of hostilities, but probably making a mistake in not having the advice of others whose opinion should have been asked, the count returned the following:

"Camp before Savannah, September 16, 1779 - Sir: I consent to the truce you ask. It shall continue till the signal for retreat to-morrow night, the 17th, which will serve also to announce the recommencement of hostilities. It is unnecessary to observe to your Excellency that this suspension of arms is entirely in your favor, since I can not be certain that you will not make use of it to fortify yourself, at the same time that the propositions you shall make may be inadmissable.

"I must observe to you also how important it is that you should be fully aware of your own situation as well as that of the troops under your command. Be assured that I am thoroughly acquainted with it. Your knowledge in military affairs will not suffer you to be ignorant that a due examination of that circumstance always precedes the march of the columns.'and that this preliminary is not carried into execution by the mere show of troops.

"I have ordered them to withdraw before night conies on to prevent any cause of complaint on your part. I understand that my civility in this respect has been the occasion that the Chevalier de Chambis, a lieutenant in the Navy, has been made a prisoner of war.

"I propose sending out some small advanced posts tomorrow morning. They will place themselves in such a situation as to have in view the four entrances into the wood in order to prevent a similar mistake in future. I do not know whether two columns commanded by the Viscount de Noailles and the Count de Dillon have shown too much ardor, or whether your cannoniers have not paid a proper respect to the truce subsisting between us; but this T know, that what has happened this night is a proof that matters will soon come to a decision between us one way or another."

On the same day the foregoing communications were written the American forces commanded by General Lincoln and the French under Count d'Estaing formed a junction, and it was supposed by those two leaders that failure was impossible. The French camp which at first was located southeast of the town, was moved to a position nearly south, with General Dillon in command of the right, Count d'Estaing the center, and Count de Noailles the left, the front of the line resting parallel with the streets of the town. To the southwest General Lincoln's command was stationed, while to his rear was the Springfield plantation swamp. Between Lincoln and the French stood Count Pulaski's cavalry camp facing to the north. It is admitted that d'Estaing made a mistake in consenting to a twenty-four hours' delay in commencing the conflict.

For this work of defending Savannah against the attack of the combined American and French troops, General Prevost had well fortified the place. In addition to the twenty-three cannon, all that were mounted just before the advance of the French fleet, one hundred more were mounted. The military under Lieut. Col. Cruger at Sunbury had been sent from that point to aid in the defence, and from all the outposts troops were called in to strengthen the British army. Nearly five hundred negroes were set to work, and the batteries from the war vessels in the river were transferred to the earthworks. When the attacking began they had erected thirteen redoubts together with fifteen gun batteries mounting eighty guns, and they were manned by sailors from the "Fowev," the "Rose," and the "Keppel. " The channel had been obstructed by the sinking of ships to prevent the sailing of American and French vessels up the river, and that work was accomplished by Captain Moncriett'.

Colonel Maitland was ordered from Beaufort with a troop of eight hundred men, and when he approached Daufuskie, finding the river in possession of the French fleet, and his advance thereby stopped, he became aware, through some negro fishermen, of the fact that there was a passage called Wall's Cut, through Scull creek, through which small boats could pass at high tide, and in that way, aided by a dense fog. he led his men through to Savannah, where he arrived in the afternoon of the 17th. Of that feat Hugh McCall says: "The acquisition of this formidable reinforcement, headed by an experienced and brave officer, effected a complete change in the dispirited garrison. A signal was made, and three cheers were given, which rang from one end of the town to the other." On the arrival of Maitland, General Prevost replied to d'Estaing. as follows:

"Savannah. September 17th, 177!) - Sir: In answer to the letter of your Excellency which I had the honor to receive about twelve last night. I am to acquaint you that having laid the whole correspondence before the King's Civil Governor and the military officers of rank, assembled in Council of War. the unanimous determination has been that though we can not look upon our post as absolutely impregnable, yet that it may and ought 1o he defended; therefore the evening gun to be. fired this evening at the hour before sundown shall be the signal for recommencing hostilities agreeable to your Excellency's proposal."

In the mind of Count d'Estaing there was not the slightest doubt as to the successful issue of the attack about to be made. So confident was he of the result that he did not wait for General Lincoln, and it was doubtless his ambition that victory would lie achieved by the French unaided' by the Americans. His desire might have been fulfilled had he not consented to the delay proposed. Finding that the demand for an immediate surrender met with a positive denial, and realizing that the enemy had made much of the time gained by his granting a respite, the count changed his plan, and, instead of making a quick assault, lie planned for the capture of the town by besieging it, and promptly advanced his own line to about twelve hundred yards of the English, showing a front of thirty-two hundred yards. On the left of the French was formed the American line, under Lincoln, resting on the swamp located at the western limit of Savannah. The division of de Noailles came next, and it was composed of the regiments of Champagne, Auxerrois, Foix, Guadeloupe, and Martinique, numbering nine hundred men. To the right of de Noailles the regiments of C'ambresis, Hainault, volunteers of Berges. Agenois, Gatinois, the Cape, and Port au Prince, one thousand strong, forming the division of d'Estaing, together with the artillery, made the center of the French army. The right was made up of Dillon's division, nine hundred in all. including men of his own regiment with those of Armagnac and the volunteer grenadiers. A small field hospital, the cattle depot and the powder magazine were on Dilion's right, and slightly in advance of the depot were stationed fifty men of the dragoons of Conde and Belzume under M. Dejean. Further to the right came the dragoons of M. de Rouvrai and his volunteer chasseurs, in all about 750. To the extreme right, but about two hundred yards in advance of 51. de Rouvrai the grenadier volunteers, under 51. des Framais, together with about two hundred troops, detached from the various regiments, held position. This arrangement, made on the 22d of September, closed the right of the army and completely invaded the town on the land side.

In the river lay the frigate "La Truite" and two galleys, and they were within cannon shot of Savannah; and the frigate "La Chimere" and the armed store-ship "La Bricole" were placed in such a position as to prevent communication with the islands near the mouth of the river.

The river channel had been obstructed by the sinking of the ships "Rose" and "Savannah," and four transports, and so the armed vessels of the French could not approach near enough to render aid in the siege. Above the town small boats had been used for the purpose of preventing the passing of galleys up North river around Hutchinson's island and attacking at that point. Added to these precautions the British had guns mounted on the bluff as a protection on the north side.

We have given in detail the numerical strength of the French allies; to that number must be added the American forces engaged in the siege, under General Lincoln, amounting to twenty-one hundred, all told. It is estimated that the British numbered twenty-five hundred inside the

We now give in full, in order to a clear understanding of the situation, the orders of General Prevost, issued September 9th, as to the disposition of his army: "The regiment of Wissenbach to take their ground of encampment; likewise the 2d battalion of General Deiancey's. In case of an alarm, which will lie known by the beating to arms both at the Barracks and main guard, the troops are to repair to their several posts without confusiop or tumult.

"Captain Stuart of the British Legion will take post with his men in the work on the right near the river. The main guard to be relieved by convalescents from the Hessians.

"Major Wright's corps to send their convalescents in the old fort. Twenty-four men in the small redoubt, and seventy men in the left tiank redoubt above the road to Tattnall's.

"The King's Rangers, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Brown, in the small redoubt on the right, with fifty men; the remainder extending towards the larger redoubt on the right.

"The Battalion men of the 60th Regiment in the right redoubt. The Grenadiers on the left, extending along the abatis towards the Barracks; the Hessians on the left, so as to till up the space to the Barracks.

"On the left of the Barracks, the 3rd Battalion of Skinner's, General Dclancey's, and the New York Volunteers, and on the left the 71st Regiment lining the abatis to the left flank redoubt on the road to Tattnall's.

"If all orders are silently and punctually obeyed, the General makes no doubt that, if the enemy should attempt to make an attack, they will be repulsed and the troops maintain their former well acquired reputation ; nor will it be the first time that British and Hessian troops have beat a greater superiority of both French and Americans than it is probable they will have to encounter on this occasion. The General repeats his firm reliance on the spirit and steady coolness of the troops he has the honor to command."

So wrote Prevost on the 9th of September, and when Colonel Maitland, with his substantial addition to the defenders of the British cause against the attack of the Americans and their French supporters, was safe in the town and the time to show their mettle was near at hand, he supplemented those instructions with the following general order:

"Cami* before Savannah, 17th September, 1779 - Parole, Maitland. Countersign, St. George, Field officers for tomorrow, Lieutenant-Colonel Cruger and Major Graham.

"The troops to be under arms this afternoon at four o'clock. As the enemy is now very near, an attack may be hourly expected. The General therefore desires that the whole may lie in instant readiness. By the known steadiness and spirit of the troops he has the most unlimited dependence, doubting nothing of a glorious victory should the enemy try their strength. What is it that may not, by the blessings of God, be expected from tiie united efforts of British sailors and soldiers and valiant Hessians against an enemy that they have often beaten before ?

"In ease of a night attack, the General earnestly requests the utmost silence to be observed, and attention to the officers, who will be careful that the men do not throw away their fire at random, and warn them earnestly not to tire until ordered."

In preparation for the attack guns were landed at Thunderbolt from the French fleet, and thence taken for use on the lines outside of the town.

The first advance was made on Wednesday the 22d, by the small company of fifty picked men from Noailles's division, led by M. de Guillaume in an effort to take an advanced post of the British; but he met with a sharp return of artillery and small arms, and was repulsed.

- The besieging force on the next afternoon (the 23d), at 3 o'clock opened a trench at a distance of three hundred yards from the enemy's works, guarded by six companies to protect them while at work. This act which was begun while a heavy fog enveloped the posts, was discovered in the morning by the British who at once attacked the eager workers, and they have asserted that this assault on the part of Major Graham with three companies of light infantry was simply for the purpose of driving the French out of their lines to gain information as to their strength. Be this as it may, the Major was forced to retreat with a loss of twenty-one killed and wounded.

As early as 7 o'clock in the morning of September 25th a battery under the direction of M. de Sauce began to fire upon the town with the full force of its two eighteen pounders; but the Count d'Estaing, not satisfied, ordered a reinforcement of this battery making it consist of twelve eighteen and twelve pounders, and the construction of another battery on the right of the trench, comprising thirteen eighteen pounders. Besides, he caused the placing at a point two hundred yards to the left and rear of the trench of nine mortars, by the side of which he ordered that six sixteen pounders, to be manned by Americans, be put in position; and then he commanded that there be no firing until all that work should be completed.

We have an account of a sortie made on the 27th by Maj. Archibald McArthur with a detachment of the Seventy-first Regiment, in an endeavor to force the allies to abandon the construction of their batteries which was unsuccessful; and the moving up the river on the 28th of the frigate La Truite and entering the north channel of the river, making an useless attempt to bombard the town.

The family of General McIntosh was left in Savannah, and, on the 29th of September, by his request General Lincoln consented to send a flag of truce with a letter to General Brevost to obtain, if possible, permission for Mrs. McIntosh and the children to leave the town. General McIntosh's aid, Maj. John Jones, was the bearer of the flag of truce, and, cruel as it may seem, General Prevost refused to grant the request.

Concerning what happened in the town we have these words of Major Jones in a letter written from the camp before Savannah on the 7th of October, eight days after :

"The poor women and children have suffered beyond description. A number of them in Savannah have already been put to death by our bombs and cannon. A deserter has this moment come out who gives an account that many of them were killed in their beds, and amongst others a poor woman, with her infant in her arms, was destroyed by a cannon ball. They have all gone into cellars; but even there they do not escape the fury of our bombs, several having been mangled in that supposed place of security. I pity General McIntosh; his situation is peculiar. The whole of his family is there."

In connection with this most important event in the history of Savannah, the following incident, written by the Rev. George White and printed in his "Statistics of the State of Georgia,"* well deserves a place here :

"During the siege of Savannah, one of the most extraordinary captures took place that the annals of warfare ever recorded. When General Prevost called in his detachments he ordered the commandant at Sunbury, on the Georgia coast, upon evacuating that post, to put the invalids on board of the small armed vessels, and to send them by the inland navigation to Savannah under the care of Captain Trench, of the British Regulars. In consequence of head winds Captain Trench and his command were detained until some of d'Estaing's fleet were in possession of the pass, and he was induced to sail up the Ogeechee river until he reached a point about 25 miles from the city of Savannah. Having arrived here, he learned that the passage over land was also blocked up by the allied force, and he therefore made a descent upon the shore, and finally took post with his party about 15 or 20 miles from Savannah. Col. John White, of the Georgia line, having ascertained that Captain Trench's force consisted of 111 soldiers possessing 130 stand of arms, and that he also had under bis charge, in the river Ogeechee adjacent to his camp, five vessels, four of them fully armed, and one of them mounting 14 guns and manned by 40 seamen, formed the resolution of capturing the detachment. He disclosed his plan to those who were with him. McCall, in his History of Georgia, says that the party consisted of Colonel White, Capts. Geo. Melvin and A. E. Elholm, a sergeant and three privates, seven in all. Other histories make no mention of Captain Melvin, or of a sergeant, but give the whole praise to White, Elholm, and three soldiers, reducing the number to five. White built many watch-fires around the camp, placing them in such a position, and at such intervals, as to induce Captain Trench and his soldiers to believe that he was absolutely surrounded by a large force. The deception was kept up through the night by White and his companions marching from fire to fire with the measured tread and the loud challenge of sentinels, now hailing from the east of the British camp, and then shifting rapidly their position and challenging from the extreme west. Nor was this the only stratagem; each mounted a horse and rode with haste in clivers directions, imitating the manner of the staff, and giving orders with a loud voice. The delusion was complete. Captain Trench suffered himself to he completely trapped. White carried his daring plan forward by dashing boldly and alone to the camp of the British, ami ..demanding a conference with Trench. 'I am the commander, Sir, ' lie said, 'of the American soldiers in your vicinity. If you will surrender at once to my force, I will see to it that no injury is done to you or your command. If you decline to do this, I must candidly inform you that the feelings of my troops are highly incensed against you, and I can by no means be responsible for any consequences that may ensue.' Trench thanked him for his humanity, and said, despondinglv, that it was useless to contend with fate or with the large force that he saw was around him. and announced his willingness to surrender his vessels, his men and himself to Colonel White. At this instant Captain Elholm came suddenly dashing up at full speed, and. saluting White, inquired of him where he should place the artillery. 'Keep them back, Keep them back. Sir.' answered White, 'the British have surrendered. Move your men off, and send me three guides to conduct them to the. American post at Sunbury. ' The three guides arrived. The five vessels were burned, and the British, urged by White to keep clear of his men. and to hasten their departure from the enraged and formidable Americans, pushed on with great celerity, whilst White retired with one or two of his associates, stating that he would go to his Troops in the rear and restrain them. He now employed himself in collecting the neighborhood militia, with which he overtook his guides, and conducted them in safety to the Sunbury post. This took place on the first of October, 1779."

The besieged were, on the 2d of October, forced by a heavy fire from the frigate La Truite lying in the north channel, to strengthen their position by the erection of a new battery and otherwise.

Everything being in readiness, the allied forces began the bombardment of the town at midnight on the 3d of October, but kept it up for only about two hours, the wild aim of the missiles showing, as it is said, that the use of rum had been too free on the part of the gunners.

The real bombardment began the next morning, and the story of the operations is told thus by a French officer: "October 4th, Monday. At four o'clock in the morning, the enemy's beat of drum at daybreak furnishes the signal for unmasking our batteries on the right and left of the trench, and that of the Americans to the left of the mortar battery, and we begin to cannonade and bombard the town and the enemy's works with more vivacity than precision. The cannoneers being still under the influence of rum. their excitement did not allow them to direct their pieces with proper care. Besides, our projectiles did little damage to works which were low and constructed of sand, the effect of this very violent fire was fatal only to the houses and some women who occupied them.

"Protected by their entrenchments, the enemy could not have lost many men, if we may judge from the effect of their tire upon our works which had been hastily constructed and with far less skill and care than theirs.

"All our batteries ceased firing at eight o'clock in the morning that we might repair our left battery which had been shaken to pieces by its own tire. A dense fog favors our workmen. We open fire again at ten o'clock in the morning and continue it with little intermission until four o'clock after midnight."

According to the diary inclosed in a letter from Governor Wright to Lord G. Germain on the 5th of November the firing on the 4th of October did some damage in the town. There is a difference of opinion expressed by writers as to the way in which the bombardment opened. Doctor Ramsey and Hugh Ale Call assert that the allied forces began by firing from nine mortars and thirty-seven cannon from the land side and sixteen cannon from the water, while Stedman says the pieces used were fifty-three heavy cannon and fourteen mortars. The British officer speaks of three batteries mounting thirty-two guns of eighteen, twelve, nine and six pounds, besides two guns, twenty-four pounders, from the galleys, and a bombardment of shells. Dr. Abiel Holmes, in his "Amercan Annals "* says: "On the morning of the 4th October, the batteries of the besiegers were opened with nine mortars, thirty-seven pieces of cannon, from the land side, and fifteen from the water."

There is authority for the statement that both Governor Wright and Lieut-Gov. John Graham took refuge from the tire of the allies in a tent next to Colonel Maitland, on the British right, outside of the town.!

The bombardment continued on the 6th, but only occasionally, and at 11 o'clock General Prevost sent the following letter to the commander of the French:

"Camp Savannah, 6th October, 1779 - Sir: I am persuaded your Excellency will do me the justice to believe that I conceive in defending this place and the army committed to my charge I fulfill what is due to Honor and Duty to my Prince. Sentiments of a different kind occasion the liberty of now addressing myself to your Excellency. They are those of Humanity. The houses of Savannah are occupied solely by women and children. Several of them have applied to me that 1 might request the favour you would allow them to embark on board a ship or ships and go down the river under the protection of yours until this business is decided. If this requisition you are so good as to grant, my Wife and Children, with a few servants, shall be the first to profit by the indulgence."

"Camp before Savannah, October 6th, 1779 - Sir: We are persuaded that your Excellency knows all that your duty prescribes. Perhaps your zeal has already interfered with your judgment.

"The Count d'Estaing in his own name notified you that you alone would be personally responsible for the consequences of your obstinacy. The time which you informed him in the commencement of the siege would be necessary for the arrangement of articles, including different orders of men in your town, had no other object than that of receiving succor. Such conduct, Sir, is sufficient, to forbid every intercourse between us which might occasion the least loss of time. Besides, in the present application latent reasons might again exist. There are military ones which, in frequent instances, have prevented the indulgence you request. It is with regret we yield to the austerity of our functions, and we deplore the fate of those persons who will be victims of your conduct, and the delusion which appears to prevail in your mind.

The action thus taken by those two commanders was just what Prevost might have expected after his refusal to grant the request made in behalf of the family of General McIntosh in the month of September. The following account of what was done on the 7th, written from the standpoint of the allies, a French officer, agrees with the statement made by the British: "7th, Thursday - A very lively cannonade. We bombard and throw carcasses into Savannah, which set the town on fire for the third time. We construct a new trench in advance of our battery to persuade the enemy that we do not yet contemplate an assault, but that our intention is to push our approaches up to his works.

"8th, Friday - We cannonade and bombard feebly. The enemy does little more. He seems to be husbanding his strength for the anticipated attack. Informed of all that transpires in our army, he is cognizant > of the trifling effect produced by his tire upon us in our trenches. Everything forces us to the conclusion that we must, on the morrow, make a general assault upon the1 city. The length of time requisite for the operations of a siege, the exhaustion of the supplies of the fleet, and the pressing dangers resulting from our insecure anchorage decide the general to take this step."

On the morning of the 8th Major l'Enfant attempted to fire the abatis in advance of the British lines, but the effort failed because of the dampness of the weather which prevented the general explosion of the powder, but the British acknowledged that much damage was done to the houses by the cannonade.

at 4 o'clock in the morning, which time was agreed upon at a conference of the highest officers; but the plan was overheard by one James Curry, sergeant-major of the Charleston grenadiers who deserted to the enemy, and divulged the fact that the approaches of the allied forces had been advanced to within pistol shot of the enemy's works, and the determination to make an aggressive move that morning. This prepared General Prevost for what was attempted, and. knowing that the chief point of attack would be the Spring Hill redoubt, the threatened action on the left guarded by Huger being only a feint, he assigned his best officer, Colonel Maitland, to the protection of his lines at the Spring Hilt position with a superior force of the best of his fighting men. .Not anticipating the resistance prepared by the enemy on the strength of the information given by the deserter. General Lincoln issued the following orders:

"The infantry destined for the attack of Savannah will be divided into two bodies; the first composing the light troops under the command of Colonel Laurens; the second of the Continental battalions and the first battalion of Charlestown militia, except the grenadiers who are to join the light troops. The whole will parade at one o'clock near the left of the line and march by the right of platoons.

"The cavalry under the command of Count Pulaski will parade at the same time with the infantry and follow the left column of the French troops and precede the column of the American light troops. They will endeavor to penetrate the enemy's lines between the battery on the left of the Spring Hill redoubt and the next toward the river. Having effected this, they will pass to the left toward Yamaeraw and secure such parties of the enemy as may be lodged in that quarter.

"The artillery will parade at the same time; follow the French artillery, and remain with the corps de reserve until they receive further orders.

"The whole will be ready by the lime appointed with the utmost silence and punctuality, and be ready to march the instant Count d'Estaing and General Lincoln shall order.

"The Light troops, who are to follow the cavalry, will attempt to enter the redoubt on the left of the Spring Hill by escalade if possible; if not, by entrance into it. They are to be supported, if necessary, by the First South Carolina Regiment. In the meantime the column will proceed with the lines to the left of the Spring Hill battery.

carried, or for any soldier to quit his ranks to plunder without an order for that purpose; any who shall presume to transgress in either of these respects shall he reputed a disobeyer of military orders, which is punishable with death.

"The militia of the first and second brigades, General Williamson's, and the first and second battalions of Charlestown militia will parade immediately under the command of General Isaac Huger. After drafting five hundred of them, the remainder will go into the trenches and put themselves under the command of the commanding officer there.

"With the five hundred he will march to the left of the enemy's lines and remain as near them as he possibly can. without being discovered, until four o'clock in the morning, at which time the troops in the trenches will begin the attack upon the enemy. He will then advance and make his attack as near the river as possible. Though this is only meant as a feint, yet, should a favorable opportunity offer, he will improve it and push into the town.

"In case of a repulse, after having taken the Spring-Hill redoubt, the troops will return and rally in the rear of the redoubt. If it cannot be effected in that way, it must be attempted by the same route at which they entered.

"The second place of rallying, or the first, if the redoubt should not be carried, will be at the Jews' burying ground, where the reserve will be placed. If these two halts should not be effectual, they will retire toward camp.

The details of the history of the siege of Savannah from this point have been given by so many writers that it is not deemed necessary to go into all the particulars in this history. The French were to be divided into three columns, of which two were for assault and the other was to act as a reserve corps to be used as required ; while the Americans were formed into two columns, both for assault. The cavalry, under Count Pulaski, was to move in advance of the Americans under Colonel Laurens, and the assault was to be made on the right of the British lines. A French officer, who wrote a journal containing his experiences at the time, thus describes the assault as made by the French troops.

"By three o'clock in the morning all our dispositions had been perfected. * * * We commence marching by the left to attack the city on its right, where its western side, as we have before intimated, is fortified by three redoubts located triangularly. The columns marched by divisions (each column had been divided into three battalions), with easy gait and leisurely, that they might arrive at the point of attack at the designated hour.

"At five o'clock in the morning, the three columns, which had observed a similar order of march, arrived within eighty toises (160 yards) of the edge of the wood which borders upon Savannah. Here the head of column was halted and we were ordered to form into platoons. Day begins to dawn and we grow impatient. This movement is scarcely commenced when we are directed to march forward, quick time, the vanguard inclining a little to the right, the column of M. do Steding to the left and the column of the General [d'Estaing] moving straight to the front. At. de Noailles. with his reserve corps, proceeds to a small eminence from which he could observe all our movements and repair to any point where the exigencies might demand his presence.