The Battle of Savannah
The 1779 Battle of Savannah was one of
the deadliest of the entire American Revolution.
The overwhelming defeat of French and
American forces resulted in an allied
withdrawal and in approximately 800 wounded
or killed, with British losses totaling 55
wounded or dead.
•
The British victory in Savannah rekindled
England's spirit for the war, in part because
the victory defeated troops of the regular
army of France as well as American rebels.
The battle marked the first time French
regular army units fought on American
soil in the Revolutionary War.
•
The international conflict that most
Americans call the Revolutionary War
involved British, French, Hessian, Irish,
Polish, Hiatian, Spanish, Dutch, Scotish,
Native Americans and Americans of
European and African heritage,many of
whom were represented in Savannah.
•
Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski, who held
a brigadier general's commission from
Congress, had fought unsuccessfully for
Polish independence. He commanded the
American cavalry and lost his life from a
wound he received in the battle.
•
A young Henry Christophe participated
with the allied army in Savannah. He went
on to fight for the independence of Haiti
from France and later became King Henry I
of Haiti. He was one of the first heads of
state of African descent in the Western
Hemisphere.
•
( Right text )
The largest unit of black soldiers to fight
in the American Revolution, the Chasseurs-
Volontaires de Saint- Domingue ( now Haiti),
fought in Savannah. Many of these free men
and volunteers went on to lead Haiti's fight
for independence.
•
British Major General Augustin Prevost was
a Swiss professional soldier of French
Huguenot descent with a French wife. His
loyalty to the British Crown was never
questioned.
•
Arthur Dillon, an Irish nobleman and
expatriate, commanded a regiment that
included Irish soldiers serving the King of
France. He and his regiment were prominent
in the Battle of Savannah.
•
The Swedish Baron Curt von Stedingk was
wounded leading a French column in the
attack. He was intimate in the court of
Gustavus III, Louis XVI and Catherine the
Great .
•
The day before the battle, Pierre Charles
L'Enfant, who later designed Washington,
D.C., tried to dismantle and set fire to the
abatis, a barrier of sharpened tree limbs
designed to slow attackers.
(Bottom)
Ancestors of people represented by these
modern flags fought in the Battle of Savannah.
[ Flags: United States,France, United Kingdom,
Haiti, Scotland, Poland, Ireland, Germany ]
Marker is on Martin Luther King Boulevard (West Broad Street), on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
