Siege of Savannah

The Siege of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell. The siege itself consisted of a joint Franco-American attempt to retake Savannah from September 16, 1779 to October 18, 1779. On October 9, 1779, a major assault against the British siege works failed. During the attack, Polish Count Kazimierz Pułaski, fighting on the American side, was mortally wounded. With the failure of the joint American-French attack, the siege failed, and the British remained in control of Georgia until July 1782, close to the end of the war.

The battle is much remembered in Haitian history; the Fontages Legion, consisting of over 500 "gens de couleur"—free men of color from Saint-Domingue—fought on the French side. Henri Christophe, who later became king of independent Haiti, is thought to have been among these troops.

In 2005 archaeologists with the Coastal Heritage Society and the LAMAR Institute discovered portions of the British fortifications at Spring Hill. The brunt of the combined French and American attack on October 9, 1779, was focused at that point. The find represents the first tangible remains of the battlefield. In 2008 the CHS/LAMAR Institute archaeology team discovered another segment of the British fortifications was discovered in Madison Square.

This event is commemorated each year by presidential proclamation on General Pulaski Memorial Day.

External links

* [http://www3.uta.edu/faculty/garrigus/Catalyst.pdf French free colored participation in the Siege of Savannah]
* [http://lamarinstitute.org/SavannahSiege1779.htm Summary of Archaeological Finds at Springhill Redoubt]
* [http://www.chsgeorgia.org/battlefield/home.htm Savannah Battlefield Park at Springhill Redoubt]
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/negfoto/sets/72157603286171037 Pictures of the "Chasseurs Volontaires" monument]