The 'Siege of Savannah' was a battle 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 2006 archaeologists with the Coastal Heritage Society and the LAMAR Institute discovered portions of the fortifications at Spring Hill. The brunt of the British attack on
October 9,
1779, was focused at that point. The find represents the first tangible remains of the battlefield.
External links
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French free colored participation in the Siege of Savannah
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Summary of Archaeological Finds at Springhill Redoubt
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Savannah Battlefield Park at Springhill Redoubt