Savannah, Georgia was quickly taken on December 29, 1778, by a small British invasion fleet that within a few hours of disembarking troops, routed Georgian Continentals and militia. The rebels suffered severe casualties with the remaining force retreating into the interior. As early as the summer of 1778, after three and a half years of war, primarily fought on northern soil, the southern colonies became England’s focal point. One catalyst for this was France’s official entry into the conflict in March, 1778, as an American ally. The possibility of French held ports along the southern coast of North America threatened England’s precious holdings in the Caribbean. England’s puppet masters decided they needed a strong British presence to counter this.
For the most part, the southern colonies had remained relatively calm. They experienced early clashes of southern provincial forces in the Carolinas, a thwarted British expedition to capture Charleston, South Carolina, and three failed attempts by Continental troops and militiamen to capture St. Augustine, Florida.[1] When Savannah fell into British hands so easily, and with a poor showing of American troops, this was the beginning of a full effort by England over the next few years to placate and retake southern colonies.
England Looks South
Most historical accounts lean heavily on England’s shift of interest to the south as a desire to cash in on supposedly large number of southern loyalists eager to bear arms for their King. But that was of less importance. England’s overall tactics of progressing an offensive operation in the south was based on the long view of procuring as much land as possible, mainly coastal regions to harbor their navy and secure trade. This would also secure their important Caribbean holdings. England and France had been battling over West Indies island colonies for generations. And for these two old rivals, the Caribbean was far more profitable than enabling American colonies to govern themselves. With the war in the north stalled by a cautious General Henry Clinton (commander-in-chief British forces in America) probing his enemy from behind strong defenses, and General George Washington’s (commander-in-chief American forces) continued Fabian tactics that failed to produce a decisive battle, the apparent path to resolving the conflict lead south.
Royal Governors Lord William Campbell of South Carolina and Sir James Wright of Georgia submitted a well-written appeal in August of 1777 to the Secretary of North American Colonies, Lord George Germain, pressing a southern enterprise. In conclusion, they urged an immediate expedition sent south writing, “From our particular knowledge of those Provinces [Georgia and South Carolina]…that if a proper number of troops were in possession of Charleston…and to leave a garrison in the town of Savannah, the whole inhabitants in both Provinces would soon come in and submit.”[2] Germain and other cabinet ministers were convinced it would be a simple as that. Once in the back country, British troops and loyalists could sever links of southern commodities and comestibles sent to the northern colonies while further weakening the colonial economy.
To further this change in tactics, Lord Germain wrote to Clinton on March 8, 1778, the letter arriving that summer. It advised his general to abandon Philadelphia and called for offensive operations “upon a different plan from that it has hitherto been carried on.”[3] Clinton was told it was impractical to bring Washington’s forces to a “decisive action early in the campaign,” and that he should relinquish the idea of carrying on a land offensive there.[4] He was given free reign to attack New England coastal towns to disrupt shipping, but no more. Germain went on to write that “When these operations on the sea coasts of the Northern Provinces are concluded… [Germain mentioned by October of that year] it is the King’s intention [George III] that an attack should be made upon the Southern Colonies, with a view to the conquest and possession of Georgia and South Carolina.”[5]
In the spring of 1778, colonial patriot hopes soared when France entered the fray as America’s ally. It soon soured later that year with Admiral Charles Comte d’Estaing’s failure to aid a rebel army’s capture of the British posting at Newport, Rhode Island. D’Estaing had begun disembarking French land forces when the threat of a major storm caused him to reload his men and sail out to sea. The storm did enough damage for the French admiral to continue south to Boston where repairs were enacted, before abandoning the American colonies to protect French territory in the Caribbean. This left the Americans to their own fate against a superior and well-trained regular British and Hessian army. The Battle of Rhode Island, August 29th, 1778, resulted in a rout leaving England still entrenched in New England. With the French fleet out of the picture and Newport, Rhode Island safely in British control, Clinton set about preparing for the ordered southern invasion.
Plans to Take Georgia and Lt. Colonel Archibald Campbell Sets Sail
General Washington knew something was afloat when in November, 1778, his spies reported British troops assembling along New York City’s harbor and transports being readied. But the American commander had no information of a possible southern invasion. He believed that since the French fleet sailed to the Caribbean, it caused General Clinton to order a shift of troops away from the American theatre to protect their West Indies bases.
In November, 1778, Clinton completed plans for the southern expedition against Savannah. A combined force of British regulars, Hessian mercenaries, and local provincial troops (loyalists equipped and trained as British regulars), would board transports from New Your City. They would be escorted by a small fleet under Commodore Hyde Parker.[6] The troops would be transported to the mouth of the Savannah River. There they would wait for reinforcements before attacking the city. Orders were sent to Brigadier General Augustine Prevost to organize all available troops at Saint Augustine, East Florida, and head north to join the expedition.
Clinton chose the commander of the 71st Highlanders, newly exchanged for rebel Ethan Allen, Lt. Colonel Archibald Campbell.[7] to lead the expedition from New York. Cambell wrote that besides his 71st Highlanders, were two battalions of Hessians and four battalions of partisans and a company of Royal Artillery.[8] His 3,100[9] manned force consisted of:
- Two battalions[10] of Campbell’s own 71st Highlanders
- Hessian troops of von Wollwarth’s Grenadier Regiment
- Hessian troops of von Wissenbach’s Garrison Regiment
- Four Battalions of Loyalist Provincials that included two battalions from Delancey’s Brigade and two of New Jersey Loyalist Volunteers under General Cortlandt Skinner.[11]
- Detachments from the Royal Artillery, 4th Battalion, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, & 8th Companies.
Brigadier Augustine’s troops consisted of the 60th Foot American Regiment,[12] Thomas ‘Burnfoot’ Brown[13] (refugee Georgia Tory leader) leading his Florida Loyalist Rangers, loyalists labeled ‘Scopholites’[14] reportedly led by Colonel Daniel McGirth (patriot derogatory name for South Carolina loyalists who banded with the British to defend East Florida), and a number of Muscogee and Cherokee Native Americans who had allied with the British. A diversionary force from Florida led by Major Prevost and Lieutenant Colonel Valentine Lewis (L.V.) Fuser attacked inland prior to the assault on Savannah.
Campbell’s departure and arrival off Savannah was reported in a letter to Lord Germain penned on January 16, 1779, after the capture of Savannah. He wrote that “having sailed from the Hook [Sandy Hook, New Jersey] on November 27, 1778,[15] escorted by a squadron of His Majesty’s ships of war under the command of Commodore Parker; and the arrival of the whole fleet off the island of Tybee on the 23rd of December thereafter, two horse-sloops excepted.”
In the first four years of war, the Southern American Army was just an afterthought in a conflict fought mainly in the north. By October of 1778, it was commanded by Major General Robert Howe of North Carolina.[16] Poorly supplied and sickly, it numbered barely a thousand Continentals. Early historian McCall noted that “a full quarter of Howe’s men had not fully recovered from “the fatal effects of the Florida campaign, the preceding summer [third invasion resulting in the defeat at Allegator Bridge, June 30, 1778] about one fourth were yet confined by disease, and many of his convalescents too feeble to encounter the fatigues of a battle.” [17] So too, Howe was disadvantaged concerning militia. Many units were under the command of uncooperative Georgia and South Carolina legislatures. When the call went out for men, few responded; “The dread of a climate, where disease had produced more terrors than the sword and not less fatal, retarded the progress of militia; and prevented many from returning, who were absent on furlough…On the day of battle, Howe’s army, exclusive of militia, amounted to six hundred and seventy-two, rank and file.” [18] This to contest an experienced and well-trained British force of regulars four times their number.
The American Southern Army
With the failure to capture East Florida and General Howe’s continued infighting among colonial legislatures, including accusations of the general’s improper conduct among southern women, Congress bowed to political pressure. In September, 1778, Howe was replaced with New Englander Major General Benjamin Lincoln.[19] Howe would remain in command of the southern army stationed at Charleston, South Carolina while waiting for Lincoln to arrive[20] with reinforcements and much needed ammunition and supplies.
Howe’s Continental troops in Charleston consisted of the Georgia Line or Brigade of four regiments and the 2nd South Carolina Continental Brigade that included the 3rd, 4th, and 5th of 1st Rifle (the 1st South Carolina Continental Brigade of the 1st, 2nd, and 6th of 2nd Rifle were posted elsewhere). The Georgia Brigade, formed December 23, 1777 was made up from four Georgia regiments and Horse Rangers. Due to Georgia’s small population, only the 1st Georgia Continental regiment was recruited in Georgia. Georgia’s legislature was allowed to recruit the three other regiments ordered by Congress from outside their province. Of militia, they remained under command of the Georgia and South Carolina legislatures.
In mid-November, 1778, Howe received word that General Prevost’s younger brother, Major Mark Prevost, was raiding rebel homes and plantations as he marched north through the Newport region of Georgia, between 30 and 40 miles west and south of Savannah. Howe assembled all troops fit for duty and marched his Continental troops on November 18th from Charleston, arriving the 27th at Zulby’s Ferry on the Savannah River, 34 miles northwest of Savannah. Even with the last-minute arrival of around 200 militiamen, when Colonel Campbell arrived in late December, Howe’s army numbered between 675 to 750 troops[21] fit for duty: Georgia Continental Brigade and militia under General Robert Howe:
- 1st Georgia under Colonel Robert Rae. Formed in Georgia between January and April 1776.
- 2nd Georgia led by Colonel Samuel Elbert. Formed in the fall and winter of 1776 in Virginia.
- 3rd Georgia commanded by Colonel John Stirk. Formed in North Carolina in late 1776.
- 4th Georgia under Colonel John White.[22] Formed in Pennsylvania in early 1777, mainly from British deserters.
- Georgia Horse Rangers under Colonel John Baker.[23] Authorized on January 1, 1776, that numbered twelve dragoons.
South Carolina 2nd Brigade commanded by Colonel Isaac Hugar.
- 3rd South Carolina detachment under Lt. Colonel William Thompson.
- 4th South Carolina detachment of artillery commanded by Colonel Owen Roberts[24]
- 5th South Carolina Rifle detachment commanded by Colonel Isaac Hugar.
Georgia Militia led by Colonel George Walton.
- Approximately 200 militiamen were called up and released by Georgia Governor John Houstoun[25] to General Howe’s command. This only occurred after word of Lt. Col. Cambell’s invasion reached Gov. Houstoun on December 6, 1778.
Two British Diversionary Assaults Prior to Campbell’s Landing at Savannah
When General Henry Clinton ordered British General Augustine Prevost stationed at St. Augustine, Florida to join Lt. Colonel Archibald Campbell in the siege of Savannah, he also instructed the general to detach forces into the Georgia countryside to draw off American troops. In early November, 1778, General Prevost launched two diversions thirty some miles upriver from Savannah into the Newbury, Georgia region. Prevost’s younger brother, Major James Marcus (Mark) Prevost led the overland force of British regulars, rangers, and Native Americans against rebel settlements. Lieutenant Colonel Valetine Lewis (L.V.) Fuser boarded transports with infantry and light artillery and sailed up the Medway (also spelt Midway) River to Sunbury and nearby Fort Morris. Once Prevost raided and pillaged rebel homes and plantations, he was to march to Sunbury and join Fuser in the siege of Fort Morris.
Major Mark Prevost’s Attack on the Newbury Settlement
Major Prevost marched from St. Augustine with 100 British regulars. At Fort Howe, Georgia, he was joined by 300 loyalist refugees; Florida Rangers under Colonel Thomas ‘Burnfoot’ Brown, South Carolina loyalists labeled Scopholites led by Colonel Daniel McGirth, along with Native Americans. On November 19th, this force entered the Georgia settlements. They took captive of suspected rebels and collected valuables capable of transportation. As Prevost advanced north towards the Medway River, patriot militia leader Colonel John Baker hastily collected mounted militia. On the 24th, he confronted Prevost at Bull Town Swamp (47 miles southwest of Savannah and 16 miles south of the Medway River). After a short skirmish in which Baker was wounded, the rebels pulled back to the North Newport Bridge (afterwards called Riceborough Bridge). Here they offered another feeble attempt to stop Prevost’s progress before pulling back further north.
Meanwhile, Colonel John White, commanding detached Continentals from the 4th Georgia and several militiamen, 100 in all, along with two field pieces, arrived at Medway.[26] He took post at the Medway Meeting House and constructed a slight breastwork across the road at the head of the causeway over which the enemy must advance. He sent a messenger to Colonel Elbert of the 2nd Georgia, informing him of his defenses and seeking aide. He hoped to keep Prevost in check until reinforcements arrived. On the morning of November 24th, he was joined by General James Screven (McCall spells Scriven) with twenty militiamen.[27] When an advance party of Provost’s force appeared on the morning of the 24th, General Screven and White decided to abandon their position and set an ambush on “an advantageous piece of ground, about a mile and a half south of Medway meeting-house, where the main road was skirted by a thick wood.” [28]
However, loyalist Daniel McGirth was also familiar with the ground and had simultaneously advised Provost to set an ambush at the same location. As luck would have it, both parties arrived near the same time and began positioning their men. General Screven, along with his aide Lt. Thomas Glascock[29], rode ahead to scan the field and was fired upon. Glascock barely escaped, but Screven was shot and captured, dying from his wounds shortly afterwards. [30] In the ensuring firefight, Prevost was assumed to have been killed when a fieldpiece killed his horse and the major went down. As White’s men advanced, Prevost remounted and pushed his superior numbers forward. Colonel White gave up the attack and retreated to Medway. Meanwhile, on November 27th, General Howe arrived at Zubley’s Ferry.[31] He had already dispatched Colonel Elbert with 200 to the Ogechee River where they had set up strong defensive works. When word arrived of Howe’s reinforcements, White abandoned Medway and joined Elbert.
Prevost had dispatched Colonel McGirth to Sunbury, about 12 miles east of Medway, to see if Colonel Fuser’s small fleet had arrived. When McGirth reported Fuser failed to show, Prevost grew weary of reported increased rebel forces. Facing uncertainty, he decided he had done enough to distract the rebels from defenses at Savannah and returned to St. Augustine. His departure was marked with the complete destruction of all homes and plantations in his path, including much of Medway, believed to be sympathetic to the rebellion.
Colonel Fuser Demands the Surrender of Fort Morris
Colonel Valentine Lewis Fuser was tasked to advance up the Medway River to Sunbury, Georgia, where he was to rendezvous with Major Prevost and capture Fort Morris. The fort was garrisoned by Lt. Colonel John McIntosh[32] who commanded 127 mainly continentals of the Georgia 3rd Regiment and local militia. Earlier that summer, after returning from the third failed invasion of East Florida, McIntosh had remained at the fort while General Howe marched to Charlestown, South Carolina. The fort was located about 350 yards due south of Sunbury, occupying a bluff at a bend in the Medway River. The substantial earthworks embraced a parade one acre in size.[33]
Due to strong headwinds, Fuser did not arrive Sunbury and the fort until late November.[34] He anchored off Coloners’ Island[35] and landed five hundred troops, battering cannon, light artillery, and mortars. He marched his men and artillery through the town and approached the fort. Meanwhile, armed vessels sailed up the Medway River and took position in front of the rebel fortification. With the fort surrounded, he immediately demanded its total surrender.[36] Fuser reminded McIntosh that four armies were invading the region[37] while the garrison was under British artillery and a superior number of infantry. Also, that Prevost’s men were fast advancing from Medway, about a dozen miles to the west.
McIntosh replied “…We, Sir, are fighting the battles of America, and therefore disdain to remain neutral till its fate is determined. As to surrendering the fort, receive this laconic reply : Come and take it.”[38] McIntosh’s decline to surrender Ft. Morris was quick and to the point. Its brashness has been immortalized in both Georgia’s and a new nation’s history, resulting in a later sword presented to its commanding officer. But rather than attacking, Fuser hesitated. He had sent scouts into the interior to ascertain Prevost’s whereabouts. When word reached him that Prevost had already commenced his retreat and had left the region, Fuser was at an impasse. Though later critics believed Fuser had ample men and artillery to raze the fort, he quickly gave up the seize and reembarked his troops. He sailed to the St. John River where he met Prevost’s returning force. There they would wait for General Prevost’s main force from St. Augustine. Mutual recriminations ensued between Fuser and Major Prevost, each charging the other responsibility for failure of their respective expeditions.[39]
General Howe Preparations to Defend Savannah
By early December, General Robert Howe had collected his forces and marched to Sunbury. During his short stay, he did little more than chaff over what he found. In letters to the Georgia and South Carolina legislatures, he condemned the defenseless condition at Sunbury and the fort, writing to General Moultrie in Charlestown on December 8th, “…I am sorry to inform you that this town is not defensible for half an hour, should it be attacked…” To Congress, he emphasized the dangers which threatened the Georgia coast. He pointed out in detail his lack of men, munitions of war, and the disorganization existing in his scattered army.[40] Howe had been busy ordering a concentration of the region’s forces to Purrysburg, 20 miles north of Savannah on the Georgia side of the river. As for Savannah’s defense, he lambasted the few guns stationed there, all pointing towards the water, leaving the land approaches open to assault. While in Sunbury, Howe received word that a British fleet was gathering off the Georgia coast.
On December 3rd, a British transport arrived off Tybee Island, Savannah, and anchored off the light house. A deserter escaped by swimming to the shore. He gave a disturbing account, confirming what had been considered probable, that the troops in Florida were only awaiting the arrival of a large invasion fleet to second their efforts.[41] The deserter, William Haslen from the British transport ship HMS Neptune, was examined before Georgia Governor Houstoun on December 6th. He reported that his was just one of twenty or more transports and men of war who had set sail from New York for the reduction of Savannah and conquest of Georgia. Houstoun immediately called out the militia, around 200 men, who were “hastily summoned to the field,” [42] Haslen’s deposition[43] was sent to Howe at Sunbury who about the same time received another express from the south. This verified the rumor that General Augustine Prevost was on the eve of marching from St. Augustine, with all his forces, against Georgia.[44] With news confirming an immanent attack and the report of signal cannon off the coast and sightings of British ships, Howe marched his troops towards Savannah.
Prior to Battle
General Howe was determined to defend Savannah and had formed his encampment southeast of the town of Savannah, anxiously awaiting the arrival of re-enforcements under the command of Major General Benjamin Lincoln. As we shall see, while the British approached to attack, Howe would remain southeast of Savannah on the main road that ran east to west from the bluff at Brewton Hill. The American army would form along a crest of high ground and in proximity to the city.[45] About one fourth of Howe’s troops were yet confined by disease from the recently failed invasion of East Florida, and many of his convalescents were too feeble to encounter the fatigues of a battle.[46] This left about 600 Continental troops considered fit for duty to defend the city. Another 100 to 200 Georgia militia would join them. South Carolina troops were placed under Colonel Isaac Huger of the 5th South Carolina Regiment[47]. Of equal numbers were the Georgia Brigade commanded by General Samuel Elbert. The local militia were officially still under the control of Georgia’s Governor Houstoun; however, these men, commanded by Declaration of Independence signee Colonel George Walton,[48] were reluctantly released to General Howe’s overall command on Christmas eve.[49]
Rebel leader General Moultrie (hero of the 1776 successful defense of Fort Sullivan at Charleston, South Carolina) later criticized Howe for remaining in Savannah for its defense. He argued that it was absurd to suppose that around 6 or 700 men, sickly with many raw troops filling the ranks, could stand against “two to three thousand, as good troops as any the British had, and headed by Col. Campbell, an active, brave, and experienced officer.” [50] During a council of war just prior to the coming battle, Howe was ill-advised and sided with the overall opinion that he should remain and fight to the last. Many critics point out that had he withdrawn to Perrysburg, he could have united with General Lincoln’s reinforcements who arrived on January 3rd, just four days after the battle.
The town of Savannah, consisting of 450 homes, was situated on a high-level sandy ground, forty feet above the water, on the south bank of the Savannah River. The river was to the north, and was approachable by land at three principal roads:
- From the east, leading from a rice dam along the river, the road formed a causeway of around 800 yards about two miles below the city, crossing a morass adjacent to the town, with rice-fields to the north and wooded swamps on the south. It led to the high grounds of the Brewton Hill plantation and the Thunderbolt[51] region and onward to the city becoming the main road in and out of Savannah.
- From the south, a road formed by the union of the White Bluff on the Vernon River and the Ogeechee Ferry Highways.
- The third led westwardly across the deep swamp of Musgrove Creek, with rice fields on the north and an extensive morass toward the south.[52]
Lt. Colonel Campbell’s invasion fleet had begun to arrive in piecemeal off the coast of Savannah in early December, 1778. Campbell’s after-action report to Secretary Lord Germain on January 16, 1779, stated his troops were “escorted by a squadron of His majesty’s ships of war under the command of Commodore Parker…and the arrival of the whole fleet off the island of Tybee on the 23rd of December…two horse-sloops excepted.” [53] The fleet remained at Tybee and the entrance to the Savannah River, fifteen miles downriver from Savannah[54], waiting for word of General Prevost’s progress from Florida. Meanwhile, Campbell was keen to obtain information on his enemy. On the evening of December 25th [55], he sent a company from Sir James Baird’s Highland light infantry in two flat boats under Lt. Clark to gather what they could from residents along Wilmington Creek. The soldiers questioned those they came upon, returning with two men for further interrogation.
Campbell learned that the city’s defenses were under Major General Robert Howe and that he had recently returned from a grueling expedition to East Florida. The informants estimated Howe had around 1500 troops, but that reinforcements were expected.[56] With this news, the experienced officer decided to not wait for General Prevost. He would strike immediately, taking advantage of his superior force of veteran regulars. He wrote to Lord Germain, “Two men were procured by this means, by whom we learned the most satisfactory intelligence concerning the state of matters at Savannah, and which settled the Commodore and I in the resolution of landing the troops the next evening at the plantation of one Gerridoe,[known as Girardeau Landing] an important post.” [57] The landing would be twelve miles upriver and less than two miles below Savannah. Historian Jones wrote that this was the first practical bluff near the Savannah River[58] and Campbell wrote “the whole country between it and Tybee being a continued tract of deep marsh…” [59]
The Battle and Capture of Savannah
After deciding not to wait for General Prevost’s Florida reinforcements, Campbell positioned his fleet to attack the rebels. On December 27th, Parker’s escort and transports carrying the infantry reached the mouth of the Savannah River and crossed the bar, coming up to Cockspur Island.[60] Campbell wrote that “The Vigilant, man of war, with the Comet, galley, the Keppel, armed brig, and the Greenwich, armed sloop, followed by the transports…proceeded up the river [Savannah River] with the tide at noon…”[61] McCall wrote that the fleet came up the river with a strong tide and favorable breeze; followed by the transports in three divisions.[62] Campbell continued, “about 4 o’clock in the evening the Vigilant opened the reach [four mile point] to Gerridoe’s plantation and was cannonaded by two rebel galleys, [Congress and Lee][63] who retired before any of their bullets had reached her: a single shot from the Vigilant quickened their retreat.” However, circumstances did not allow Campbell to offload his troops that evening writing to Germain, “The tide and evening being too far spent, and many of the transports having grounded at the distance of five or six miles below Gerridoe’s plantation, the descent was indispensably delayed till next morning.” [64] At night, the transports got off the mud flats with the tide’s high water, and proceeded up in the morning above Five-fathom Hole, opposite to the Girardeau Plantation.
At daybreak December 29th, the first division of troops was offloaded on the river dam in front of Girardeau’s plantation. This consisted of all the light infantry of the army, the New York Volunteers under Colonel George Turnbull[65], and the first battalion of the 71st regiment, the whole commanded by Lt. Colonel John Maitland[66], an able veteran and highly experienced, respected officer.[67] From the landing, according to Campbell, “a narrow causeway of 600 yards[68] in length, with a ditch on each side, led through a rice-swamp directly to Gerridoe’s house, which stood upon a bluff of 30 feet in height above the level of the rice-swamps...” British ships remained anchored in the river at the far end of the causeway.[69] Lt. Colonel Stephen De Lancey[70] of the 2nd Battalion, DeLancey’s Brigade, wrote to his wife on January 14, 1779, describing the landing and subsequent battle. He wrote “we proceeded to a Place near the Town in flat Boats and landed on a Causeway in a Rice Plantation which was form’d out of a Swamp on the Banks of the River. This narrow Passage led up to a House situated on an Eminence very steep.” Campbell continued, “The light infantry under Captain Cameron, having first reached the shore, were formed and led briskly forward [along the causeway] towards the bluff.” [71] This bluff, situated nearly half a mile at the end of the narrow causeway, was locally known as Brewton’s Hill. And it was not devoid of troops.
McCall wrote that on the morning of the 29th, when colonel Elbert discovered the place of landing of the enemy, he advised general Howe of the advantages they would obtain, if allowed to gain undisturbed possession of Brewton’s hill, and offered to defend it with his regiment… [assuring] the advantages it would give over the enemy. Howe rejected the offer, and formed for battle on the south-east side of the town.[72] Critics have blasted Howe for his decision not to follow Elbert’s advice and defend the causeway vigorously. Jones wrote that no position more apt for defense could have been selected in the entire neighborhood than the bluff at Girardeau’s plantation. A regiment there posted, and a few pieces of field artillery…would have utterly shattered the advancing column…the enemy could have been torn to pieces by the plunging and enfilading fire.[73] British Lt. Colonel Stephen DeLancey concurred, writing to his wife “Had the Rebels been there in Force with Cannon, it would in my opinion have been impracticable to have made good the Landing. In Consequence of the cry strong Ground, we should have been obliged to ascend in Opposition to the Rebels and by the narrow Passage thro’ the Swamp in approaching the Eminence…”[74]
But after Howe made his disposition of troops to defend the city, he readdressed the causeway. But he only detached one company of forty infantry under Captain John C. Smith of the South Carolina 3rd Regiment to occupy Brewton’s Hill at the head of the causeway. Smith’s orders were, should the enemy land and approach, he was to defend it as long as he could, then to retreat to the main army.[75] At the front of his battle-hardened Highlanders, Captain Charles Cameron led his light infantry brusquely up the causeway. When they were within range of Captain Smith’s muskets, the rebels volleyed. Eight redcoats fell from the blast. Undeterred, the experienced troops pressed on with the bayonet, not giving Smith’s men the time to reload. Campbell wrote, “…where a body of fifty rebels were posted, and from whom they received a smart fire of musketry, but the Highlanders, rushing on with their usual impetuosity, gave them no time to repeat it; they drove them instantly to the woods and happily secured a landing for the rest of the army.” [76] DeLancey wrote, “…from great want of Generalship they had but thirty men at this strong Post…” Of casualties DeLancey recorded, “three Men of the Light Infantry of the 71st Regt killed at this Place when the Rebels immediately retreated…”[77] While Smith quickly retreated to Howe’s main line without the loss of a man, Captain Charles Cameron[78] lay dead along with two privates. Five more Highlander privates were wounded. DeLancey continued that “the main Body of our Army then advanced towards the town.”[79]
Campbell wrote succinctly of his actions once the landing site was secured. “Upon the reconnoitering the environs of Gerridoe’s plantation, I discovered the rebel army, under Major General Robert Howe, drawn up abut half a mile east of the town of Savannah, with several pieces of cannon in their front. The first division of troops, together with one company of the second battalion of the Seventy-first, the first battalion of Delancey’s, the Wellworth, and part of the Weissenbach regiment of Hessians, being landed, I thought it expedient, having the day before me, to go in quest of the enemy rather than give them an opportunity of retiring unmolested.”[80]
The brief action confirmed to the Americans that the enemy had landed and was about to advance. Howe called a council of war to decide if they should defend the town or retreat. The officers had family and connections to Savannah and recommended they fight to the last extremity. Though Howe was later criticized for deciding to fight against a far superior force of veteran regulars, according to McCall, it was thought by Howe that the enemy only exhibited the appearance of greater numbers than what was really possessed, and the opposing armies were nearly equal.[81]
The previous evening, December 28th, a general order was issued in preparation for action and on the morning of the 29th, Howe positioned his troops to defend the city. He placed the center of his line on the main Thunderbolt Road leading from Giradeau’s Plantation to Savannah. He believed that this would be the path his enemy must use. This was about 800 yards south of the gates to the estate of Royal Governor James Wright.[82] Lt. Colonel Campbell was incredibly explicit as to Howe’s placement of troops in his report to Secretary Germain and from which we have a clear and accurate picture of Howe’s troops displacement.
On the American right, which extended from the center road to a wooded swamp and the Tatnal Plantation, Howe placed one of his two brigades. These were South Carolinian Continental Regiments under Colonels Huger and Thompson with Huger assuming overall command. From 100 – 200[83] Georgia militiamen under Colonel Walton were posted on the far-right flank with several riflemen taking positions in the plantation buildings. On the American left, Colonel Elbert commanded the other brigade that consisted of Georgia Continentals. Their line extended from the main road to the rice swamps along the river and Royal Governor Wright’s plantation. On the far-left flank of this wing was Fort Halifax[84] which sat on the Savannah River bluff. The town of Savannah, around which were the remains of an old line of intrenchments, was in the rear of the army. Though flanked by the river, they were not within range of possible British naval guns.
One piece of field artillery was planted on the right of the line, and another on the left. Just where the line crossed the Thunderbolt road a traverse had been thrown up, and behind this two cannons were posted. One hundred paces in front of this traverse, at a critical point between two swamps, a trench was cut across the road to impede the advance of the enemy, and, about the same distance beyond this trench in the direction of the enemy a marshy stream or rivulet ran parallel with the American line of battle. Where it crossed the road the bridge had been burnt to impede the enemy’s progress.[85] Howe’s men were in this position when Captain Smith’s company retreated to the main line and reported the enemy’s approach, leading to the council of war and determination to remain and fight.
Once Brewton’s Hill was taken, Campbell wasted no time.[86] Even though not all of his troops had been offloaded, he immediately pressed forward.[87] DeLancey wrote that as soon as the rebels retreated from Brewton’s Hill, “The main Body of our Army then advanced towards the Town.”[88] Campbell wrote, “A company of the second battalion of the 71st, together with the first battalion of DeLancey’s, were accordingly left to cover the landing place, and the troops marched for the town of Savannah.”[89] The light troops, throwing off their packs, led the column, supported by the New York Volunteers; who, in their turn, were followed by the first battalion of the Seventy-first regiment, with two six-pounders, and the Wellworth regiment of Hessians, with two three-pounders (known as ‘grasshoppers); while part of the Weissenbach’s regiment of Hessians brought up the rear.[90]
Steadman recorded that it was 2 PM when Campbell’s advancing troops reached the rebel line.[91] Campbell wrote that “The troops reached the open country near Tatnal’s plantation [American right] before three o’clock in the evening and halted in the great road about two hundred paces short of the gate leading to Governor Wright’s plantation [American left].”[92] Steadman wrote they halted a half mile from the rebels and Dawson set the distance at 1,000 feet.[93] As Campbell’s troops approached the American line, the rebels at first looked formidable. The enemy’s left flank, manned by Continental troops, expanded almost to the river and the right, guarded by both Continental and militia was protected by an impassable swamp.[94]
Campbell was a bold and aggressive commander who seized opportunities when presented on the battlefield. He wrote that “I could discover from the movements of the enemy that they wished and expected an attack upon their left, and I was desirous of cherishing that opinion.” But he also had a card up his sleeve in which fortune had smiled upon him and his men. Campbell wrote, “Having accidentally fallen in with a Negro who knew a private path through the wooded swamp upon the enemy’s right…” The little-known path through the wooded morass that protected the American right emptied out in the American rear; at the Tatnal Plantation, where around 100 Georgian militia were posted. Historian McCall, not a fan of General Howe, wrote that Howe was warned of a passage through the swamp to gain the American rear, but ignored it writing: Colonel George Walton [leading Georgia militia] informed the general of a private way through the swamp, by which the enemy could pass from the high grounds of Brewton’s hill and gain the rear of the American right…but general Howe neglected to avail himself of the advantage which would have resulted from its being occupied and defended.[95]
Campbell made good on the slave’s information. “I ordered the first battalion of the 71st to form on our right of the road and move up to the rear of the light-infantry…” Here the crafty leader “…drew off that corps to the right [facing Howe’s left and Georgia Continentals] as if I meant to extend my front in that quarter…” Campbell then maneuvered the light infantry into “…a happy fall of ground [that] favored the concealment of this manoeuvre.” Hidden from the American’s view, the light infantry under Sir James Baird, marched to the British rear and then passed to their left. With the slave’s guidance, they entered the path which led to the rear of the American right. The New York volunteers under Colonel Trumbull closely followed for support.[96] Once Baird was in position of the American right flank’s rear, Campbell would begin the main attack along the line.
Highly Questionable is naming Quamino Dolly as the black slave who led Sir Baird’s light infantry through the swamp to gain the American right rear. Most historical texts give his name as Quamino Dolly; however, Campbell only mentions a “Negro.” Of secondary sources, Steadman’s 1794 text on the war makes no reference to a black slave, only that Campbell had received information of a private path. Neither does Gordon reveal a name, only stating ‘a negro’[97] in his 1801’s account of the American Revolution. This writer found McCall’s 1816 text on the History of Georgia to be the first mention of that slave by name, but without a citation. Jones and later early historians followed suit by naming the black slave Quamino Dolly, often citing McCall or later historians as sources. Dawson cites Campbell’s use of a ‘negro,’ and then names Dolly, but without a citation for the name source. Held in folklore, the story of Quamino, also called Quash Dolly, exists with many elaborations that included the presentation of a gold coin for his services, though his name is nowhere to be found in primary source documentation.[98]
McCall wrote that Baird’s men passed unperceived and without opposition…having reached the White bluff road which enters through the South common of the town, in the rear of the American troops.[99] Campbell wrote that “During the course of this movement, our artillery were formed in a field on our left of the road, [facing the American right] concealed from the enemy by a swell of ground in front, from which I meant to run them up for action when the signal was made to engage…”[100] This also as a precautionary measure to cannonade any rebel detachments that might discover and attack Baird’s light infantry.
With Campbell’s display of troops preparing to assault the American left, General Howe ordered his cannons to open fire. Campbell wrote, “The regiment of Wellworth was formed upon the left of the artillery, and the enemy continued to amuse themselves with their cannon without any return upon our part…”[101]
Meanwhile, the Americans opened upon the enemy with cannon. This fire provoked no reply. Sir James Baird and the light infantry, having fairly gained the rear of the right of General Howe’s army, issued from the swamp and attacked a body of militia which had been posted to guard the road leading to the Great Ogechee ferry. This force was quickly put to flight.[102] Baird quickly charged the Georgia militia on the far rebel right. At the sound of these guns Colonel Campbell ran his Hessian field-pieces to the front and opened a heavy cannonade. He at the same time ordered a vigorous charge all along his line.[103] By the unexpected attack on the right and rear, the American line was broken : general Howe ordered a retreat, which was made in great confusion.[104]
Part of General Howe’s Battle Plans drawn up the morning of December 29th, included a contingent in the advent of retreat. “The artillery, when ordered or forced to retreat, are to fall into the road leading to the western defile, where Colonel Roberts is to take as advantageous a post as possible, to protect the retreat of the line.”[105]
The American center and left under General Howe and Colonel Huger, with his South Carolinians directly under his command, retreated through the city towards the causeway to the west of town across Musgrove’s Swamp.[106] Because of Colonel Roberts extraordinary exertions, Howe and Huger led their men successfully over the causeway to escape the enemy’s onslaught.[107] They, along with the entire American line had to run across a plain in front of Sir Baird’s light-infantry, which had by this time dispersed the Georgia militia and taken their cannon. Baird immediately ordered his men press forward and attack the retreating rebels.[108] The provincials flying in confusion through the town of Savannah, were closely pursued by the British troops.[109]
Colonel Elbert’s Georgia Continentals, further along the left of the line, was less fortunate than Howe’s and Huger’s commands. They had continued to fight, but upon retreating towards the causeway at Musgrave swamp, the enemy by then had taken possession of it. Elbert’s men took their only choice for escape, to the rice fields and Musgrave Creek between the causeway and the Savannah River. In a frantic run for safety, Elbert’s men were exposed to a galling fire from the high grounds of Ewensburg near the causeway. With the rice fields at high water, those hoping to avoid capture jumped into the cold water and swam towards the far bank. Many drowned trying to avoid capture while those who could not swim or refused to enter the water, were made prisoner.[110] Mordecai Sheftall, who along with his son Benjamin were in Elbert’s regiment, wrote of their plight by Musgrove Creek:
“When I endeavoured, with my son Sheftall, to make our escape across Musgrove Creek…upon seeing Colonel Samuel Elbert and Major James Habersham endeavour to make their escape that way, but on our arrival at the creek, after having sustained a very heavy fire of musketry from the light infantry under the Command of Sir James Baird, during the time we were crossing the Common…we found it high water; and my son, not knowing how to swim, and we with about one hundred and eight-six officers and privates, being caught as it were in a pen, and the Highlanders keeping up a constant fire on us, it was thought advisable to surrender ourselves prisoners.” He continued to record that “…the Highlanders plundered every one amongst us…” [111]
As for Colonel Walton’s Georgia militia, they were destroyed. Posted on the far right of the American line, they received the shock of the light infantry column led by Sir Baird. According to Jones the conflict was spirited, but of short duration. Colonel Walton, was wounded in his thigh and fell from his horse and captured. Pressed by Baird from the southeast, this command in retreating into the town was met by the enemy in hot pursuit…It suffered terribly, and was wholly killed, wounded, or captured.[112] It appeared, in heat of battle, civilians fell to the charge of Campbell’s men. Jones wrote, that some of its members – inhabitants of Savannah – were bayonetted in the streets by their victorious pursuers.[113] DeLancey wrote, “…the Rebels were so intimidated that they fled with the utmost Consternation, leaving us in quick Possession of the Town. Forty Officers and upwards of Five hundred Men were killed or taken in a Space of Time almost incredible. We took Possession of the Town with the trifling Loss…”[114] Instead of a siege of days, with the first shots fired on Brewton’s Hill, the American army was routed and the city fell, all within a few hours.
Casualties
Campbell is thorough in his report to Secretary Germain of losses suffered by the Americans. “Thirty-eight officers of different distinctions, and four hundred and fifteen non-commissioned officers and privates…Eighty-three of the enemy were found dead on the Common, and eleven wounded…By the accounts received from their prisoners, thirty lost their lives in the swamp [Elbert’s men attempting to swim Musgrove Creek] endeavoring to make their escape.” [115] Dawson added that among those made prisoners included the sick, wounded, and the aged inhabitants of the town and country.[116]
Of British losses, Campbell trumpeted to his superiors “…without any other loss on our side than that of Captain Peter Campbell, a gallant officer of Skinner’s light-infantry,[117] and two privates killed, one sergeant and nine privates wounded…” [118] When including the three killed and five wounded at Brewton’s Hill, British losses, according to Campbell, were six killed and fifteen wounded. Dawson’s figures, citing McCall for the total number, included a Lt. French and drummer placing the British casualties at seven killed and nineteen wounded.[119] The loss of the enemy was Captains Cameron and Campbell, and five privates, killed ; and Lieutenant French, one drummer, and seventeen privates, wounded.
Campbell wrote of the immense bounty of war’s spoils having captured, “…one stand of colors, forty-eight pieces of cannon, twenty-three mortars, ninety-four barrels of powder, the fort [Fort Halifax on the Savannah River] with all its stores…and, in short, the capital of Georgia, the shipping in the harbor, with a large quantity of provisions, fell into our possession before it was dark…”[120]
According to McCall, the private soldiers made prisoner were alternately persuaded and threatened to induce them to enlist into the British army: those who resolutely refused were crowded on board of prison-ships, and during the succeeding summer, four or five of them died every day.[121]
Afterwards
Howe tried to rally on the west side of Musgrove’s swamp, but “the impetuosity of the enemy in pursuit, foiled every effort for that purpose…” Only three field pieces were brought off with a loss of some small arms. Howe retreated to Cherokee hill, eight miles “where he halted until the rear came up, and then marched up the Savannah river to the Sister’s and Zubley’s ferry’s and crossed over into South Carolina.”[122] Having escaped Savannah with a small portion of his army, Howe turned his attention to the two outposts still garrisoned by American forces at Sunbury under Lt. Aaron Smith and Major Joseph Lane. He sent Lieutenant Tennill with orders that they “…evacuate their posts and retreat across the country and join the army at the Sister’s Ferry.” Smith did so, marching 36 hours through swamps and rivers. Lane ignored his orders and joined Captain Dollar[123], commanding a corps of artillery, to defend the fort [Fort Morris] at Sunbury.[124]
McCall recorded that on the first notice of the arrival of the transports off the coast of Georgia, General Provost marched, and embarked in boats, two thousand men, consisting of artillery, infantry, loyalists, and Indians. On the 6th of January, that part of his army… landed on Colonel’s island, [Cockspur and the Midway River] seven miles south of Sunbury, about ten o’clock in the morning and Provost with the light infantry, marched and took possession of the town. Two American gallies and an armed sloop, cannonaded the enemy; but with little effect. The following day [January 9, 1779] the main body of the enemy arrived. Lane’s fort was cannonaded and he soon after surrendered.[125] The Americans lost 24 pieces of artillery with ammunition and provisions, 17 officers, 195 rank and file, including continental troops and militia. Of casualties: American – one captain and three privates killed and seven wounded. British was one private killed and three wounded. Lane was later court-martialed and dismissed from the service.
On the 3d of January General Lincoln, along with 1,200 men, mainly new levies from North Carolina, arrived at Purrysburg a few miles above Savannah, on the Carolina side of the river, where he was joined by general Howe, who gave him in detail an account of the disastrous engagement at Savannah. On the 4th, he was joined by the remnant of Howe’s army, which had been placed under the orders of colonel Huger. General Lincoln finding himself in no condition to advance on his enemy, established his head-quarters at Purrysburg, and waited for the expected reinforcements. A court of inquiry was held; and although General Howe was acquitted, his military reputation never recovered from the shadow cast upon it by the loss of the capital of Georgia.[126]
With Savannah in British hands and the populace placated, many former Georgia Continental and militia officers taking paroles, the entire colony of Georgia was returned under Royal Governor’s Wright’s jurisdiction. On January 17th, General Prevost joined Campbell at Savannah. They laid plans for the complete subjugation of Georgia. On January 22nd, Campbell departed for Augusta, Georgia, 100 miles upriver from Savannah. He easily took the undefended town and sent out word to loyalist militia in South Carolina to join him; however, backcountry armed militiamen throughout Georgia and South Carolina rallied.
At the Battle of Kettle Creek, February 14, 1779, rebel leader Colonel Andrew Pickens attacked and defeated a larger loyalist militia on way to join Campbell. Soon after, Campbell, fearing an uprising of rebel backcountry militiamen reinforced by General Lincoln’ Continental troops, decided to march back to Savannah. Campbell defeated a Continental and Milita force commanded by Colonel Samuel Elbert at the Battle of Brier Creek, March 3, 1779. Campbell continued marching to Savannah. The city’s defenses were strengthened while American General Lincoln continued to request reinforcements and raise local troops. By the fall of 1779, Lincoln and French Admiral d’Estaing joined together in a Franco/American siege of Savannah. This ended in failure with the devastating October, 9th defeat of the allied assault on the city. Within a year, British Supreme Commander would launch a major invasion of the south at Charleston, South Carolina, resulting in the entire capture of the American Southern Army commanded by General Lincoln. Savannah would remain in British hands until it was evacuated July 11, 1782.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ON SAVANNAH DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE WAR IN THE SOUTH, WE RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BOOKS:
OF SIMILAR INTEREST ON REVOLUTIONARY WAR JOURNAL
RESOURCE
Commager, Henry Steele & Morris, Richard B. The Spirit of Seventy-Six: The Story of the American Revolution As Told by Participants. 1958: Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Davis, Robert Scott. “March of the Scopholites.” Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution The Journal. Posted by Charles Baxley on May 13, 2013.
Dawson, Henry B. Battles of the United States, Sea and Land, Vol. 1. 1858: Johnson, Fry, and Company, New York, NY.
DeLancy, Stephen. “We Took Possession of the Town.” Letter from Stephen DeLancy of the American Volunteers to his wife penned on January 14, 1779. American Battlefield Trust.
Degroot, Julien. “In Quamino’s Map,” Errollyn Wallen Illuminates Forgotten American-British History American Composer’s Forum. April 28, 2022
Ford, Worthington Chauncey. British Officers Serving in the American Revolution, 1774 – 1783. 1897: Historical Printing Club, Brooklyn, New York.
Gordon, John W. South Carolina and the American Revolution: A Battlefield History. 2003:University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina.
Gordon, William. The History of the Rise, Progress, and Establishment of the Independence of the United States of America, Vol II and III. 1801: Printed for Samuel Campbell by John Woods, New York, NY.
Harris, Leslie M. Slavery and Freedom in Savannah. 2014: Univ. of Georgia Press, Augusta, GA.
Holton, Woody. Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2021.
Jones, Charles C. The History of Georgia: Volume 2 Revolutionary Epoch. 1883: Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., Boston, MA.
Killion, Ronald G. & Waller, Charles T. Georgia and the Revolution. 1975: Cherokee Publishing Company, Atlanta, GA.
McCall, Hugh. The History of Georgia, Containing Brief Sketches of the Most Remarkable Events Up to the Present Day: Volume 2. 1816: Printed and Published by William T. Williams, Savannah, GA.
Morrill, Dan L. Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution. 1993: The Nautical and Aviation Publishing Company of America, Baltimore, MD.
Ramsaur, Bill. “Liberty County – Midway, Sunbury, and Fort Morris.” American Revolution in Coastal Georgia.
Rogers, Thomas G. “Siege of Savanna During the American Revolutionary War.” 6/12/2006 History Net.
Russell, David Lee. The American Revolution in the Southern Colonies. 2000:McFarland and Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina.
Savannah State College Bulletin Faculty Research Edition. Published by The Savannah State College Volume 26, No. 2 Savannah, Georgia December, 1972 Jackson, Prince A. Jr. President.
Stedman, Charles. The History of the Origin, Progress, and Termination of the American War… vol. II. 1794: Printed for the Author, London, UK.
Wilson, David K (2005). The Southern Strategy: Britain’s Conquest of South Carolina and Georgia, 1775–1780. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press.
ENDNOTES
[1] Due to infighting and lack of cooperation between leaders of local state governments in control of militia and Continental troop commanders, three invasions of East Florida failed; mainly due to lack of supplies and coordination of troop preparedness and placement. The first invasion in 1776 conducted by General Charles Lee never reached their destination, due to yellow fever and malaria in the marshes and swamps of the Ogeechee River. . The second, strife with bickering between provincial legislatures and Continental officers, resulted in the failed Battle of Thomas Creek on May 17, 1777 by General Augustine Prevost’s regulars and loyalist Georgian Thomas ‘Burnfoot’ Brown leading his Florida Rangers. The third attempt resulted in the same conflict between rebel forces and similar results at Alligator Bridge, June 30, 1778, in a military defeat by General Prevost’s forces.
[2] Ibid, pg. 98.
[3] Russel pg. 97.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Commodore Sir Hyde Parker is sometimes confused with Commodore Peter Parker who led the Naval Fleet that transported General Clinton’s 1776 failed invasion of Charleston and the Battle of Sullivan’s Island, June 28, 1776. Sir Hyde Parker would later become best friends with his junior officer, Horatio Nelson who, after the Battle of Copenhagen during the Napoleonic Wars, as Parker’s second, replaced Parker as commanding admiral after Parker was considered too timid to lead a fleet.
[7] Lt. Colonel Archibald Campbell had recently been exchanged for Ethan Allen. Lt. Colonel Archibald Campbell, leading the 71st Highland regiment, arrived Boston Harbor on June 16, 1776 with a detachment of his regiment. He was unaware that British General Howe had evacuated Boston some months earlier and he was soon surrounded by American privateers. In lightly armed transports, he suffered many casualties before forced to surrender. Ethan Allen, the former Green Mountain Boys’ leader – his men had voted him out after he convinced one and all his ability to down a bottle of rum far exceeded his value as a military leader – been captured during an impromptu and poorly planned attack he led on Montreal, September 25, 1775. The exchange took place in New York City on May 6, 1778. By far the British received the better deal. Campbell returned to lead his 71st Highlanders in the Southern Theatre with capture of Savannah. When Washington received Allen, he knew of the braggard’s incompetence and soon after sent him packing to northern Vermont with a worthless title. There, Allen spent the rest of the war far from hostilities, nursing his pride and the bottle, while treating his drinking buddies to his war epics, imaginary tales far from reality.
[8] Commanger, 1076.
[9] McCall on page 169 states the number of British enemy was two thousand and one hundred.
[10] British 18th century battalion structure can be confusing as regiments and battalions were often interchangeable in historical records. In this case, the 71st Highlanders was among the largest regiment of the British army, around a thousand men. The regiment was arranged into two battalions, each having ten companies that included two flanking companies (light infantry and grenadier) and eight center companies of foot (often forming their own smaller battalion within the unit).
[11] General Cortlandt Skinner, former Royal Attorney General for New Jersey, raised and commanded the New Jersey Volunteers, the largest and most active loyalist unit during the war. Known as Skinner’s Greens, due to their green uniforms, they were from New Jersey and New York, organized into six battalions. They participated in major northern conflicts including Connecticut raids and the Battle of Monmouth, multiple foraging clashes with rebel troops, with detachments playing a principal role in England’s invasion of the southern colonies.
[12] 60th Regiment of Foot, the American Regiment, had been organized in the French and Indian War, consisting of foreign troops stationed in the Americas.
[13] Thomas ‘Burnfoot’ Brown was an avid loyalist. Newly arrived in America from northern England, he had purchased large land holdings to the north of Augusta, Georgia in 1775. Shortly afterwards, he was taken by the local ‘Sons of Liberty’ and tortured resulting in deformed feet; whereas his nickname ‘Burnfoot.’ When war erupted, he escaped capture by living with Native Americans. He became one of the most feared partisan fighters of the southern war, joining General Prevost at St. Augustine. He formed the Florida Rangers who helped defeat three American invasions, 1776, 1777, and 1778. As the war progressed, he became a superintendent of Native American affairs. Besides participating in the two sieges of Savannah, during 1780 and 1781, Brown would lead his newly formed Carolina King’s Rangers during Augusta, Georgia’s two sieges; in which he was captured at the Second Siege and later paroled.
[14] The term Scopholites (also spelt Scoffelites) was a derogatory term by patriot propagandists applied to King’s Men or loyalists of South Carolina. The moniker Scopholites was used in reference to the association with Joseph Coffel, also Scoffield, Scoval, Scophol, etc., a notorious chicken, cattle and hog thief who had been a constable for the area between the Broad and Saluda Rivers prior to 1772. William Moultrie famously described him as an illiterate, stupid, ignorant, and noisy blockhead. Therefore, referring to southern loyalists as bandits and thieves deservedly of mistreatment and vengeance by patriotic Whigs. In 1773, Coffel was whipped for cattle theft and there is no evidence he played any role in the Revolution afterwards. “Scoffelite” also plays on the word “scrofula,” a skin disease popularly known as the “King’s evil,” which supposedly could be cured by a monarch’s touch. The word “Coffle,” meaning animals or slaves chained together from the Arabic word qāfila (caravan) also matches the public treatment of captured Loyalists in 1775. Davis: “March of the Scopholites.”
[15] McCall’s early history of Georgia gives November 24th. David Wilson’s 2005 history states November 26th as Campbell’s date of departure for Savannah. However, Campbell, in his report to Lord Germain on January 16, 1779, confirm the departure was the 27th.
[16] Brigadier General Howe had been in charge of the military at Charleston and Savannah under Brigadier General James Moore, also of North Carolina, who commanded the Southern Continental Army. With Moore’s death on April 9, 1777, Howe was given charge of the army; appointed a Major General on October 20, 1777.[16] Howe was embroiled in a continual confrontation and multiple controversies with Georgia legislatures who ruled that they commanded all partisan militia forces and military supplies. After the second failure to capture East Florida, including accusations of improper conduct with southern women, Congress bowed to political pressure and replaced Howe with Major General Benjamin Lincoln.
[17] McCall, pg. 169.
[18] Ibid.
[19] McCall pg. 181.
[20] Gen. Lincoln was marching with a body of men to join Howe, and arrived at Purisburgh (Perrysburg) on the 3rd day of January, only 4 days after Howe’s defeat.” Jones, pg. 319
[21] Sources differ as to the exact number of Continental and militia troops who would be fit for duty when the British fleet arrived at Savannah. McCall, a principal early secondary source placed the total number at 675. Most other accounts agree or put the number closer to 750. Dawson wrote that on the morning of the battle, Howe had 820 men, Dawson, Vol 1, pg. 474.
[22] Colonel White was a former naval surgeon who settled in America. He would be labeled the Hero of Ogeechee: On the night of October 1, 1779, during the American/French Siege of Savannah, the rebels prevented a detachment of 111 British troops from reaching Savannah. The British, under Captain French, had camped on the Ogeechee River. Colonel John White, a Georgia Continental, with only two officers, a sergeant and three privates, tricked French into thinking that the camp was surrounded by a larger force by lighting fires in the woods around the camp, as if a whole army was bivouacked there; White demanded the detachment surrender, and the whole British command was taken prisoner.
[23] Colonel Baker had been slightly wounded in mid-November 1778 while confronting Maj. Mark Prevost’s force. Jones, pg 308.
[24] Colonel Roberts would be killed at Stono Ferry, June 20, 1779
[25] John Houstoun, of Scots’ aristocracy, was from a wealthy family in the Savannah, Georgia region. A successful lawyer, he was one of the first in the region to support the growing rebellion against England; original member of the Sons of Liberty and Georgia’s Correspondence of Safety. He represented Georgia at the first Congressional Assembly in 1775, but did not return the following year. He was active in the Invasions of East Florida, often in controversy with Continental commanding officers. He was elected governor in 1778 and as such, took over command of Georgia militia. After Savannah fell, Houstoun went into hiding, remaining such until the British abandoned Savannah in 1782. He returned to Savannah and was elected Georgia’s governor, 1784-1785.
[26] General Howe had marched the main Continental detachments from Savannah on November 18th to Sunbury on the Medway River, further downstream from the Medway settlement. Though he did not arrive until November 27th, Colonel White’s 4th Georgia regiment had marched directly for the Medway settlement. The 4th had been formed in Pennsylvania in early 1777 from mainly British regular deserters.
[27] Jones, pg. 305.
[28] McCall, pg. 156.
[29] Thomas Glascock would later be aide to General Casimir Pulaski. At the Battle of Savannah, Oct. 9, 1779, he reportedly was beside Pulaski when the cavalry leader was wounded, dying within a couple of days. Glascock was captured twice during the way. He was commissioned a Brigadier General in 1780. He later was a delegate at the Constitution Convention representing Georgia. He died in 1810 at age 54.
[30] Many period historical accounts claim that the British found the wounded Screven and shot him several times while a captive. Other accounts make little mention the general being further shot while captive. Ramsay’s History of the Revolution in South Carolina, vol. 2, details Screven’s being shot and harsh treatment after his capture leading to his death. Thomas Charleton in his 1809 text Life of Major General James Jackson, described the incident differently. McCall’s History of Georgia wrote American doctors were sent to attend Screven who reported his wounds were mortal. Colonel Prevost, in a letter to Colonel White, dated Nov. 22nd, admits Screven was shot by one of the loyalist rangers during captivity.
[31] Zubley’s Ferry was about 34 miles northwest of Savannah on the Savannah River. The ferry no longer exists but markers were placed near present day unincorporated Clyo.
[32] Lt. Colonel John McIntosh, born 1748, was a captain in the 1st Georgia Continental Regiment and later Lt. Colonel in the 3rd Georgia, with whom he successfully defended Ft. Morris. He was later wounded and taken prisoner at the rebel defeat at Briar Creek, March 3, 1779. After his release, he married in 1781 and moved to Florida, then after taken prisoner and paroled by the Spanish, back to Georgia. During the War of 1812, he was commissioned a general in charge of Georgia’s coastal positions.
[33] Jones, pg. 283.
[34] Ibid., pg. 308.
[35] Also Bermuda Island.
[36] Jones, pg. 308.
[37] Fuser was referring to Lt. Colonel Campbell’s fleet from the north, General Prevost from St. Augustine, Colonel Mark Prevost from Medway, and his own guns stationed outside the earthworks.
[38] Jones, pg. 310.
[39] Ibid., pg. 311.
[40] Ibid., pg. 313.
[41] McCall, pg. 164.
[42] Jones, pg. 314.
[43] McCall gives a detailed account of this deposition, pg. 165.
[44] Jones, pg. 314.
[45] Ibid., pg. 318.
[46] McCall, pg. 169.
[47] Most accounts rank Isaac Huger as Brigadier General during the 1778 attack on Savannah. Huger was not promoted to that rank until January 9, 1779. He was wounded at Stono Ferry, June 20, 1779, fought at the failed American Siege of Savannah, Oct. 9, 1779, his regiment was surprised and decimated in an early morning attack by British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton at Monck’s Corner April 14, 1780, he commanded a brigade of Virginia Contentals at Guilford Courthouse on March 15, 1781, commanded the same brigade at Hobkirk’s Hill on April 25, 1781, and afterwards returned home for the duration of the war.
[48] George Walton, a successful Savannah lawyer and avid patriot, represented Georgia during the Second Congressional Assembly and was present to sign the Declaration of Independence. Jan. 9, 1778, Walton was commissioned to lead the 1st Georgia Militia Regiment. Commanding the Georgia militia at the 1778 Battle of Savannah, he was wounded and captured. He was imprisoned at Sunbury until exchanged in Oct. 1779. This ended his military service. He was a delegate to Congress again from 1780-1781 and would serve as Governor of Georgia, briefly in early 1779, and again after the war.
[49] Russell, pg. 101.
[50] Jones, pg. 318.
[51] Thunderbolt is a bluff along the eastern portion of Savannah, named for a Native American legend that a bolt of lightning struck and split a rock from which a spring gushed forth. In 1733, General James Oglethorpe realized the military importance of the Thunderbolt bluff overlooking the river and built a settlement and fort that guarded the entrance to Savannah. During the 1779 Franco/American Siege of Savannah, French commander d’Estaing used Thunderbolt as a staging area for the October 9th battle.
[52] Jones, pg. 315.
[53] Commager, pg. 1076.
[54] Stedman, pg. 69.
[55] In Campbell’s after-action report to Lord Germain, he wrote that he ordered the raid to gather information on Dec. 25th. McCall and Jones inaccurately recorded that the raid was issued on December 27th. This confusion may stem from Campbell’s report in which he stated he and Commodore Parker discussed the information and decided to land troops the next evening. The key is when the decision to land the troops the next evening occurred. Did it do so on the 26th, the day after the raid? Or did it occur the 27th, which would be timelier. His transports crossed the bar on the 28th, but could not land until the following morning, the 29th and day of battle. McCall and other historians may have taken Campbell at his word that he ordered the troops to cross the bar the next evening after the raid and backtracked from the 29th, day of battle. This would place the raid on the 27th, which is averse to Campbell’s report in which he stated the raid occurred on the 25th. Comanager, 1077; Dawson, vol. I. 473; According to Dawdson, Gordon, vol. iii, pg. 213, Gordon, vol. ii, pg. 403.
[56] Russell, pg. 101.
[57] Commager, pg. 1077.
[58] Jones, pg. 315.
[59] Commager, pg. 1077.
[60] McCall, pg. 168.
[61] Commager, pg. 1077
[62] McCall, pg. 168
[63] Commager, pg. 1077
[64] Dawson, pg. 477, Commager, pg. 1077.
[65] Colonel George Turnbull, loyalist, commanded the New York Volunteers. He was instrumental in the 1777 capture of Forts Clinton and Montgomery in the Hudson Valley as well as a decisive victory against rebel leader General Thomas Sumtner at the Battle of Rocky Mount, July 30, 1780.
[66] Colonel John Maitland, was commissioned a Captain of Royal Marines in 1767. He lost his right arm in action during the Seven Years War and was put on half pay. He returned to active duty in 1775 as a major. He became lieutenant-colonel of the 1st Battalion, 71st Regiment of Foot on 14 October 1778, holding that rank during the capture of Savannah. Maitland later successfully defended the redoubt at the Battle of Stono, June 20, 1779. He later entered Savannah while it was under a Franco/American Siege. The addition of his 71st Highlanders proved indispensable to the British defenses, helping to thrown back a French/American assault on October 9, 1779, leading to the French and rebel withdrawal. Maitland became feverish and died of malaria shortly after the siege was listed, October 22, 1779.
[68] Jones gives this as 800 yards, pg. 315
[69] McCall, pg. 172.
[70] Stephen DeLancey, grandson of the founder of the DeLancey dynasty in New York, Stephen DeLancey, followed most of his wealthy family’s sentiment and remained a loyalist throughout the war. In 1777, he was appointed captain of the Westchester Chasseurs, a troop of light horse known for harassing enemy depots. In 1776, he was commissioned Lt. Colonel in the 1st Battalion New Jersey Volunteers. He would serve in Georgia as Lt. Colonel of the 2nd Battalion. Returning to the New York region, he would once more lead the 1st Battalion. In Westchester, which throughout most of the war was contested between rebel and British forces as a neutral ‘no-man’s land,’ his men were often called ‘DeLancey’s cowboys.
[71] Commager, pg. 1077, Dawson, pg. 477.
[72] McCall, pg. 171.
[73] Jones, pg. 318.
[74] DeLancey, “We Took Possession of the Town.”
[75] McCall, pg. 172.
[76] Dawson, pg. 477, Commager, pg. 1077.
[77] DeLancey, “We Took Possession of the Town.”
[78] The genius of Google’s AI states Captain Cameron was not killed but wounded. AI blew it, mixing up the commander of a company of 71st Highlanders with the Indian agent Captain Alexander Cameron. There were several officers of the 71st regiment named Cameron. Most held the rank of lieutenant or ensign. A couple rising to the rank of captain; however, only one, Charles Cameron, rose from Lieutenant to Captain within the time span that would place him leading a company of light infantry at Savannah. Charles Cameron had enlisted with Fraser’s Highlanders in 1761 as a lieutenant. He was still a lieutenant in 1775. By August 3, 1778, he was commissioned a captain. This writer believes it was Captain Charles Cameron who was killed along the causeway leading to Brewer’s Bluff.
[79] Ibid.
[80] Dawson, pg. 478, Commager pg. 1077.
[81] Ibid., pg. 169.
[82] Sir James Wright, third and final royal governor of Georgia and strong loyalist. He remained the royal governor of Georgia from 1761 until 1782. He fled Georgia in 1776, returning to reclaim his royal governorship when Campbell captured Savannah. He would remain at his post until the war’s end, returning to London in 1782
[83] The exact number of Georgia militia has varied from 100 to 200 men throughout main historical accounts. The number most likely is somewhere between.
[84] Fort Halifax, (built 1760-62) later Fort Prevost for British Gen. Augustine Prevost after Savannah was captured, and later still Fort Wayne, named for ‘Mad’ Anthony Wayne after the war, was the first proper fort near Savannah on the eastern bluff. It was a square fort constructed of wood planks, with a caponier (a covered defensive position) at each corner. Its location is at present day Emmet Park.
The fort, constructed around 1760-1762
[85] Jones, pg. 319.
[86] Always cautious when researching secondary sources, David Russell’s The American Revolution in the Southern Colonies, 2000, penned several critical mistakes in his explanation of this action. He wrote that the Highlanders brandished their large claymores and the Americans fled from a low hill (referencing Brewton’s Hill). The highlanders charged with the bayonet before the rebels could get off a second shot and the Americans retreated. Importantly, the large claymores, though historically used by the Scotts in battle, particularly against the British, were not present when Highlanders filled British army ranks. Also of more critical importance, Russell’s has the positioning of Howe’s army backwards. He has Howe’s right facing the American right of militia and South Carolina, and the British left facing the American left of Georgia Continentals. He cited Dan Morrill’s 1993 text on Southern Campaigns during the war as his source; however, Mr. Morrill got it right – Russell wrote it backwards.
[87] Most historical accounts concur that all of Campbell’s troops had yet to be assembled before the American line prior to battle. The earliest biographer, Steadman, published in 1794 that the British troops were accordingly put in motion, even before the last division of them was landed, pg. 70.
[88] DeLancey, “We Took Possession of the Town.”
[89] Dawson, pg. 478, Commager, pg. 1077.
[90] Dawson, pg. 475.
[91] Steadman, pg. 70.
[92] Dawson, pg. 478, Commager, pg. 1077.
[93] Dawson, pg. 475. Steadman, pg. 70.
[94] Morrill, pg. 45.
[95] McCall, pg. 171.
[96] Jones, pg. 320.
[97] Gordon, Vol II, pg. 403.
[98] Questions continue to arises as the veracity of naming Quamino Dolly as the black slave to guide British troops through the swamp. A search online reveals dozens of references to Quamino Dolly. However, there are no citations as to verification of the source of their information. Those who do cite, refer to Lt. Colonel Campbell’s report that only mentions a ‘Negro,’ with no name. A scholarly work in the Faculty Research Edition of the Savannah State College Bulletin, Volume 26, No. 2, Savannah, Georgia, 1772: has a chapter devoted to the Dolly family of Savannah and details Quamino’s role as a guide for Campbell’s force, but again, no citation beyond Campbell’s report who does not name Quamino. A most recent text on African Americans in the war, written by Woody Holton, Liberty is Sweet; the Hidden History…, states Quamino Dolly led the British through the swamp, but throughout his text, he mainly relies on secondary sources – which is the case with Quamino. An opera recently performed by the Chicago Opera, Quamino’s Map, by Errollyn Wallen, depicts loyalist African Americans who sought freedom in England after the war – historical Quamino is present in the cast.
[99] McCall, pg. 174.
[100] Dawson, pg. 478, Commager, pg. 1077.
[101] Ibid.
[102] McCall, pg. 476.
[103] Jones, pg. 320. Steadman, pg. 71.
[104] McCall, pg. 174
[105] Ibid., pg. 170.
[106] Dawson, pg. 476.
[107] McCall, pg. 174.
[108] Steadman, pg. 72.
[109] Ibid., pg. 71
[110] Dawson, pg. 476.
[111] Killion, pg. 187.
[112] Jones, pg. 321.
[113] Ibid.
[114] DeLancey, “We Took Possession of the Town.”
[115] Dawson, pg. 478, Commager, pg. 1077.
[116] Dawson, pg. 476.
[117] Campbell refers to Colonel Cortlandt Skinner who led the New Jersey Volunteers. Skinner’s actions in and around New York City were held by many to be contemptable. Especially in Westchester County, New York, just north of the city, which became a ‘no-man’s land’ of foraging parties of both rebel and British forces. His ranging bands of ‘Skinner’s Greens’ were also called Cowboys or Skinners; whose actions during foraging raids, attacked indiscriminately, pillaging and plundering both rebel and loyalist homesteads.
[118] Dawson, pg. 478, Commager, pg. 1077.
[119] McCall, pg. 175. Dawson, pg. 476.
[120] Ibid.
[121] McCall pg. 177.
[122] McCall, pg. 177.
[123] Research of Captain Dollar, commander of a company of artillery at Sunbury, produced no other reference to his existence outside citations of the early historian McCall’s text on the History of Georgia.
[124] McCall, pg. 177.
[125] Ibid, pg. 178-179.
[126] Jones, pg. 323.