Old Jewish Burial Ground

Established by Mordecai Sheftall on August 2, 1773, from lands granted him in 1762 by King George III, this burial ground was set aside to remain a place of burial for all persons professing the Jewish religion. During the ill-fated attempt by French forces under Admiral Charles Henri, Comte d'Estaing, and American forces under General Benjamin Lincoln to recapture Savannah from the British, Lincoln's Orders of the Day for October 8, 1779, designated the Jew's burying ground as a rallying place where the reserve would be placed if the redoubt was not carried. According to Captain Antoine-Francoise Terance O'Connor, a military engineer serving with the French forces, shortly after 4:00 AM on October 9, 1779, the reserve corps commanded by M. le Vicomte de Noailles advanced as far as the old Jewish cemetery, and four 4-pounders were placed on its right and a little to the rear.

Savannah, Georgia · United States