Capture of Savannah

When the British attacked Savannah on December 29, 1778, about 650 Continental troops under Maj. Gen. Robert Howe were posted across Sea Island Road, now Wheaton Street, about 100 yards east of this site. At daybreak, a British force of 2500 under Lt. Col. Archibald Campbell, made up of part of the 71st Highland Regiment, New York Loyalists, and Hessians, landed near Brewton Hill and promptly marched on Savannah. After halting about 800 yards from the American line and deploying for attack, Campbell learned of an unguarded pass through the swamp around the American right and sent Sir James Baird's Light Infantry through it in a successful flanking movement. With the Continental position rendered untenable, Howe ordered Savannah evacuated. During the withdrawal, the Georgia Brigade under Gen. Lachlan McIntosh was cut off and suffered heavy casualties. During the subsequent siege of Savannah by the French and Americans in 1779, the British line of defenses around the town ran through this area.

Savannah, Georgia · United States