Attack on British Lines

On October 9, 1779, one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolution was fought at Savannah, where combined American and French forces attacked a British-held town after a three weeks siege. In this area stood the Spring Hill Redoubt and part of the entrenchments the British had built around Savannah. Early that day, the Allies stormed the enemy works here. The opposing armies included American Continentals, Grenadiers of Old France, Irishmen serving King Louis XVI, Polish Lancers, French Creoles, and Negro volunteers from Haiti fighting for American independence, against English Redcoats, Scotch Highlanders, Hessians, Royalist provincials from New York, Tory militia, armed slaves, and Cherokee Indians. After a heroic effort to dislodge the British, the Allies retired with heavy losses, the siege was lifted, and the French fleet sailed from Georgia, ending an episode of far-reaching significance in the American Revolution.

Savannah, Georgia · United States