The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-07
A MILITARY CITY:


officers and men Of the Seventh Army
Corps seems 10 be that Savannah is an
ideal place for a military rendezvous Be
sides the typographical and geographical
advantages of the place, there appears TO
be a deep-seated fellow feeling between
the soldiers and the citizens. This may
be explained by the fact that Savannah
is peculiarly a military city, and mas
been such for generations. There are
but few of the white male citizens who
are not in some manner connected with
The volunteer military. Many Of the older
residents are veterans of the war of Sc
cession. They know what soldering"
means, and have a warm feeling for the
men in uniform.
Savannah's military record begins al
most with the beginning Of her history.
When the Spaniards advanced from Flor
ida, intent upon destroying the young col
ony of Georgia, Oglethorpe met and de-
feated them; and he was accompanied by
a full quota of Savannahians bearing
arms. Then followed continuous alarms
of Indian wars, which had the effect of
keeping SaYannah's people constantly or
gained into military companies. During
the Revolutionary war the city was twice
besieged. 1t was captured by the British
in 177S and in 1879 it was besieged by the
allied Americans and French, under Lin
coin and DEstaing. In the assault many
heroes met their fate, among them Count
Pulaski and Sergt. Jasper, to whose mem
DRY enduring shafts of granite have been
erected here. The American army, under
Gems. Nathaniel Green and Anthony
Wayne, pressed the British so hard that
they withdrew before the war had actu-
ally ended.
Then followed series of Indian trou-
bles, and a speck of a French war cloud,
and then the war of 1912. In the latter
the entire militia of Savannah was on
duty. The British feet constantly menac-
ed the coast, and In some cases landed
troops on the Georgia islands. Following
came a succession of troubles with the
Creeks and the Cherokees, in which Sa-
vannah furnished troops. Later came the
Florida Indian wars of the 3Os. Savannah
volunteer soldiers took the field, and the
city was the rendezvous for a part OF the
regular army. Oglethorpe Barracks, the
site of which is now occupied by the De
Soto hotel, was famous In army circles
in those days
Savannah sent company to the Mexi-
can war as part of the Georgia volun-
teer regiment. That company was the
Irish Jasper Greens. The colonel of the
regiment was the late Gen. Henry r.
Jackson of this city.
Next came the great war of secession.
Savannah furnished to the Confederate
armies, in whole or in part, the First,
Twenty-fifth, Forty seventh, Fifty
fourth and Sixty-third Georgia Reg
iments, the Eighteenth Georgia Battalion
of Infantry, the Twenty-second Battalion
of Artillery, the Chatham Artillery, the
Fifth Georgia Cavalry and numerous COM
panies attached to other commands These
soldiers represented and illustrated her on
a hundred battlefields and were at the
front while the war lasted. For four
years the city was the scene of active mil
itary life, and finally suffered another
siege-that of Gen. Sherman.
In the recent Cor present. war with
Spain, Savannah, true to her record, came
forward in response to the Presidents call
with more than 1000 volunteers; other
wise, she sent into the service one-thrd
of the number of men asked for from the
whole state
This brief statement is sufficient to show
why Savannah likes the soldiers, and why
the soldiers like Savannah. The men of
the Seventh Corps feel at home here, be-
cause they are among a people who are
imbued with the military spirit, who know
what army life is. and who appreciate
American soldiers for their sterling quail
ties.