The Savannah morning news., 1902-10-09
FIERCE BATTLE RACED
1873 YEARS AGO
The Story of the Famous Fight at Savannah
Oct 9, 1870.
BY J. H. ESTlLL.

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central defenses of the town, and it
was natural to suppose that ii was
there that the besiegers would look for
the assault. AS it was, the attack
would doubtless have been successful
had the British not been advised or
the intentions of the allies in time to
concentrate at the point of assault.
The number of their dead and wound
ed attest the bravery of the French
and Americans. The fighting lasted
less than an hour, and the unknown
graves of 81 Frenchmen and 300 Amer
leans. among them those of Maj. John
Jones and Sergt. William Jasper, buried
on the battlefield, are evidences that
it was hard fought fight.
D'Estaing returned to France to en-
joy his well-earned fame, and fell a
victim to the guillotine during the
Reign of Terror. 1t was one of the
sad fantasies of fate that many of the
French nobility who shed their blood
and spent their fortunes in assisting
in establishing an American Republic,
went to their death at the hands of
the authorities of a French republic,
whose very existence was due to the
love of liberty which those noblemen
brought back with them from America.
nah was an Irish regiment in the brig
ade of Count Dillon and two regiments
of free mulattoeS from the island of
Martinique, where an eruption of Mount
Pelee a few months since caused a
terrible loss of life, and the island of
Guadalupe.
The capture of the town of Savannah
by the British on the 29th of December,
I'D ha Cark en INN IN
of the state by them, was a stag
gering blow to the patriotic cause, and
Gen. Lincoln's efforts in the spring of
the following year to curtail the opera
tons of the enemy in Georgia, led to
the invasion of South Carolina by Gen.
Provost and Col. Campbell, and the
devastation of the country from the
Savannah river to Charleston by the
British and a threatened attack .on
that town.
1t was apparent to the patriots that
unless the British were driven out of
Georgia, there was imminent danger
that South Carolina would also suffer,
and the events of the following eigh-
teen months proved their fears to be
well founded The enemy by main
tanning themselves in Savannah after
the defeat of the French and Ameri-
can armies, not only held
ter state. Charleston fell, and
with it came disasters that were
not wholly retrieved until the surren-
der of CORVALLIS at Yorktown.
Gov. Rutledge and the patriots of
South Carolina, therefore, fully realized
the Importance to that state of the re-
capture of Georgia's capital and bent
every energy to that end.
Taking advan~Sg e of the presence of
the large French fleet in the West In
dies, Gov. Rutledge and Gen. Lincoln
asked Count d'Estaing to cooperate
with them in driving the British out
of Georgia and when the time ar
rived every available soldier, continent
tai and militiaman, in South Carolina
was sent to aid in the attack upon Sa-
vannah. Count d Estaing, at the time
when Gov. Rutledge made his request
was receiving congratulations on all
sides because of his successful con-
quest of Granada, and he readily ac-
coded to the request from America, see-
ing in the enterprise further glory for
himself.
The French fleet consisted of twenty
line of battleships, two fifty-gun ships
eleven frigates and five small vessels
besides 5000 soldiers. AS soon as Count
d 'Estaing could assemble his fleet and
embark his troops he set sail from Cape
| Francois, and on the LIST of September
was off the coast of Georgia. Owing
however, to the stormy weather, he was
unable to enter Tybee until the 9Th
when part of the fleet crossed the bar
and the British vessels that were not
captured took refuge up the river. The
fleet, in entering the river, was fired
upon from Fort Tybee, but troops were
promptly landed and, led by the gal
liant d Estaing in person, advanced ia
the attack only to find that the PEitish
garrison had fed to Lazaretto creek
and found safety oon their retreatins
war vessels. 1t is related that Count
d Estaing, after having sentinels post
ed, laid down and went quietly to
| sleep.
The next day the frigate Amazon
which had been sent to Charleston
with Maj. Gen. Viscount d'Fontanges
to notify Gen. Lincoln of the arrival OF
the French fleet and army. returned
with Col. Cambray of the Continental
Engineer Corps; Col. Thomas Pinck-
ney, aid to Gen. Lincoln; Capt. Gads-
den, and other American officers, and
also pilots acquainted with the coast
and small boats in which to disembark
the troops. The French on Tybee were
re-embarked and Count d'Estaing
fleet headed for Ossabaw. From the re-
ports which have come down to us II
! seems that like some of our Septem-
| bers that of 1879 was very windy, and
! therefore there were further delays be-
| fore a landing was effected at Beau
lieu, and the first troops were not dis
| embarked until Sunday, the 18th.
y I1NN1n ell