— Ch. 1 · Founding And Colonial Origins —
Savannah, Georgia.
~4 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
On the 12th of February 1733, General James Oglethorpe and settlers from the ship Anne landed at Yamacraw Bluff. They were greeted by Tomochichi, the leader of the Yamacraw people, along with Indian traders John and Mary Musgrove. Mary Musgrove often served as an interpreter for the new arrivals. The city of Savannah and the colony of Georgia were founded on that date. King George II sent Oglethorpe to create a buffer south of the Savannah River. This buffer was designed to protect the British Carolinas from Spanish Florida and French Louisiana. In 1751, Savannah and the rest of Georgia became a Royal Colony. Savannah served as its capital until December 1804 when the state legislature declared Milledgeville the new capital.
Revolutionary And Civil War History
By the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Savannah had become the southernmost commercial port in the Thirteen Colonies. British troops took the city in 1778. The following year, a combined force of American and French soldiers failed to rout the British at the Siege of Savannah. Haitian soldiers fought alongside these forces during that siege. The British did not leave the city until July 1782. During the Civil War, Savannah was the Confederacy's sixth most populous city. It was also the prime objective of Major General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea. On the 21st of December 1864, local authorities negotiated a peaceful surrender to save Savannah from destruction. Union troops marched into the city at dawn. Franklin Square holds a monument commemorating the Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Domingue who fought for the American side in the Revolutionary War.