Written By: John Maclean, Author and Resident
In 1776, the Sons of Liberty seized Savannah and arrested Royal Governor Wright, who escaped. The British were unhappy. In late 1778, the British left New York with troops and headed south. No one knew where they were going. They might be going to Charleston, the Sugar Islands, or anywhere.
Instead, they stopped at Tybee, letting off a few troops who found nothing but pleasant sand dunes. Finally, on December 29, 1778, they landed at Girardeau’s Plantation near the current Islands Expressway immediately next to Causton’s Bluff. They were led by Colonel Campbell with roughly 3,000 troops of Highlanders, New York Loyalists, and Hessians.
Defending Savannah was General Howe with a smaller force composed mostly of militia with a few Continentals. Militia could not stand against British regulars and would flee at the sight of a bayonet charge. Militia was best used when fighting behind protection, such as a wall or amongst trees.
A small group of soldiers contested the British landing, but the British regulars quickly overran the position. The path that has become the Islands Expressway was little more than the top of a causeway.
Howe waited in Savannah, hoping the rising land to the City would offer some protection. Fort Wayne at Trustee’s Gardens was not built of stone at that time, but was more of a hill where dueling would occur.
Colonel Campbell marched his troops down the causeway toward Savannah with large rice fields on either side. He was not looking forward to a frontal assault. Somewhere along the way, he discovered an enslaved person from Governor Wright’s Plantation who showed him a way through the rice fields that led to Wheaton Street.
Campbell sent troops that way, and they outflanked Howe, leading to a chaotic retreat by Howe’s men toward Mary Musgrove Creek and through the city. Some fought back behind the tombstones of Colonial Cemetery. Others drowned in the creek or were bayoneted by the British. Many just surrendered on the spot. Soon, the British took control of Savannah and remained until 1782, when they left. The British left because the War was over, except for the final treaty, and they had lost control of the southern colonies.
As you pass Waffle House on President’s Street, look toward the riverbank. On December 29, 1778, during the Revolutionary War, the British launched an assault to retake Savannah.
