Battlefield Park, Savannah

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By 1778 the American Revolution was at full swing. While the British had won, or at least held earned a draw in most early battles, in late 1776 and into 1777 the tides of the war slowly started to swing in favor of the Colonial Army as the British forces were soundly defeated at Trenton, Princeton, Bennington, and Saratoga. These victories brought France into the war on the side of the Colonists, and forced Britain to embark on a new strategy. Britain's efforts in 1778 focused on the southern colonies with an attempt to enlist the support of the large number of southern Loyalists. Their first success in the southern theater was the capture of Savannah, Georgia in late 1778.

After Savannah fell on December 29, 1778, Major General Benjamin Lincoln, commander of Continental Army forces in the South, began organizing an army to retake Savannah. As he gathered some 5,000 men, he also contacted French Admiral the Comte d'Estaing requesting his help blockading the port. D'Estaing arrived on September 12, 1779 along with some 25 war ships and 4,000 soldiers. He bombarded the city from October 3 to 8, destroying many of the buildings, but leaving the defending entrenched British forces unscathed. On October 9, the combined French-Colonist forces, which numbered about 9,000 troops attacked the 3,200 entrenched British. The battle lasted just an hour, with the main assault against the British lines at the Spring Hill Redoubt. The British easily repelled the assault, inflicting over 800 casualties while suffering just 100 killed and wounded of their own. This was the second bloodiest battle of the entire war, costing the life of Polish nobleman Kazimierz Pułaski.

In 2005 parts of the battlefield were rediscovered at the Spring Hill Site, which is considered the focal point of the failed attack. Parts of the original battlefield were excavated, and a replica of the Spring hill Redoubt was constructed nearby.

A plaque on a stone monument marks the spot of the original fortification:

Spring Hill Redoubt

Upon this spot stood the Spring Hill Redoubt.

Here on October 9, 1779 one of the bloodiest engagements of the Revolution was fought when repeated assaults were made by the allied troops of Georgia, South Carolina and France in an effort to retake Savannah from the British.

This small park is located on the site of the Battle of Savannah, which occurred during the Revolutionary War in 1779. Approximately 8000 American, British and French troops fought in the battle, with approximately 800 casualties. The park is very simple, but worth visiting to understand an important episode in Savannah's history.