The siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell. The siege itself consisted of a joint Franco-American attempt to retake Savannah, from September 16 to October 18, 1779. On October 9 a major assault against the British siege works failed. During the attack, Polish nobleman Count Casimir Pulaski, leading the combined cavalry forces on the American side, was mortally wounded. With the failure of the joint attack, the siege was abandoned, and the British remained in control of Savannah until July 1782, near the end of the war.
In 1779, more than 500 recruits from Saint-Domingue (the French colony which later became Haiti), under the overall command of French nobleman Charles Hector, Comte d'Estaing, fought alongside American colonial troops against the British Army during the siege of Savannah. This was one of the most significant foreign contributions to the American Revolutionary War. This French-colonial force had been established six months earlier and included hundreds of soldiers of color in addition to white soldiers and a couple of enslaved black men.
1779Oct, 18
American Revolutionary War: The Franco-American Siege of Savannah is lifted.
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Events on 1779
- 14Feb
Native Hawaiians
James Cook is killed by Native Hawaiians near Kealakekua on the Island of Hawaii. - 24Jun
Great Siege of Gibraltar
American Revolutionary War: The Great Siege of Gibraltar begins. - 13Aug
Attack on Pearl Harbor
American Revolutionary War: The Royal Navy defeats the Penobscot Expedition with the most significant loss of United States naval forces prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. - 23Sep
Battle of Flamborough Head
American Revolution: John Paul Jones on board the USS Bonhomme Richard wins the Battle of Flamborough Head. - 27Sep
John Adams
The Continental Congress appoints John Adams to travel to France as minister plenipotentiary in charge of negotiating treaties of peace and commerce with Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War.