Savannah

Account of the Death of Count Casimir Pulaski at the Siege of Savannah, October 9, 1779 — Library of Congress

Contemporary accounts of Pulaski's mortal wounding leading the cavalry charge at the Spring Hill Redoubt. Pulaski became one of the most celebrated foreign officers to die in American service; these accounts are the primary evidence for the circumstances of his death.

British Garrison Records: Savannah, 1779-1782 — Public Record Office (National Archives, United Kingdom)

British military administrative records from the Savannah garrison during the occupation. Includes garrison strength returns, Loyalist enrollment records, and engineering reports on the fortifications that successfully resisted the 1779 siege.

Fort Pulaski and the Savannah Revolutionary Heritage: NPS Resources — National Park Service

NPS interpretive resources at Fort Pulaski covering the Revolutionary War history of the Savannah area, including the 1778 British capture, the 1779 Franco-American siege, and the 1782 recapture by American forces.

General Benjamin Lincoln: Correspondence during the Siege of Savannah, September-October 1779 — Massachusetts Historical Society

Lincoln's letters to the Continental Congress and General d'Estaing during the failed Franco-American siege. Reveals the command tensions, the failed assault on October 9, and the agonizing decision to withdraw.

Georgia Historical Society: Revolutionary War Collections — Georgia Historical Society

The oldest institution of its kind in the Deep South, the GHS holds the most extensive collection of Georgia Revolutionary War manuscripts, including the Habersham Family Papers, Bryan Family Papers, and British occupation administrative records.

Georgia State Archives: Revolutionary War Records, 1776-1783 — Georgia Archives

The Georgia Archives hold the state's most significant Revolutionary War manuscript collection, including Georgia Provincial Congress records, militia pay vouchers, pension files, and British occupation period administrative documents.

Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell to Lord Germain: Dispatch on the Capture of Savannah, December 29, 1778 — Public Record Office (National Archives, United Kingdom)

Campbell's official report on the British capture of Savannah, exploiting a local slave's knowledge of a path through the swamp to outflank the American position. The British perspective on the operation that opened the southern theater.

The Siege of Savannah in 1779 (C.C. Jones Jr.) — Joel Munsell (Charles C. Jones Jr.)

Nineteenth-century documentary history compiled by a Georgia historian drawing on primary documents, many now lost. Jones transcribed French and British official reports, American correspondence, and Georgia records in a form that has served as a primary reference for all subsequent scholarship.

Vice-Admiral Comte d'Estaing: Dispatches on the Siege of Savannah, 1779 — Archives nationales (France)

French naval commander's official dispatches covering the arrival of the French fleet, the siege operations, the failed assault of October 9 in which d'Estaing himself was wounded, and the decision to raise the siege. The critical French primary source.

Casimir Pulaski at Savannah: Cavalry, Command, and Death — Journal of the American Revolution

Scholarly article examining Pulaski's command decisions during the October 9 assault and the forensic evidence around his death. The GHS skeletal analysis (2019) confirming the body recovered is Pulaski's is referenced.

Chatham County, Georgia Court Records and Committee of Safety Minutes, 1775-1778 — Georgia Archives

Local government records from Savannah's county documenting the Patriot committee takeover, the expulsion of the Royal Governor, and the military preparations before the British capture. Provides the ground-level civic context.

Georgia Historical Quarterly: Siege of Savannah Studies — Georgia Historical Society

The peer-reviewed journal of the Georgia Historical Society has published multiple articles on the 1778 capture, 1779 siege, and 1782 recapture of Savannah. Essential for locating detailed secondary scholarship on all three events.

The French Alliance in the American Revolution: Savannah and the Caribbean Theater — University Press of Florida

Studies the strategic context of d'Estaing's decision to attack Savannah, including the Caribbean operations that delayed and constrained the French fleet. Essential for understanding why the siege failed.

The Habersham Family Papers: A Patriot Georgia Merchant Family in War — Georgia Historical Society

Published papers of one of Savannah's leading Patriot families. The Habershams' letters trace the political and commercial impact of the British occupation on Savannah's Patriot mercantile community.

The History of the American Revolution: Georgia and Savannah — R. Aitken (David Ramsay)

Early national history by the Charleston physician. Ramsay's account of the Savannah siege is a near-contemporary secondary treatment drawing on surviving correspondence and participant accounts before documents were dispersed.

The Southern Strategy: Britain's Conquest of South Carolina and Georgia, 1775-1780 — University of South Carolina Press (David K. Wilson)

Scholarly examination of why the British high command chose to target the Deep South in 1778-1779. The Savannah chapters analyze both the capture and the subsequent 1779 siege in the context of the overall southern strategy.

Capture of Savannah (1778) -- Wikipedia — Wikipedia

General reference on the British capture of Savannah. The narrative of Campbell's flanking move through the swamp path is accurately represented. Cross-reference with Campbell's dispatch for British source detail.

Siege of Savannah (1779) -- Wikipedia — Wikipedia

General reference entry on the Franco-American siege. The order of battle and tactical narrative are adequate for orientation. Cross-reference with Jones's documentary history and d'Estaing's dispatches for accuracy.

Visit Savannah: Revolutionary War History — Visit Savannah

Tourism site with overview of Savannah's Revolutionary War heritage, identifying the Battlefield Park, the Colonial Park Cemetery (mass burial site from the 1779 siege), and the Pulaski Monument. Useful for visitor orientation.