The act of surrounding and

blockading a city, fortress, etc. in such a way as to isolate it from help and supplies with the aim of getting them to surrender.

What is siege?

Georgia, like other colonies, declared their independence from the British. Think back… James Wright was the Royal Governor. He

was governor until the colonist declared independence and they arrested him. He was loyal to Great Britain and tried to keep them out of the Revolution.

In 1778, the British recaptured Savannah making Georgia the only colony to be officially retaken by the British during the war. James Wright was reinstated as Governor. As a result of

British control over Savannah and other cities, Georgia’s capitol rotated between Savannah and Augusta during the Revolution.

In reality there were “two” Georgia’s during the war. The patriot held countryside and the British held cities of Augusta and Savannah.

British Take Savannah

In October 1779, a joint force of French

and patriot troops attacked Savannah in hopes of retaking the city. This attack was a failure.

After five days of intense shelling from French ships and patriot batteries little damage was done to the British military but several civilians in the city were killed.

The Siege

The French and American troops were

easily defeated by the British troops who were helped by German Hessians.

A group of black soldiers from Haiti became heroes by protecting the allied (French and Patriots) retreat. These soldiers helped save hundreds of allied soldiers.

The Siege

When the fighting ended over 800 allied

troops were killed compared to 18 British soldiers. Savannah stayed in British hands until 1782 when Britain officially gave up the fight to keep control of the colonies by signing the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War.

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