The Siege of Savannah in 1779, as described in two contemporaneous journals of French officers in the fleet of Count d"Estaing

75 Pages·1874·3.693 MB·English

by  Charles Colcock Jones

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:
THE
SIEGE OF SAVANNAH,
IN
1779,
AS DESCEIBED TWO CONTEMPOEAlSrEOUS JOURl^ALS
IN"
OF FEEN"GH OEFIOEES
IN
THE FLEET OF COUNT D'ESTAING.
^/K
^s^
.
^..
ALBANY, N. Y.
JOEL MUNSELL, 82 STATE STREET.
1874.

GEORGIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY
SIEGE OF SAVANNAH IN 1779
CORDIALLY DEDICATED.

ii^troductio:n'
To the kindness of Mr. J. Carson Brevoort, of Brooklyn, am I in-
debted for the loan both ofthe French manuscript from which the fol-
lowing translation has been prepared, and of the autograph map here
reproduced. The former, beautifully written in a delicate, regular
hand, is evidently a copy, by a professional scribe, of the journal of
some French officer present at the siege of Savannah and during the
movements of D'Estaing's fleet antecedent to and consequent upon that
memorable occurrence.
It is clear, from its internal evidence, that the original was a con-
temporaneous document. The present tense is used in nearly every
instance and the probabilities are that it was penned day by day as
;
the eveiits, of which it treats, transpired. The forms of expression,
words, aid the construction of the sentences are such as were current
among French writers about a century ago.
While an adept with his pen, the scribe was, not infrequently, negli-
gent in preserving the proper accents and capital letters, and unmind-
ful of suitable punctuation. He is also occasionally at fault in' his
spelling. The labor of the translator was thus rendered somewhat
tedious, butin the end not uncertain. To my friend Prof. Charles Rau
of New York city, special acknowledgments are due for most valuable
assistance. Unfortunately the name of the author ofthis Journal has
not been preserved. Without doubt, however, he was personally cog-
nizant ofthe movements of which he speaks, and an actor in the scenes
here described.
From English and American sources we derive extended accounts
of the siege of Savannah, but the accompanying Journal furnishes us
with the most satisfactory French narrative of which we have any
knowledge. An interior view is here presented of the intentions and
operations of D'Estaing, and ofthe disposition and labors of his army,
which appears nowhere else with the same minuteness of detail, and