Siege of Savannah

The Siege of Savannah was one of the most costly Franco-American defeats of the entire war. The combined force was formidable: d'Estaing's French fleet of 33 ships of the line and 20 frigates, 4,000 French soldiers, and 1,500 American Continentals under General Lincoln. Against them was the British garrison of about 2,500 under General Prevost, who had received timely reinforcements under the skilled Maitland.

D'Estaing's impatience doomed the operation. After only ten days of siege works — far too few to reduce the fortifications — he insisted on an immediate assault, fearing hurricane season would trap his fleet. Lincoln agreed reluctantly. On October 9, the combined force launched a major assault on the Spring Hill area of the British works.

The attack was a disaster. The assault columns became compressed into a bottleneck. British fire was devastating. Polish cavalry commander Count Casimir Pulaski — one of the most capable cavalry officers in American service — was mortally wounded leading a charge and died two days later. French and American columns tried repeatedly to push through the works and were thrown back each time.

The assault cost d'Estaing 700 casualties including 244 killed. Lincoln lost another 450. Prevost's garrison suffered relatively lightly. D'Estaing, wounded twice, abandoned the operation. The French fleet departed. The defeat was crushing — perhaps the worst allied reverse of the entire war — and left the South almost entirely open to the British conquest that followed with the siege of Charleston.