9 to 17 October 1779
Savannah: the repulse
When the second wave reaches the redoubt the first is in complete disarray, and the trenches below the redoubt are filled with bodies. After an hour d’Estaing orders a retreat. “The moment of retreat with the cries of our dying comrades piercing my heart was the bitterest of my life,” Stedingk later writes.
Charles Henri, comte d’Estaing, portrait by Jean-Baptiste Le Brun, 1769Wikimedia Commons, Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Le Brun, Public domain (Charles Henri Victor Theodat comte d Estaing 1769.jpeg)
The allies lose 244 killed, 584 wounded and 120 captured, the British 40 killed, 63 wounded and 52 missing. On 17 October Lincoln and d’Estaing abandon the siege.
Sources
- Alexander A. Lawrence, Storm over Savannah (1951).
- Franklin B. Hough, The Siege of Savannah (1866).
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