Today in Savannah history September 11/12, 1779 the first of the French forces landed on what is now called Vernonburg and secured the area. Small boats were boarded to transport the men from the French ships through the quagmire on the night of the 11th. The task was made even more challenging by the dark however upon landing at Beaulieu the French forces were in such number that the few British there fled towards the city. On the 12th there were some 1200-1800 men armed and ready at Beaulieu while others continued to arrive. Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, Count(Comte) d’Estaing, Marquis de Saillans was the commander of the French forces supporting the Americans at Savannah. Count D’Estaing wrote, “There were only 5 Englishmen at Beaulieu. They fled. A post of 100 men could probably have repelled us. Fifty soldiers and two light cannon would have killed many men. They then would have been able to retreat without loss. We had to scale a cliff on foot; the landing place was very badly chosen.” I am sure the ‘cliff’ he speaks of was a Vernon River embankment since we don’t have any real cliffs in this area he was making a mountain out of a mole hill.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 15:54:45 +0000
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