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T. G. Steward - The Colored Regulars in the United States Army

T >> T. G. Steward >> The Colored Regulars in the United States Army




"French-American Attack on Savannah.--In September, D'Estaing joined
Lincoln in besieging that city. After a severe bombardment, an
unsuccessful assault was made, in which a thousand lives were lost.
Count Pulaski was mortally wounded. The simple-hearted Sergeant Jasper
died grasping the banner presented to his regiment at Fort Moultrie.
D'Estaing refused to give further aid; thus again deserting the
Americans when help was most needed."

From this brief sketch the reader is at liberty to infer that the
attack was unwise if not fool-hardy; that the battle was unimportant;
and that the conduct of Count D'Estaing immediately after the battle
was unkind, if not unjust, to the Americans. While the paragraph does
not pretend to tell the whole truth, what it does tell ought to be the
truth; and this ought to be told in such a way as to give correct
impressions. The attack upon Savannah was well-planned and thoroughly
well considered; and it failed only because the works were so ably
defended, chiefly by British regulars, under brave and skillful
officers. In a remote way, which it is the purpose of this paper to
trace, that sanguinary struggle had a wider bearing upon the progress
of liberty in the Western World than any other one battle fought
during the Revolution.

But first let us listen to the story of the battle itself. Colonel
Campbell with a force of three thousand men, captured Savannah in
December, 1778; and in the January following, General Prevost arrived,
and by March had established a sort of civil government in Georgia,
Savannah being the capital. In April, the American general, Lincoln,
feeble in more senses than one, perhaps, began a movement against
Savannah by way of Augusta; but Prevost, aware of his purpose, crossed
into South Carolina and attempted an attack upon Charleston. Finding
the city too well defended, he contented himself with ravaging the
plantations over a wide extent of adjacent country, and returned to
Savannah laden with rich spoils, among which were included three
thousand slaves, of whose labor he made good use later.

The patriots of the South now awaited in hope the coming of the French
fleet; and on the first of September, Count D'Estaing appeared
suddenly on the coast of Georgia with thirty-three sail, surprised and
captured four British warships, and announced to the government of
South Carolina his readiness to assist in the recapture of Savannah.
He urged as a condition, however, that his ships should not be
detained long off so dangerous a coast, as is was now the hurricane
season, and there was neither harbor, road, nor offing for their
protection.

By means of small vessels sent from Charleston he effected a landing
in ten days, and four days thereafter, on the 16th, he summoned the
garrison to surrender to the arms of France. Although this demand was
made in the name of France for the plain reason that the American army
was not yet upon the spot, the loyalists did not fail to make it a
pretext for the accusation that the French were desirous of making
conquests in the war on their own account. In the meantime Lincoln
with the regular troops, was hurrying toward Savannah, and had issued
orders for the militia to rendezvous at the same place; and the
militia full of hope of a speedy, if not of a bloodless conquest, were
entering upon this campaign with more than ordinary enthusiasm.

During the time that the fleet had been off the coast, and especially
since the landing, the British had been very busy in putting the city
in a high state of defence, and in making efforts to strengthen the
garrison. Lieutenant-colonel Cruger, who had a small force at Sunbury,
the last place in Georgia that had been captured by the British, and
Lieutenant-colonel Maitland who was commanding a considerable force at
Beaufort, were ordered to report in haste with their commands at
Savannah. On the 16th, when the summons to surrender was received by
Prevost, Maitland had not arrived, but was hourly expected. Prevost
asked for a delay of twenty-four hours to consider the proposal, which
delay was granted; and on that very evening, Maitland with his force
arrived at Dawfuskie. Finding the river in the possession of the
French, his course for a time seemed effectually cut off. By the
merest chance he fell in with some Negro fishermen who informed him of
a passage known as Wall's cut, through Scull's creek, navigable for
small boats. A favoring tide and a dense fog enabled him to conduct
his command unperceived by the French, through this route, and thus
arrive in Savannah on the afternoon of the 17th, before the expiration
of the twenty-four hours. General Prevost had gained his point; and
now believing himself able to resist an assault, declined the summons
to surrender. Two armed ships and four transports were sunk in the
channel of the river below the city, and a boom in the same place laid
entirely across the river; while several small boats were sunk above
the town, thus rendering it impossible for the city to be approached
by water.

On the day of the summons to surrender, although the works were
otherwise well advanced, there were not ten cannon mounted in the
lines of Savannah; but from that time until the day of assault, the
men of the garrison, with the slaves they had captured, worked day and
night to get the defences of the city in the highest state of
excellence. Major Moncrief, chief of the engineers, is credited with
placing in position more than eighty cannons in a short time after the
call to surrender had been received.

The city itself at this time was but a mere village of frame buildings
and unpaved streets. Viewed as facing its assailants, it was protected
in its rear, or upon its north side, by the Savannah river; and on its
west side by a thick swamp or morass, which communicated with the
river above the city. The exposed sides were those of the east and
south. These faced an open country which for several miles was
entirely clear of woods. This exposed portion of the city was well
protected by an unbroken line of defences extending from the river
back to the swamp, the right and left extremes of the line consisting
of strong redoubts, while the centre was made up of seamen's batteries
in front, with impalements and traverses thrown up to protect the
troops from the fire of the besiegers. The whole extent of the works
was faced with an ample abattis.

[Illustration: Savannah River.]

To be still more particular: there were three redoubts on the right of
the line, and on the right of them quite near the swamp, was a
sailor's battery of nine pounders, covered by a company of the British
legion. The left redoubt of these three, was known as the Springhill
redoubt; and proved to be the objective of the final assault. Between
it and the centre, was another sailor's battery behind which were
posted the grenadiers of the 60th regiment, with the marines which had
been landed from the warships. On the left of the line near the river
were two redoubts, strongly constructed, with a massy frame of green
spongy wood, filled in with sand, and mounted with heavy cannon. The
centre, or space between these groups of redoubts, was composed, as
has been said, of lighter but nevertheless very effective works, and
was strongly garrisoned.

Having thus scanned the works, let us now take a glance at the men who
are to defend them. As all of the assaulting forces are not made up of
Americans, so all of the defenders are not foreigners. The centre
redoubt of the triplet on the right, was garrisoned by two companies
of militia, with the North Carolina regiment to support them; Captains
Roworth and Wylie, with the provincial corps of King's Rangers, were
posted in the redoubt on the right; and Captain Tawse with his corps
of provincial dragons, dismounted, in the left or Springhill redoubt,
supported by the South Caroline regiment. The whole of this force on
the right of the line, was under the command of the gallant
Lieutenant-colonel Maitland; and it was this force that made the
charge that barely failed of annihilating the American army. On the
left of the line, the Georgia loyalists garrisoned one of those massy
wooden sand-filled redoubts; while in the centre, cheek by jowl so to
speak, with two battalions of the seventy-first regiment, and two
regiments of Hessians, stood the New York Volunteers. All of these
corps were ready to act as circumstances should require and to support
any part of the line that might be attacked. The Negroes who worked on
these defences were under the direction of Major Moncrief.

The French troops had landed below the city and were formed facing the
British lines, with the river on their right. On their left, later,
assembled the American troops. The final dispositions were concluded
by September 22nd, and were as follows: The American troops under
Lincoln formed the left of the line, their left resting upon the swamp
and the entire division facing the Springhill redoubt and her two
sister defences; then came the division of M. de Noailles, composed of
nine hundred men. D'Estaing's division of one thousand men beside the
artillery, came next, and formed the centre of the French army. On
D'Estaing's right was Count Dillon's division of nine hundred men; on
the right of Dillon were the powder magazine, cattle depot, and a
small field hospital; on the right of the depot and a little in
advance, were Dejean's dragoons, numbering fifty men; upon the same
alignment and to the right of the dragoons were Rouvrais' Volunteer
Chasseurs, numbering seven hundred and fifty men; still further on to
the right and two hundred yards in advance of Rouvrais, was Framais,
comanding the Grenadier Volunteers, and two hundred men besides, his
right resting upon the swampy wood that bordered the river, thus
completely closing in the city on the land side. The frigate, La
Truite, and two galleys, lay within cannon shot of the town, and with
the aid of the armed store ship, La Bricole, and the frigate, La
Chimere, effectually cut off all communication by water.

On the 23rd, both the French and the Americans opened their trenches;
and on the 24th, a small detachment of the besieged made a sortie
against the French. The attack was easily repulsed, but the French
pursuing, approached so near the entrenchments of the enemy that they
were fired upon and several were killed. On the night of the 27th
another sortie was made which threw the besiegers into some confusion
and caused the French and Americans to fire upon each other.
Cannonading continued with but little result until October 8th.

The engineers were now of the opinion that a speedy reduction of the
city could not be accomplished by regular approaches; and the naval
officers were very anxious about the fleet, both because of the
dangers to which it was exposed from the sea, and also because with so
many men ashore it was in especial danger of being attacked and
captured by British men-of-war. These representations agreeing
altogether with D'Estaing's previously expressed wishes to leave the
coast as soon as possible, induced that officer and General Lincoln
to decide upon an attempt to storm the British works at once. It is
quite probable that this had been the purpose as a last resort from
the first. The preservation of the fleet was, however, the powerful
factor in determining the time and character of the assault upon
Savannah.

On the night of the eighth, Major L'Enfant, with a detachment
attempted to set fire to the abattis in order to clear the way for the
assault, but failed to through the dampness of the wood. The plan of
the assault may be quite accurately obtained from the orders given to
the American troops on the evening of the 8th by General Lincoln and
from the inferences to be drawn from the events of the morning of the
9th as they are recorded in history. At least two of the historians
who have left us accounts of the seige, Ramsey and McCall, were
present at the time, and their accounts may be regarded as original
authority. General Lincoln's orders were as follows:


"Evening Orders. By General Lincoln.
Watchword--Lewis.

"The soldiers will be immediately supplied with 40 rounds of
cartridges, a spare flint, and have their arms in good
order. The infantry destined for the attack of Savannah will
be divided into two bodies; first composed of the light
troops under the command of Colonel Laurens; the second, of
the continental battalions and the first battalion of the
Charleston militia, except the grenadiers, who are to join
the light troops. The whole will parade at 1 o'clock, near
the left of the line, and march by platoons. The guards of
the camp will be formed of the invalids, and be charged to
keep the fires as usual in camp.

"The cavalry under the command of Count Pulaski, will parade
at the same time with the infantry and follow the left
column of the French troops, precede the column of the
American light troops; they will endeavor to penetrate the
enemy's lines between the battery on the left of Springhill
redoubt, and the next towards the river; having effected
this, will pass to the left towards Yamacraw and secure such
parties of the enemy as may be lodged in that quarter.

"The artillery will parade at the same time, follow the
French artillery, and remain with the corps de reserve until
they receive further orders.

"The whole will be ready by the time appointed, with the
utmost silence and punctuality; and be ready to march the
instant Count Dillon and General Lincoln shall order.

"The light troops who are to follow the cavalry, will
attempt to enter the redoubt on the left of the Springhill,
by escalade if possible; if not by entrance into it, they
are to be supported if necessary by the first South Carolina
regiment; in the meantime the column will proceed with the
lines to the left of the Springhill battery.

"The light troops having succeeded against the redoubt will
proceed to the left and attempt the several works between
that and the river.

"The column will move to the left of the French troops,
taking care not to interfere with them.

"The light troops having carried the work towards the river
will form on the left of the column.

"It is especially forbidden to fire a single gun before the
redoubts are carried; or for any soldier to quit his rank to
plunder without an order for that purpose; any who shall
presume to transgress in either of these respects shall be
reputed a disobeyer of military orders which is punishable
with death.

"The militia of the first and second brigades, General
Williamson's and the second battalion of the Charleston
militia will parade immediately under the command of General
Huger; after draughting five hundred of them the remander of
them will go into the trenches and put themselves under the
commanding officer there; with the 500 he will march to the
left of the enemy's line, remain as near them as he possibly
can without being seen, until four o'clock in the morning,
at which time the troops in the trenches will begin an
attack upon the enemy; he will then advance and make his
attack as near the river as possible; though this is only
meant as a feint, yet should a favorable opportunity offer,
he will improve it and push into the town.

"In case of a repulse after taking Springhill redoubt, the
troops will retreat and rally in the rear of redoubt; if it
cannot be effected that way, it must be attempted by the
same route at which they entered.

"The second place of rallying (or the first if the redoubt
should not be carried) will be at the Jews' burying-ground,
where the reserve will be placed; if these two halts should
not be effected, they will retire towards camp.

"The troops will carry in their hats a piece of white paper
by which they will be distinguished."

General Huger with his five hundred militia, covered by the river
swamp, crept quite close to the enemy's lines and delivered his attack
as directed. Its purpose was to draw attention to that quarter and if
possible cause a weakening of the strength in the left centre of the
line. What its real effect was, there is now no means of knowing.

Count Dillon, who during the siege had been on D'Estaing's right, and
who appears to have been second in command in the French army, in this
assault was placed in command of a second attacking column. His
purpose was to move to the right of General Huger, and keeping in the
edge of the swamps along the river, steal past the enemy's batteries
on the left, and attack him in the rear. Bancroft describes the
results of his efforts as follows: "The column under Count Dillon,
which was to have attacked the rear of the British lines, became
entangled in a swamp of which it should only have skirted the edge was
helplessly exposed to the British batteries and could not even be
formed." Here were the two strong sand-filled redoubts, mounted with
heavy cannon, and these may have been the batteries that stopped
Dillon's column.

Count Pulaski with his two hundred brave cavalrymen, undertook his
part in the deadly drama with ardor, and began that perilous ride
which had for its object: "to penetrate the enemy's lines, between the
battery on the left of the Springhill redoubt, and the next towards
the river." Balch describes it as an attempt to "penetrate into the
city by galloping between the redoubts." It was the anticipation of
the Crimean "Charge of the Light Brigade;" only in this case, no one
blundered; it was simply a desperate chance. Cannon were to the right,
left, and front, and the heroic charge proved in vain; the noble Pole
fell, banner[8] in hand, pierced with a mortal wound--another foreign
martyr to our dearly bought freedom.

The cavalry dash having failed, that much of the general plan was
blotted out. The feints may have been understood; it is said a
sergeant of the Charleston Grenadiers deserted during the night of the
8th and gave the whole plan of the attack to General Prevost, so that
he knew just where to strengthen his lines. The feints were
effectually checked by the garrison on the left, twenty-eight of the
Americans being killed: while Dillon's column was stopped by the
batteries near the river. This state of affairs allowed the whole of
Maitland's force to protect the Springhill redoubt and that part of
the line which was most threatened. The Springhill redoubt, as has
been stated, was occupied by the South Carolina regiment and a corps
of dragoons. This circumstance may account for the fact, that while
the three hundred and fifty Charleston militia occupied a most exposed
position in the attacking column, only one man among them was killed
and but six wounded. The battery on the left of this redoubt was
garrisoned by grenadiers and marines.

The attacking column now advanced boldly, under the command of
D'Estaing and Lincoln, the Americans consisting of six hundred
continental troops and three hundred and fifty Charleston militia,
being on the left, while the centre and right were made up of the
French forces. They were met with so severe and steady a fire that the
head of the column was soon thrown into confusion. They endured this
fire for fifty-five minutes, returning it as best they could, although
many of the men had no opportunity to fire at all. Two American
standards and one French standard, were placed on the British works,
but their bearers were instantly killed. It being found impossible to
carry any part of the works, a general retreat was ordered. Of the six
hundred continental troops, more than one-third had fallen, and about
one-fifth of the French. The Charleston militia had not suffered,
although they had bravely borne their part in the assault, and it had
certainly been no fault of theirs if their brethren behind the
embankments had not fired upon them. Count D'Estaing had received two
wounds, one in the thigh, and being unable to move, was saved by the
young naval lieutenant Truguet. Ramsey gives the losses of the battle
as follows: French soldiers 760; officers 61; Americans 312; total
1133.

As the army began its retreat, Lieutenant-colonel Maitland with the
grenadiers and marines, who were incorporated with the grenadiers,
charged its rear with the purpose of accomplishing its annihilation.
It was then that there occurred the most brilliant feat of the day,
and one of the bravest ever performed by foreign troops in the
American cause. In the army of D'Estaing was a legion of black and
mulatto freedmen, known as Fontages Legion, commanded by Vicount de
Fontages, a brave and experienced officer. The strength of this legion
is given variously from six hundred to over eight hundred men. This
legion met the fierce charge of Maitland and saved the retreating
army.

In an official record prepared in Paris, now before me, are these
words: "This legion saved the army at Savannah by bravely covering its
retreat. Among the blacks who rendered signal services at that time
were: Andre, Beauvais, Rigaud, Villatte, Beauregard, Lambert, who
latterly became generals under the convention, including Henri
Christophe, the future king of Haiti." This quotation is taken from a
paper secured by the Honorable Richard Rush, our minister to Paris in
1849, and is preserved in the Pennsylvania Historical Society. Henri
Christophe received a dangerous gunshot wound in Savannah. Balch says
in speaking of Fontages at Savannah: "He commanded there a legion of
mulattoes, according to my manuscript, of more than eight hundred men,
and saved the army after the useless assault on the fortifications, by
bravely covering the retreat."

It was this legion that formed the connecting link between the siege
of Savannah and the wide development of republican liberty on the
Western continent, which followed early in the present century. In
order to show this connection and the sequences, it will be necessary
to sketch in brief the history of this remarkable body of men,
especially that of the prominent individuals who distinguished
themselves at Savannah.

In 1779 the French colony of Saint Domingo was in a state of peace,
the population then consisting of white slave-holders, mulatto and
black freedmen (affranchis), and slaves. Count D'Estaing received
orders to recruit men from Saint Domingo for the auxiliary army; and
there being no question of color raised, received into the service a
legion of colored freedmen. There had been for years a colored militia
in Saint Domingo, and as early as 1716, the Marquis de Chateau Morant,
then governor of the colony, made one Vincent the Captain-general of
all the colored militia in the vicinity of the Cape. This Captain
Vincent died in 1780 at the reputed age of 120 years. He was certainly
of great age, for he had been in the siege of Carthegenia in 1697, was
taken prisoner, afterwards liberated by exchange and presented to
Louis XIV, and fought in the German war under Villars. Moreau de St.
Mery, in his description of Vincent, incidentally mentions the
Savannah expedition. He says: "I saw him (Vincent) the year preceding
his death, recalling his ancient prowess to the men of color who were
enrolling themselves for the expedition to Savannah; and showing in
his descendants who were among the first to offer themselves, that he
had transmitted his valor. Vincent, the good Captain Vincent, had a
most pleasing countenance; and the contrast of his black skin with his
white hair produced an effect that always commanded respect."

[Illustration: Hutchinson Island.]

The Haytian historian, Enclus Robin, says when the call for volunteers
reached Saint Domingo: "eight hundred young freedmen, blacks and
mulattoes, offered themselves to take part in the expedition;" that
they went and "fought valiantly; and returned to Saint Domingo covered
with glory." Madiou, another Haytian historian of the highest
respectability says: "A crowd of young men, black and colored,
enlisted with the French troops and left for the continent. They
covered themselves with glory in the siege of Savannah, under the
orders of Count D'Estaing."

What effect this experience had upon these volunteers may be inferred
from their subsequent history. Robin says: "These men who contributed
their mite toward American independence, had still their mothers and
sisters in slavery; and they themselves were subject to humiliating
discriminations. Should not France have expected from that very
moment, that they would soon use in their own cause, those very arms
which they had learned so well to use in the interests of others?"
Madiou says: "On their return to Saint Domingo they demanded for their
brothers the enjoyment of political rights." Beauvais went to Europe
and served in the army of France; but returned to fight for liberty in
Hayti, and was Captain-general in 1791; Rigaud, Lambert and Christophe
wrote their names--not in the sand. These are the men who dared to
stir Saint Domingo, under whose influence Hayti became the first
country of the New World, after the United States, to throw off
European rule. The connection between the siege of Savannah and the
independence of Hayti is traced, both as to its spirit, and
physically, through the black legion that on that occasion saved the
American army. How this connection is traced to the republics of South
America, I will allow a Haytian statesman and man of letters, honored
both at home and abroad, to relate. I translate from a work published
in Paris in 1885:

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