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The Only Printed Battle Plan of the Siege of Savannah 

Striking full color example of William Faden's plan of the Siege of Savannah, re-issued by Stedman in 1794.

The map illustrates the failed Franco-American assault on British-held Savannah during the American Revolutionary War. The map, drawn from a survey by a British officer and originally published by William Faden in 1784, presents a detailed layout of the British fortifications, troop positions, and opposing encampments as of the day of battle.

The fortified area of Savannah is prominently depicted with redoubts and defensive works organized in depth. According to the map's key, British and Loyalist units were garrisoned at various positions inside and around the town. These include:

• Georgia Volunteers (Major Wright) (No. 1)
• Delancey's Battalion (Lt. Col. Gruger) (No. 3)
• New Jersey Volunteers (Lt. Col. Allen) (Nos. 5 & 3)
• Georgia Militia (Nos. 4, 6, and 10 in part)
• South Carolina Royalists (No. 9)
• North Carolina Loyalists (Lt. Col. Hamilton, under Governor Sir James Wright) (No. 12)
• King's Rangers (Lt. Col. Brown) (No. 14)

Support elements and headquarters functions are also indicated:

• General’s Quarters and Convalescents of the Line (No. 8)
• Pickets and armed Black Loyalists (Nos. 2 and 7)

The British defenses were structured around a series of epaulments labeled A–I, including regular and provincial units:

• 1st Battalion, 71st Regiment (Major McArthur) (A)
• Regiment of Trombacher (B)
• 2nd Battalion Delancey’s (Lt. Col. Delancey) (C)
• New York Volunteers (Major Sheridan) (D)
• Light Infantry (Major Graham, 16th Regiment) (E)
• Weissenbach Regiment (F)
• 2nd Battalion, 71st Regiment (Major McDonald) (G)
• 60th Grenadiers, three companies and one of Marines (Lt. Col. Glasier) (H)
• North Carolina Loyalists (I)

The total number of British and allied forces fit for duty, including soldiers, seamen, and militia, is recorded as 2,360. Naval gunners and marines manned positions along the waterfront and artillery batteries, including seamen from transports and merchantmen under Captains Henry and Brown of the Royal Navy.

 The map uses hachures to represent elevation and for the rendering of roads, rivers, forests, and marshland. The Savannah River and its defensive naval positions are shown in the foreground. Redoubts, gun batteries, and the inner city grid of Savannah are precisely laid out, with the surrounding entrenchments forming an irregular fortified perimeter.

To the north and northwest of Savannah, the positions of the French and American camps are marked, including French Camp, American Camp, and Line of March. Artillery emplacements and lines of attack are delineated, highlighting the structured but ultimately unsuccessful approach of the allied forces.

The Spring Hill redoubt, where the heaviest combat occurred, is located on the western side of the map and is shown at the convergence of the main French and American assault. This redoubt, supported by adjacent batteries and covered by both natural features (swamps and creeks) and engineered obstacles (abatis), formed the strongpoint of the British defense and repelled the coordinated attacks.

 This map captures a pivotal moment in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War. The failed assault at Savannah was a decisive British victory, bolstered by well-constructed fortifications and disciplined Loyalist and regular troops. The defeat weakened Franco-American coordination, undermined morale, and helped consolidate British control over Georgia.

The map remains a significant primary source for understanding the military geography of the siege and the organization of British defenses in colonial America.  

The Siege of Savannah

The Siege of Savannah in 1779 marked one of the most consequential confrontations in the American Revolutionary War’s Southern Theater, and the most significant engagement in Georgia during the conflict. The siege was both a high point of Franco-American cooperation and a cautionary tale of disjointed coordination.

The city of Savannah had fallen to British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell on December 29, 1778. It became a critical British stronghold as part of their Southern Strategy, aimed at rallying Loyalist support and regaining control over the rebellious colonies from the South upwards. With Charleston in their sights and Georgia under nominal British rule, the strategic imperative for the American revolutionaries and their French allies was to dislodge the British from Savannah.

In the wake of the Franco-American alliance formalized by the 1778 Treaty of Alliance, French naval commander Admiral Charles Henri d’Estaing was tasked with aiding the American cause. His transatlantic expeditionary force—an unprecedented deployment in French naval history—played an integral role in expanding the geographic scope of the conflict. After campaigns in the West Indies, d’Estaing brought a fleet of 33 ships and over 4,000 troops to the coast of Georgia by early September 1779. He was joined by Continental Army forces under General Benjamin Lincoln and allied militia units from the Carolinas and Georgia.

Logistical difficulties quickly became apparent. The French disembarked at Beaulieu on the Vernon River, but inclement weather, inadequate pilots, and disorganization among the landing parties delayed operations. American reinforcements also struggled to arrive in an organized manner, and inter-allied coordination was impaired by political and linguistic divisions. Despite these challenges, d’Estaing issued a formal demand for the British surrender on September 16.  British commander Major General Augustine Prevost used this opportunity to stall. Crucially, the delay allowed the arrival of Lieutenant Colonel John Maitland and his 800-man force of Highland regulars from Beaufort, South Carolina. Their arrival brought the British strength in Savannah to around 3,200 troops, bolstered by South Carolina and North Carolina Loyalists, Georgia militia, German mercenaries, Black Loyalists, and Native allies.

Following a period of siege warfare, including bombardment and construction of allied trenches, d’Estaing resolved to make a direct assault. He planned a three-pronged attack scheduled for the early morning of October 9, 1779, hoping to catch the British off guard. General Isaac Huger led a diversionary force toward the White Bluff Road, while Colonel Arthur Dillon’s Irish battalion attempted a flanking maneuver in the northwest. The main thrust targeted the Spring Hill redoubt, one of the strongest points in the British defensive line.

However, poor reconnaissance and miscommunication proved fatal. Dillon’s column lost its way in the swampy terrain, emerging disoriented and exposed. The main assault was further compromised when the French advanced prematurely before American units could position themselves. Under fire from British grapeshot, musketry, and entrenched artillery, the French columns disintegrated. D’Estaing himself was seriously wounded in the leg, while Polish nobleman Count Casimir Pulaski, leading a cavalry charge, was mortally wounded by grapeshot.

American forces under Colonel John Laurens and General Lachlan McIntosh breached the abatis and reached the ditch of the Spring Hill redoubt but were ultimately repulsed by a British counterattack, led by grenadiers of the 60th Regiment and a detachment of marines. After nearly an hour of fighting, the allies retreated in disarray.

 The cost of the failed assault was severe. Allied casualties numbered over 1,094, including approximately 650 French dead. An additional 116 wounded were returned by the British, many of whom succumbed to their injuries. British losses, though disputed, were significantly lower—reported at 16 killed and 39 wounded by British accounts, with later estimates suggesting 40 killed and 63 wounded when auxiliary forces are included.

The defeat at Savannah had multiple repercussions:

• For the French, it was a humiliating setback and strained relations with American commanders.
• For the Americans, it was a devastating loss of manpower and morale, particularly in the South, and marked a critical delay in reclaiming Georgia.
• The British consolidated their hold on Savannah and used it as a base to launch further operations into the Carolinas.
• Politically, the outcome emboldened Southern Loyalists and made neutral parties reconsider their support for the revolutionary cause.

This map was first issued in 1784 by William Faden. Faden's plates were acquired and reprinted by Charles Stedman 1794 for his work, The History of the Origin, Progress, and Termination of the American War.

Neither the French nor the Americans created any maps of this battle, making the Faden plan the only obtainable contemporary map.