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.