Savannah's Civil War Tours
life was like during the dark days of the Civil War But first, a little history... "...I beg to present to you as a Christmas Gift, the City of Savannah with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition and also about 25,000 bails of cotton..." So reads Union General William T. Sherman's telegram to President Lincoln written from on Dec. 22, 1864 from the home we now know as the Green-Meldrim House. Georgia became the fifth state to secede from the United States in January 1861, and in March, a convention at Savannah ratified the constitution of the new Confederate States of America. Local militia units began to prepare themselves for war. After the state of New York refused to release a shipment of guns to the South, Georgia Governor Joseph Brown ordered all New York vessels in the port of Savannah seized. In retaliation, a Federal fleet of 41 vessels sailed to South Carolina and landed just 25 miles from Savannah in October 1861. Federal cannons breached the walls of Fort Pulaski after only a few hours of bombardment, and the Confederate forces surrendered. That would be the last of the fighting in the area around Savannah, but only the beginning of the hardships for Savannahians during the long four years of the war. In May 1864, General William T. Sherman began his famous March to the Sea bringing the war to Savannah’s very doorstep. Following the tracks of the railroad running from Chattanooga to Atlanta to Macon and Savannah, Sherman and his 62,000 soldiers left a wake of destruction, 30 miles wide and 300 miles long. By December, the Union army reached the outskirts of Savannah. On Dec. 21, 1864 Federal troops marched unopposed into the City of Savannah. A prison camp was set up on Bay Street and temporary quarters were erected in the squares. Charles Green, a wealthy English cotton merchant, hoping to buy Sherman’s good will and keep his inventory of cotton safe from confiscation, offered his mansion on Madison Square for military headquarters. It was here that Sherman penned his famous message to President Lincoln. Sherman occupied Green’s home until February 1, 1865. Sherman ordered all the cotton seized, but Savannah was spared from the devastation that Sherman’s troops had visited on Atlanta and from the fate that awaited Columbia, South Carolina a short time later. Several well-known Confederate Generals lived in Savannah before the war including William Hardee, Francis Bartow, A. P. Lawton, G. Moxley Sorrel, Henry Jackson, and Hugh Mercer. Confederate Army Commander General Joseph E. Johnston moved to Savannah after the war and lived here for a number of years before returning to Virginia. You’ll see the homes of many of these prominent men on your Civil War Tour, along with Sherman’s Headquarters and other Civil War sites. You’ll learn how Savannahians suffered through the Union blockade and endured the hardships of war.
SAVANNAH CIVIL WAR TOUR SAVANNAH WALKS SEE SAVANNAH WALKING TOURS Tour stops include: Gen. A.P. Lawton Home
BUS AND TROLLEY TOURS
OLD SAVANNAH TOURS SOUTHERN BELLE TROLLEY AND BUS TOURS From Civil War Tours back to Savannah Tours
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