Savannah

General James Ogelthorpe and his settlers founded Savannah and England's 13th and last colony in February 1733. Forgoing the usual village grid system, Oglethorpe and Colonel William Bull laid out their new settlement in a series of wards in which commercial and residential buildings centered on a public square. This visionary plan has survived as the city's blueprint because of Oglethorpe's choice of location.

On a bluff overlooking the Savannah River, the new settlement soon prospered as a crossroads of trade with England and the new communities of the interior. Port traffic, begun in 1744, experienced a steady increase along with the plantation economy of tobacco and cotton.

Residents eagerly embraced the revolt against England, and Savannah was garrisoned by some 900 Colonial troops under General Robert Howe. British forces captured the city in a surprise attack in December 1778 and made it a base for their operations against the Colonies; they evacuated the city in 1782.

19th century Savannah grew and flourished with cotton as king, becoming a vital port. In 1862 Federal forces closed the port to all but blockade runners when they captured Fort Pulaski.