History of Savannah, (Chatham County) Georgia United States of America

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Local History Notes:

The 1854 Gazetteer of the United States by Thomas Baldwin shows:

SAVANNAH, a flourishing city and port of entry of Georgia, capital of Chatham county, and the largest and most commercial town of the state, is situated on the right bank of Savannah river, 18 miles from its mouth, 90 miles W. S. W. from Charleston, and 188 miles E. S. E. from Milledgeville. Lat. 82° 5' N., lon. 81° 8' W. The site of the city is a sandy plain, elevated about 40 feet above low-water mark. It is regularly laid out with wide, sandy, and unpaved streets. At every other corner there is a public square, usually circular or oval in shape, planted with the Pride of India tree. The number of these squares is 24. Broad and Bay streets have grassy promenades in the middle, with carriage-ways on each side. Many of the private dwellings are handsomely built of brick. Among the public buildings may be noticed the City Exchange, theatre, court house, jail, state arsenal, artillery armory, Lyceum, Oglethorpe Hall, St. Andrew's Hall, market house, Chatham Academy, and the new custom house. The latter, which is 110 feet long by 52 wide, is built of granite, and is estimated to have cost $173,400. The Independent Presbyterian church is a fine granite building, which cost nearly $120,000. St. John's (Episcopal) church is also a handsome edifice. The city has 14 Protestant and 1 or 2 Catholic churches, 1 Hebrew synagogue, 5 banks, 1 savings' institution, a fire company, an historical society, several reading rooms, and a public library of near 6000 volumes. The private schools are numerous, and liberal provision is made for the education of the poor. Among the numerous charitable institutions may be mentioned the Orphan Asylum, the Savannah Hospital, the Georgia Infirmary, the Union Society, the Widows' Society, the Savannah Free School, Hibernian Society, and Seamen's Friend Society. Five daily newspapers are published here. A monument has been erected in Johnson's square to the memory of General Greene, and another (a very imposing edifice) is now in course of erection to the memory of Pulaski, who gallantly fell in an attack on the city when held by the British, in October, 1779. The city is lighted with gas, and there are water-works in course of construction.

Savannah is the centre of a very extensive system of railroads, which, directly or indirectly, must contribute greatly to her commercial importance and prosperity. The names, connections, and length of the lines which converge to this point, or are tributaries to the trade of Savannah, are as follows:

Biographies:

Henry Constantine Wayne, soldier, was born in Savannah, Ga., Sept. 8, 1815. He attended the schools at Northampton and Cambridge, Mass., and was graduated from the U.S. military academy in 1838. He was promoted in the army 2d lieutenant, 4th artillery, July 1, 1838; was transferred to the 1st artillery, July 12, 1838: served on the northern frontier, and during the Canada border disturbances, 1838-41, was assistant instructor of artillery and cavalry at the U.S. Military academy, 1841-43; and quartermaster, 1843-46. He was promoted 1st lieutenant, May 16, 1842. He served in the war with Mexico as assistant quartermaster-general, 1846-47; was promoted captain of staff and assistant quarter, master, May 11, 1846, and was brevetted major, Aug. 20, 1847, for gallant conduct at Contreras and Churubusco, Mex. He was in the quarter-master-general's office, Washington, 1848-55; purchased camels in Asia and Africa for use in army transportation in the west, and tested their adaptability in Texas, 1855-58. He resigned his commission, Dec. 31, 1860, and joined the Confederate States army as adjutant and inspector-general of the state of Georgia. He organized the militia and state officers into companies, regiments and two brigades, and their services were tendered to Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, and under General Wayne they were directed to guard the crossings of the Chattahoochie river from Roswell to West Point. In order that General Wayne might resume his duties as adjutant-general, he was succeeded by Gen. Gustavus W. Smith, June 1, 1864, and returned to Georgia. He received a first-class medal from the "Soci?t? Imperiale Zo?logique d'acclimatation" of Paris, for the successful introduction and acclimation of the camel in the United States in 1858. He is the author of: The Sword Exercise Arranged for Military Instruction (1850). He died in Savannah, Ga., March 15, 1883.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

James Moore Wayne, associate justice, was born in Savannah, Ga., 1790. He was graduated at the College of New Jersey, A.B., 1808; studied law and was admitted to the Savannah bar in 1810. He was a representative in the general assembly, 1814-17, and declined further service in the state legislature. He served as mayor of Savannah from Sept. 8,1817, to July 12, 1819, when he resigned, and in 1824 was elected to the bench of the superior court, serving five years. He was a representative from Georgia in the 21st, 22d and 23d congresses, 1829-35, and while in congress supported the policy of President Jackson, and with the President opposed nullification; favored free trade; favored limiting expenses for internal improvements to rivers and harbors, and opposed the charter of the Bank of the United States. He assisted in removing the Cherokee Indians beyond the Mississippi; presided over two Georgia state constitutional conventions; served as president of the Georgia Historical society for many years, and was a trustee of the University of Georgia, 1816-58. He was appointed to the bench of the U.S. supreme court by President Jackson in 1834 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Justice William Johnson of South Carolina, and served from Jan. 9, 1835, until his death. His service covered the stormy times that led up to and through the civil war, and during that time he was firm in his faith in the Union and in his allegiance to the constitution. He received the honorary degree of LL.D. from the College of New Jersey in 1849. He died in Washington, D.C., July 5, 1867.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Joseph Habersham, cabinet officer, was born in Savannah. Ga., July 28, 1751; son of Gov. James and Mary (Bolton) Habersham. He was educated at the College of New Jersey; was a member of the "sons of liberty," and when the news reached Savannah of the battle of Lexington, May 11, 1775, he helped to seize the powder in the royal magazine in the name of the patriots and is said to have forwarded part of it to Washington's army at Cambridge. He was made a member of the council of safety in June, 1775, and the next month commanded the party that captured the British ship sent to Savannah with munitions of war, including 15,000 pounds of powder, of which 5000 pounds were sent to Philadelphia by order of congress and the balance supplied the magazines of Georgia and South Carolina. He was elected to the provincial congress that convened at Savannah, July 4, 1775, and while a member raised the body of volunteers which captured Sir James Wright, the governor, and held him under guard in his own house for nearly a month when he escaped. As major of the 1st Georgia battalion he defended Savannah from the British naval attack in September and October, 1779, and when the British captured the city he removed his family to Virginia, but he returned and aided D'Estaing in his unsuccessful effort to recapture the city. He continued to serve in the American army and at the close of the war held the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was delegate to the Continental congress, 1785-86; speaker of the state assembly, 1785-90; a member of the state convention that ratified the Federal constitution, 1788; mayor of the city of Savannah, 1792; and postmaster-general in the cabinets of Presidents Washington, Adams and Jefferson, 1795-1801. He resigned, Nov. 28, 1801, on receiving the offer of the office of U.S. treasurer from President Jefferson, which he declined. He was president of the Savannah branch of the U.S. bank, 1802-15. He married, May 19, 1776, Isabella Rae. He died in Savannah, Ga., Nov. 17, 1815.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Matthew Hall McAllister, jurist, was born in Savannah, Ga., Nov. 26, 1800; son of Matthew and Hannah (Gibbons) McAllister; grandson of Col. Richard and Mary (Dill) McAllister; grand-nephew of William Gibbons, delegate , and great grandson of Archibald McAllister. His father, born May 4, 1758, was a graduate of the College of New Jersey, 1779; U.S. district attorney for Georgia during Washington's administration, judge of the superior court, mayor of the city of Savannah during the war of 1812, and died, May 9, 1823. Matthew Hall McAllister matriculated at the College of New Jersey, but was not graduated. He was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1821, and practised in Savannah, Ca. In 1827 he was appointed U.S. district attorney for Georgia by President J. Q. Adams. He opposed nullification in 1832; was a representative in the Georgia legislature in 1835, and subsequently state senator for seventeen years and president of the senate most of the time of his service. He established the court of errors of Georgia and declined the U.S. senatorship. He was defeated for governor of Georgia on the Democratic ticket in 1845, and was a delegate to the Democratic national convention at Baltimore, Md., May 22, 1848. He removed to San Francisco, Cal., with his family in 1850; was U.S. circuit judge for California, 1855-62; and rendered valuable services by adjusting disputed land titles and by maintaining the rights of the government to administer the law, when that prerogative was usurped by the vigilance committee. In 1862, being in ill health. He resigned. He received the degree of LL.D. from Columbia college in 1860. His Opinions were edited by his son, Matthew Hall McAllister. He married Louisa Charlotte, daughter of Benjamin Clark and Sarah Charlotte (Mitchell) Cutler and had sons: Julian, colonel, U.S.A.; Hall, lawyer; Ward, lawyer, and author of: Society as I Have Found It; Cutler, lawyer; and Francis Marion, clergyman. Dr. McAllister is the author of a Eulogy on President Jackson. He died in San Francisco, Cal., Dec. 19, 1865.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor