Revolutionary War Battlefields in Georgia

Georgia's part in the American Revolutionary War stretched from the mid-1770s until the British finally pulled out of Savannah in 1782, and for much of that time the colony was a genuine battleground rather than a bystander in the fight for independence. What stands out most is how reluctant Georgia was to join the cause at first. It was the only one of the thirteen colonies that skipped the First Continental Congress in 1774, largely because its economy was thriving under British rule and it depended on British military support to fend off Native American attacks along its frontier.

That hesitation faded once fighting actually broke out in 1775. Patriot leaders, known as Whigs, pushed Loyalists out of power, took over the provincial government, and brought Georgia into the Second Continental Congress. From there the colony became an important base for the Patriot side in the southern war, launching raids into British Florida in both 1776 and 1778. The British answered by seizing Savannah in 1778, and a year later an attempt by American and French troops to take the city back through the Siege of Savannah ended in failure. Georgia stayed under British control for several more years, with fighting continuing in places like the Rice Boats, Kettle Creek, Brier Creek, and two separate sieges of Augusta.

The turning point came in 1782, when British forces evacuated Savannah and Georgians regained control of their own government. That withdrawal effectively closed the state's wartime chapter and cleared the way for Georgia to take its place among the states of the newly formed United States.

Written by Aubrey Research from Georgia in the American Revolution on Wikipedia, cited as a reference and not reproduced.

Chronology

Revolutionary fighting in Georgia spanned 1778 to 1781. Select a year for the engagements of that season nationwide.

Where these engagements were fought

Select a marker to see the engagement and open its page. Larger red markers are surveyed battlefields with a mapped boundary.

Notable engagements

Plus 7 further documented engagements in the Georgia record.

All Southern Theater engagements

Battlefield locations and boundaries are compiled from public records, including the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program (public domain) and the American Revolution GIS work of Charles E. Frye (CC BY-SA 4.0).