SAVANNAH

industrial seaport city, seat (1777) of Chatham county, southeastern Georgia, U.S. It lies at the mouth of the Savannah River. Savannah was established in 1733 by James Oglethorpe, the founder of Georgia, who named it after the river. The city was planned around a system of squares, which have been made into small parks, planted with semitropical flora, and surrounded with Georgian Colonial and Greek Revival buildings, hundreds of which have been restored. Savannah exceeds all other Georgia cities in historic interest and is a leading tourist centre. The birthplace of the Georgia colony, Savannah was the colonial government seat and was the capital of the state until 1786. John and Charles Wesley arrived in 1736 to preach to the colonists and the Indians. George Whitefield came in 1738 and founded Bethesda, the first orphanage in America. During most of the U.S. War of Independence the town was occupied by Loyalist forces. Port traffic, begun in 1744, increased steadily with the growth of a plantation (tobacco and cotton) economy and the development of transportation in the hinterland. The Savannah, the first steamboat to cross the Atlantic, sailed from there to Liverpool in 1819. During the American Civil War, Savannah was an important supply point for the Confederacy until Fort Pulaski (17 miles east, now a national monument) fell to Union troops on April 11, 1862. Commerce suffered because of the Union blockade, but the citythe objective of General William Tecumseh Sherman's march to the seawas not captured until Dec. 21, 1864. It recovered fairly rapidly despite a yellow-fever epidemic in 1876. Savannah's history in the 20th century revolves largely around its industrialization and growth as a maritime centre. It is a leading port in the southeastern United States for manufactured goods; major industries include shipbuilding and the production of paper, food, chemicals, and transportation equipment. Army installations (Fort Stewart Hunter Army Airfield) are in the vicinity. The city is the seat of Savannah State College (1890) and Armstrong State College (1935). The Savannah National Wildlife Refuge is 10 miles (16 km) upriver. Inc. 1789. Pop. (1992 est.) city, 143,352; Savannah MSA, 268,912. either of two historic U.S. ships, each representing a landmark in navigation. In 1819 the first Savannah, named for its home port in Georgia (although built in New York) became the first ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean employing steam power. Its small steam engine and pinewood fuel supply were good for only a part of the 24-day crossing. For most of the voyage the Savannah relied on a full spread of sail, but the voyage demonstrated the practicability of steam navigation on the ocean. The sight of the 300-ton vessel off the Irish coast brought a cutter hastening to the ship's assistance, because its plume of black smoke had been mistaken for evidence of a fire on board. The second Savannah, launched at Camden, N.J., in 1959, was the world's first nuclear-powered cargo ship, built experimentally by the U.S. government to demonstrate the potential of nuclear power for nonmilitary shipping. Displacing 22,000 tons, the Savannah was 181.5 m (595.5 feet) long and had accommodations for 60 passengers as well as 9,400 tons of cargo. Its cruising speed was about 20 knots, and in the 1960s it carried out a large number of demonstration cruises in the Atlantic and elsewhere. Despite its success, high costs discouraged early imitation by commercial shippers.