"Grand Old Southern Lady" a Savannah Travel Page by rexvaughan

Savannah is a truly beautiful old city and like many lovely ladies has a checkered past. The city was established in 1733 by Gen James Oglethorpe. It was the first planned municipality - laid out by Oglethorpe in a series of grids which included magnificent public squares. 21 of the original 24 can still be seen and are worth strolling from one to the other. On a less positive note, Savannah was a center for cotton and rice farming and therefore also the slave trade. It became a major port of entry for slaves and probably millions of these unfortunate souls came through Savannah. Other notable happenings here included launching the first steam-powered vessel to cross the Atlantic in 1819. The ship was the SS Savannah.

Today much of the charm and beauty of the city is well preserved and we found it simply captivating. It has a nice "old city" feel and many of the buildings date back to the 18th Century.

James Oglethorpe was an interesting man of contrasts. He was prepared early for a military career and was commissioned an ensign at the age of 16. He served minor military posts, killed a man in a brawl resulting in his spending 5 months in prison, then became a Member of Parliament being re-elected over and over for 32 years. He was a champion of colonists' rights and opposed slavery. He brought a band of settlers to this area and effectively founded the last of the Thirteen Colonies as well as the city of Savannah.

I am sure things like this bear some relation to tourism but also Savannah is proud of its place in early American history. These flags were on someone's balcony and I had to find out what they were. The one on the left is the "Betsy Ross Flag" and, according to legend, was created by Betsy Ross but the truth of the legend is doubtful. The one on the right is the "Grand Union Flag" used by George Washington in early 1776 and is thought to be the first national flag of the US.