(2020) My Experience In Savannah, Georgia

Savannah, Georgia.

Now say it with a Southern accent like so: Saaaaaa-vah-nahhhhhhhh.

That’s more like it.

Now imagine yourself with a sweating lemonade in your left hand, slowly walking through a city square with a parasol blocking your sweet skin from the intense sun. You’re fanning your neck to keep the internal temp cool and the Spanish moss is waving overhead and creating haunting shadows beneath your feet.

You’re in Saaaaaa-vah-nahhhhhhhh now, girl.

The City of 24 Squares

Savannah is known for its many squares, all of which were a joy to walk through. 22 of the original 24 squares remain intact today.

The squares are so common that I began counting my walks by the squares I passed through (“it’s 2 more squares away!” I thought to myself on my way to the CVS).

Savannah was planned this way not for the benefit of tourists like myself, but as a way to place strategic military encampments throughout the city.

You wouldn’t think the design originated out of such practical thinking since the result today is that the squares unite people – Savannahians sit in parks and eat ice cream, they let their kids play around the fountains… the city is set up to have a conversation.

But in 1733 when Olglethorp’s ship arrived in Georgia, he was fresh off the boat from Britain and had a demand from King George II: claim the region and protect our jewel, Charleston, from the Spanish to the South (Florida). Olglethorp’s military strategy of setting up squares worked rather effectively in accomplishing the mission.

Now “The Oglethorpe Plan” is a well-known kind of city planning strategy.

Rules Schmules

The colony was set up originally with a few rules: don’t drink, absolutely no Catholics, no lawyers, and no slaves — all of which were swiftly broken.

If one Catholic is let in, then they’ve already broken two rules because they’re likely carrying a glass of whiskey (offensive? Chill, I’m Irish and Catholic).

A Southern Relic

Savannah was the last stop on Sherman’s March to the Sea, a campaign that left Georgia completely ravaged from Atlanta to just outside of Savannah during November and December of 1864.

Savannah was where the Union boys decided to hang out for a month, and no one likes to sh** where they eat, so they decided to keep things in pretty good shape. What’s a victory party without a good pub and liquor flowing?

Why was Savannah saved? There are theories, including the fact that a little girl wrote a letter to Lincoln (my grandma’s preferred story), or maybe Sherman was just tired after completely crippling the South, or maybe they thought it was simply too beautiful to burn (personal favorite, though I wish they had saved Charleston for that same reason, too).

Sherman allegedly declared that "Until we can repopulate Georgia, it is useless to occupy it, but the utter destruction of its roads, houses and people will cripple their military resources. ...I can make the march and make Georgia howl!" ('Sherman's March' by Burke Davis) - savannahnow.com - source

Thankful that the Union boys used it as their restful playground for a bit, the city is a now great representation of antebellum Southern architecture.

Charleston was not only ravaged by the Civil War but then a terrible earthquake hit it in 1865, crumbling much of the city’s architecture.

The great irony is that Charleston was the British jewel, while Savannah was merely meant to protect it. And then Savannah is left standing but Charleston not? Strange how that works.

The Spanish Moss

Savannah had so much Spanish Moss that I found it my hair, providing the extra locks I never knew I needed. Move aside, Dianna Ross.

That is, until I found out that Spanish Moss contains “Spanish Moss Lice”, aka chiggers. A word to the wise, it may be fun to place it on your head for a photo opp, but the consequences are. not. worth it.

My Favorite Part

I liked venturing out of Savannah and onto the swampy land. The seafood was divine and the air was satly and refreshing. Perhaps I miss Portland, Maine?