York, but discovering that
Lincoln was advancing to Lower Georgia, he departed for Savannah, to
defend the fortress, leaving Colonel Maitland, with a garrison of eight
hundred men, to protect St. John's. An attempt was made by General
Lincoln to cut off this force, but his attack was bravely repulsed,
and the American general, dispirited by his non-success, attempted
no further operations until the arrival of the French fleet under
d'Estaing.

INEFFECTUAL ATTEMPT OF THE AMERICANS TO REDUCE SAVANNAH.

It was at the beginning of September that the French fleet arrived off
the mouth of the Savannah River. Its appearance was so sudden that
an English fifty-gun ship, a small frigate, and two store-ships were
surprised, and, after some severe fighting, captured. As soon as
d'Estaing arrived, Lincoln directed his march from South Carolina
to Savannah. Before his arrival d'Estaing landed about 3000 men at
Beaulieu, and marching straight to Savannah, summoned General Prevost to
surrender the town to the arms of France. Prevost, who had called in all
his detachments and garrisons in Georgia, and had put the town in the
best possible state of defence, declined answering a general summons,
and requested a suspension of arms for twenty-four hours. Imagining that
this period was required to draw up terms of capitulation, d'Estaing
granted these terms, fully calculating that, at the expiration of
the time, Savannah would be taken without the waste of a single shot.
Prevost's motive, however, for requiring so many hours before he gave
his answer to the summons was, to give Colonel Maitland time to reach
the city to aid in its defence. Maitland arrived, after a laborious
march, and threw himself into Savannah with his eight hundred veterans,
and then Prevost informed d'Estaing that the place would be defended to
the last extremity. General Lincoln joined the French on the 16th, and
after spending a few days in quarrelling with d'Estaing for not waiting
for him, and for not summoning the place in the name of congress,
instead of the French king, having made up the quarrel they commenced
the siege. Their batteries were ready to open on the 14th of October,
and, in the meantime, the beseiged had not been idle. The defences had
been daily improved, and two successful sorties were made, in which
many of the allies were killed and wounded. The batteries were at
length opened: fifty-three large cannon and fourteen mortars kept up
an i