OTD in History, 7/11
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
This is not discussed very much in history books, but it is under appreciated by Americans, and was a very big deal in the American Revolution. Georgia was the only colony/state where the British were able to reinstall the pre-American Revolution royal governor and legislature (i.e., the only colony/state where they regained complete control during the American Revolution). But Nathanael Greene's efforts in the Southern Campaign, and then the victory by the combined forces of Washington and Rochambeau, as well as the efforts of the French Navy under Admiral Francois Joseph Paul, Marquis de Grasse, in 1781 at Yorktown effectively ended the British efforts in the South.
Sir James Wright was appointed the Royal Governor in 1760. He was arrested by local patriot forces in Jan. 1776, but escaped (as an aside, if you read enough history from that period, you begin to wonder why some prisoners never escaped, since the vast majority of prisoners did escape), and felt to a British warship and then returned to London. After British forces occupied Savannah, GA in 1779, Sir James Wright returned to Georgia in July of that year, and served as royal governor (not very effectively) until the British evacuated Savannah on July 11, 1782.
Sir James Wright was appointed the Royal Governor in 1760. He was arrested by local patriot forces in Jan. 1776, but escaped (as an aside, if you read enough history from that period, you begin to wonder why some prisoners never escaped, since the vast majority of prisoners did escape), and felt to a British warship and then returned to London. After British forces occupied Savannah, GA in 1779, Sir James Wright returned to Georgia in July of that year, and served as royal governor (not very effectively) until the British evacuated Savannah on July 11, 1782.
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