Minuteman Minute | The 118th Field Artillery Regiment at the Capture of Savannah

In December 1778, the 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, Georgia Militia distinguished itself during the defense of Savannah. Today their lineage is carried by the 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery, Georgia Army National Guard.

Hi, I’m Will Roulett, director of the National Guard Memorial Museum here in D.C., and this is your Minuteman Minute! In 1778, with the chances for a quick British victory in the Northern colonies fading, Lt. Col. Archibald Campbell was ordered south to exploit loyalist sentiments there. He arrived near Savannah with 3,000 Soldiers in December 1778. As he waited for reinforcements, Campbell surveyed American defenses. They were a mixed force of Continental and militia troops under Maj. Gen. Robert Howe. Howe was unfamiliar with the terrain and paths of approach through swamps and on rural roads. The Georgia Militia on Howe’s right included the 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, which had recently grown with the addition of an artillery company commanded by Major Joseph Woodruff. The artillery company, which had only one brass field piece, was near some unguarded roads. Col. George Walton, commander of the Georgia Militia’s 1st Regiment, warned Howe about those unguarded roads. The British commander recognized the same weak points and decided to attack on December 29, 1778.  The speed and shock of the attack routed the Americans, whose entire line collapsed. Although his force suffered a crushing defeat, Howe singled out the performance of the artillery company under Major Woodruff. Howe wrote, “The militia… behaved exceedingly well, particularly the company of artillery under Major Woodruff, who notwithstanding a hot fire, maintained against great odds…” The 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, Georgia Militia continues today as part of the Georgia Army National Guard and received its current designation as the 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery in 1917. In December 2024, the “Hickory Battalion” returned home from its seventh overseas combat deployment. Come learn about this – and a whole lot more – at the National Guard Memorial Museum. I’m Will Roulett, and that’s been your Minuteman Minute, brought to you by the National Guard Educational Foundation.