In the first battle, a British expeditionary force that had landed on the Savannah River below the town overwhelmed and outmaneuvered the American defending force under General Robert Howe, and Savannah was captured. The following year D'Estaing's French fleet returned from the West Indies to the southern coast and began to debark troops at Beaulieu, 14 miles south of Savannah, with the intention of attacking the British at Savannah. A combined force of 1,500 Americans under General Lincoln and more than 5,000 Frenchmen from D'Estaing's fleet laid siege to Savannah, which was defended by about 3,200 British regulars. D'Estaing's fears for the safety of the French fleet led to an early Franco-American attack on the entrenched British, which was repulsed with heavy casualties.

Battles (see Battles Page for more battles)