when Georgia entered the American Revolu-
tion, it became Prevost’s responsibility to
mount offensive forays into that state while
thwarting counterthrusts from the same. His
position improved following the capture of Sa-
vannah by Lt. Col. Archibald Campbellin
December 1778, and he received orders to
march his regiment there. En route, he briefly
besieged Fort Morris (present-day Sunbury,
Georgia), which fell in early January 1779.
Pushing ahead, he next became apprised that
a large body of rebels had gathered at Purys-
bury under Gen. Benjamin Lincoln. Prevost
promptly landed his men on the coast behind
the Americans, deflecting their advance upon
Augusta. This, in turn, gave Colonel Campbell
time to occupy that settlement and recruit
backwoods Loyalists. At length, a force under
Gen. William Moultrie forced Prevost to with-
draw to his fleet on February 3, 1778, and two
weeks later he was promoted to major gen-
eral. In this capacity he assumed command of
all British forces in the south. Campbell,
meanwhile, abandoned Augusta and marched
back to Savannah, closely followed by a rebel
force under Gen. John Ashe. The Americans
suddenly stopped at Briar Creek to repair the
bridge and await the arrival of additional
troops under General Lincoln. It seemed Geor-
gia would be lost to the British cause after all.
Despite being outnumbered, Prevost de-
cided to strike Ashe before reinforcements ar-
rived. He led the main column consisting of
the first battalion, 71st Highlanders, while dis-
patching his younger brother, Lt. Col. Mark
Prevost, on a wide circuit to catch the Ameri-
cans from behind. They covered nearly 50
miles without detection and were nearly upon
the quarry when Ashe deployed his men on
March 3, 1779. Eager to close, the younger
Prevost attacked Ashe before his brother
could cut off the Americans. A stiff firefight
occurred, after which he exploited a gap in
Ashe’s line by thrusting a battalion forward,
and the rebel position collapsed. For a loss of
five killed and 11 wounded, the British had in-
flicted 200 killed and took 150 prisoners. Con-
sequently, the American reconquest of Geor-
gia was postponed indefinitely. Prevost then
gathered up all his regular forces and ad-
vanced toward Charleston, brushing aside a
small detachment under Moultrie at Coo-
sawhatchie River, South Carolina, on May 3,- However, the gradual appearance of
more numerous forces under Lincoln and Col.
Cashimir Pulaski forced the British to with-
draw in turn. A strategic impasse ensued over
the next several months, but Georgia re-
mained firmly in British hands.
During this interval, Prevost fortified Sa-
vannah against an attack from the sea, espe-
cially since France had entered the war on be-
half of the United States. His precaution was
well-founded, for in September 1779, a large
fleet of 33 vessels under Admiral Comte d’Es-
taing hove to and discharged 5,000 soldiers,
joined by another 1,500 Americans under Lin-
coln. In true European fashion, d’Estaing
called upon the British commander to surren-
der, and Prevost requested 24 hours to con-
sider the request. However, he used the time
to augment his garrison with an additional
800 men under Lt. Col. John Maitland, raising
his total garrison to around 3,000 effectives.
He also supervised the construction of sev-
eral redoubts with interlocking fields of fire.
The siege then commenced in earnest, al-
though by October d’Estaing was under pres-
sure to leave with the approach of the hurri-
cane season. On October 9, 1779, the allies
made a direct assault upon Savannah and
were bloodily repulsed with the loss of 600
French and 150 American troops. Prevost’s
well-fortified men lost only 150 casualties.
Greatly discouraged, the French embarked
and sailed away while Lincoln marched back
into the interior. Gen. Henry Clinton, the
British commander in chief, was so delighted
by Prevost’s victory that he pronounced it
“the greatest event that has happened in the
whole war.” This success also prompted him
to prepare his own amphibious assault
against Charleston that winter, which her-
alded the long and bloody southern campaign.
Prevost returned to England shortly after
his impressive victory at Savannah and died
PREVOST, AUGUSTIN