Untitled - the Digital Library of Georgia

CHAPTER V
SAVANNAH'S REVOLUTIONARY MONUMENTS—THE GREENE MONUMENT IN
JOHNSON SQUARE—THE PULASKI MONUMENT, IN CHIPPEWA SQUARE—
THE BRONZE STATUE OF SERGEANT JASPER IN MADISON SQUARE—
THE SPRING HILL REDOUBT—JASPER SPRING.
During the visit of General Lafayette to Savannah, in 1825, the
old palladin of liberty was asked to take part in laying the corner
stones of two monuments to be erected in the "Forest City," one to the
memory of Gen. Nathanael Greene, in Johnson Square, and one to the
memory of Count Pulaski, in Chippewa Square. He yielded assent;
and on March 21, 1825, the corner-stones were duly laid in the places
designated, General Lafayette acting in association with the Masonic
lodges. Subsequently donations were received for the erection of these
monuments. The sum desired was $35,000, for the raising of which the
Legislature authorized a lottery; but, the enterprise languishing after
a few years it was decided to erect only one shaft, to be dedicated in
common to the two illustrious heroes.
Accordingly, the first monument erected, a shaft of granite, fifty feet
in height, was called the "Greene and Pulaski" monument, and for
twenty-five years it continued to honor the two heroes jointly, though it
bore no inscription. Finally, in 1853, funds having been raised suf
ficient to carry out the original plan, the monument in Johnson Square
became the "Greene" monument, and a shaft to Count Pulaski was
erected elsewhere. However, it was not until 1885 that it bore an
inscription. The Georgia Historical Society then took the matter in
hand, and, with the aid of the city authorities, raised the money needed
for the tablets. Both made of bronze, the one on the south side por
trays, in bas relief, the full length figure of General Greene, while the
one on the north side reads thus:
"Major-General Nathanael Greene, born in Rhode
Island, 1742, died in Georgia, 1786. Soldier, patriot, and
friend of Washington. This shaft has been reared by the
people of Savannah in honor of his great services to the
American Revolution."
On November 14, 1902, the remains of General Greene having been
found in the Graham vault, after long search, in the old Colonial
burial ground, were re-interred with impressive ceremonies under the
Greene monument. The ashes of his son, George "Washington Greene,
were likewise committed to the same receptacle. Directly over the spot
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