SAVANNAH, GEORGIA—CNN reports that 12 cannons that may date to the Revolutionary War period were recovered from the Savannah River by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has been deepening the channel in Savannah’s harbor. The British captured the city in 1778 and held it until 1782. Three other cannons were found last year near Old Fort Jackson, which was constructed in the early nineteenth century. Historical research in British archives indicates these cannons may have been aboard two or more British troop transport ships that had been scuttled to block the channel and prevent French ships from coming to the aid of the Americans. Cleaning of the newly raised cannons could reveal information about where and when they were manufactured, if they had also been carried by British ships, or if they were later reused at Fort Jackson. For more on Revolutionary War–era archaeological discoveries in Georgia, go to "Small Skirmish in the War for Freedom."
