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Saving Savannah
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you’ve ever been on a walking tour of Savannah, there seems to be an obscure law that every single guide is required to mention how Gen. Sherman spared the city after burning and laying waste to everything in his path from Atlanta to the coast. It’s a fine story, even if it’s sometimes accompanied by a whiff of smugness.
And as always with history, the real thing is a lot more interesting. In her new book, “Saving Savannah: The City and the Civil War,” award-winning historian Jacqueline Jones looks at how the city made the transition from slave-based economy to the post-war world.
Here’s an excerpt from the AJC review written by Emory professor Michael Elliott:
” ‘Saving Savannah’ offers a dramatic panorama of everyday life in Savannah, including the wealthy planter class and the white, primarily Irish immigrant laborers, whose presence in Savannah was so crucial to its economy.
However, the book’s true focus is on the diverse communities of African-Americans who lived in and around the city. Jones explains that Savannah was home to a significant population of free blacks even before the Civil War, and that both free and enslaved African-Americans belonged to several churches in the city, institutions that would provide structures of leadership after Emancipation.”
Jones wll discuss and sign “Saving Savannah” at 8 tonight (Oct. 29) at the Atlanta History Center, $10. Reservations required; call 404-814-4150.
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