#141: The International Seaman's House on Washington Square

"The harder the conflict, the greater the triumph."

—George Washington

The International Seaman's House on Washington Square

Within Savannah's Historic District, Washington Square and the Ward on which it sits were named for the first President of the United States, George Washington. Five months after the official ceremony naming the Square and Ward in his honor and only two years after taking the oath of office at his first inauguration at Federal Hall in New York City, President Washington visited Savannah in May 1791.

When he arrived in Savannah, the President received a 26-gun salute from the Chatham Artillery, a regiment formed for Savannah's defense. However, the city and harbor remained under British control throughout most of the Revolutionary War after the Red Coats recaptured the city in 1778.

On his first evening in Savannah, Washington attended services at Christ's Church (see PFS-27) on Johnson Square. Among the prominent delegation of Savannahians who met the President included Noble Wimberly Jones, Joseph Habersham, and Brigadier General Lachlan McIntosh.

Nobel Wimberly Jones was born in England and came to Georgia at age ten in 1733 with his father, Nobel Jones. The latter served under General James Oglethorpe, protecting the new colony from unfriendly Native Americans and the Spanish to the south. Like his namesake father, the young Jones grew up to become a physician and a political leader. He was twice elected delegate to the Second Continental Congress, helped write Georgia's Constitution in 1777, and was elected Speaker of the House of the Georgia Assembly. During the Revolutionary War, the British held Jones captive in St. Augustine, Florida. He returned to Savannah in 1782 after his release in a prisoner of war exchange.

Born in Savannah in 1751, Joseph Habersham was a local businessman and became a soldier in the Continental Army. President George Washington later appointed Habersham Postmaster General of the United States. His home in Savannah now hosts one of the port city’s finest restaurants, The Olde Pink House (see PFS-05). Be sure to order the Fried Green Tomatoes as an appetizer on your next visit.

There has long been a local Savannah legend that President Washington amply consumed the city's infamous Chatham Artillery Punch and became so hungover he swore never to return to Savannah—which, history coincidentally confirms, he never did. In case you are curious, you can find a version of that punch served at the Artillery Bar found in the old Hussars Armory (see PFS-122).

Among the committee welcoming Washington to Savannah was Brigidare General Lachlan McIntosh, who served under General Washington at Valley Forge. Early in the Revolution, McIntosh organized the defense of Savannah and became entangled in the Battle of the Rice Boats, an early land and naval battle against the British on and around the Savannah River in March 1776. Button Gwinett, one of only three Georgians who signed the Declaration of Independence, was killed by McIntosh in 1777 during a dual over the jealous military rivalry between the two ambitious men (see PFS-85). Lachlan McIntosh was born in Scotland and came to Georgia with a 1736 wave of immigrants at age eight. When his father died after long suffering from injuries suffered during The War of Jenkins' Ear, he was sent to Bethesda Orphanage and placed under the care of Evangelist George Whitefield (see PFS-71) for two years. With General Oglethorpe's encouragement, the young McIntosh became a cadet at Fort Frederica.

I stood on Washington Square while painting this house. From the mid-19th Century, the International Seaman's House provided a safe respite to sailors visiting the port city, offering them legal services, entertainment, and religious council with local Savannahian chaplains. Located at 25 Houston Street, the building now hosts weddings and other special events.