Cantonment Oglethorpe was a United States Army artillery installation that operated near Savannah, Georgia, from 1826 to 1835."Returns from U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1916: Savannah, Georgia, January 1824 - December 1850," National Archives Microfilm Publication M617, Roll 1126, Images 51-227, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/film/008361400?cat=589910 Established on approximately 28 acres of land about a half mile south of Savannah's then city limits, the cantonment housed up to two companies of the Fourth and Second Regiments of Artillery under the Eastern Department of War. The installation became notable for its high mortality rate, with over 100 soldiers, women, and children dying from bilious malignant fever, likely malaria, between 1826 and 1828. Following years of seasonal disease outbreaks, military authorities implemented various strategies to reduce mortality, including seasonal relocations and eventually the construction of new barracks within the city. The post was abandoned in 1835 when troops relocated to the newly constructed Oglethorpe Barracks on Liberty Street. The former cantonment site was ceded to the City of Savannah in 1853 and now comprises a portion of the southwest quadrant of Forsyth Park and a western portion of Savannah's Victorian Historic District.
History
Establishment
Two federal regiments arrived in Savannah in spring 1826 aboard the brig Heroine, which was modified with berths for 75 men and cabins for officers. Construction of Cantonment Oglethorpe began in the months after their arrival. The Mayor and Aldermen of Savannah had requested military presence after all U.S. troops were removed from the city in early 1824.
The soldiers received artillery training at Fortress Monroe before arriving in Savannah to occupy a portion of 28 acres of forested land, located approximately a half mile outside the city's limits. Disease and mortality On February 28, 1829, the Savannah Republican republished an article from the Philadelphia Evening Post in which Savannah residents warned of unhealthy conditions causing a "bilious malignant fever," likely malaria, that had afflicted the recently posted troops. According to the article, approximately one regiment died from summer 1826 through the end of 1827. A regiment arrived in April 1828 to replace the deceased troops, but by the end of 1828, an additional 51 soldiers, 5 women, and 16 children had died from the fever. These deaths are not recorded in the "Index to Register of Deaths in Savannah". Continued research is needed for the burial location of the women, children, and over 100 soldiers.
Monthly Returns from US Military Posts (Monthly Returns) document the severity of the disease outbreak at Cantonment Oglethorpe. Deaths were no longer recorded in Monthly Returns after November 1827. In June 1828, 105 soldiers were listed as 'present' at the cantonment, but by October only 63 soldiers remained. Up to 58% of those present were recorded sick from May to October 1828.
Richard Wayne, M.D., a native of nearby Screven County, received his military commission and served as surgeon at Cantonment Oglethorpe after training at the Medical College in Philadelphia. Wayne later served Savannah as alderman (1828, 1842, 1843), first popularly elected mayor (1844-1845, 1848-1853, 1857-1858), and represented Chatham County in the Georgia legislature. Wayne himself contracted bilious fever in 1840 while treating patients.
Seasonal abandonment strategy (1829-1835) In response to the high mortality rate, military authorities implemented a strategy of seasonal abandonment from 1829 to 1835 to prevent deaths from disease during the warmer months of May through November. This pattern of abandonment is documented in the Monthly Returns."Returns from U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1916: Augusta Arsenal, Georgia, January 1822 - July 1849," National Archives Microfilm Publication M617, Roll 56, Images 208-219, 229-244, 253-266, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/film/008364702?cat=589910"Returns from U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1916: Fort Mitchel, Alabama, August 1825 - April 1840," National Archives Microfilm Publication M617, Roll 785, Images 40-47, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS1R-Q9DC-N?cat=589910
From 1829 to 1831, Company E was sent to Augusta ArsenalLavin, Gregory S. “Augusta Arsenal: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Ordnance Service.” Army Ordnance, vol. 26, no. 142, 1944, pp. 97–98. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/45472150. Accessed 28 Nov. 2025. (aka Augusta Sand Hills) in Augusta, Georgia during the "sickly season". Company I also remained in Augusta until July 20, 1829, when they were dispatched to their permanent post at Fort Mitchell in Alabama, arriving on August 7, 1829.
A new strategy began on May 17, 1832, when Company E relocated within City of Savannah boundaries during the sickly season. Enlisted men billeted in the Savannah Theatre while officers stayed in nearby homes vacated by owners who traveled to cooler climates. City Council agreed to allow the soldiers to temporarily fence in the space between the Theatre and the nearby open grounds of the Chatham Academy. An otherwise normal number of 3 to 7 troops of Company E were recorded sick and one death occurred during the first year of this approach. Troops returned to Oglethorpe Barracks on November 14. Total troops present only decreased by three from May to November, demonstrating the effectiveness of the urban relocation strategy.
On August 22, 1833, the Savannah Mayor and Aldermen passed an ordinance authorizing the establishment of "New Oglethorpe Barracks". The U.S. Government purchased land on Liberty Street on November 5, 1833, for $12,000, as recorded in Superior Court deed 2S-455. The new barracks site was located at what is today mostly the boundaries of the DeSoto Hotel, between Bull Street and Drayton Street. May 15, 1835, was the last noted entry in Monthly Returns where troops were removed from Cantonment Oglethorpe to the City of Savannah.
Slavery and Military Deployment In 1825, Savannah's city population consisted of 2,763 white residents and 3,230 black residents. By 1830, the city's population had grown to 3,620 white residents, 3,279 enslaved persons, and 404 free people of color. In the remainder of Chatham County, the population was 603 white residents, 6,202 enslaved persons, and 22 free people of color. The demographics of Savannah and Chatham County were a factor in the federal government's decision to establish Cantonment Oglethorpe. In a report to Congress dated January 25, 1827, Quartermaster General Thomas S. Jesup stated: "The situation of the city of Savannah, in relation to a certain class of its population, rendered it necessary to place two companies in its vicinity, in consequence of which barracks were to be erected. They were commenced early last Summer, and are now in progress."
On December 22, 1829, months after David Walker's Appeal calling for slave resistance began circulating in Southern ports, Georgia enacted comprehensive slave control legislation that directly affected Savannah as a major port city. The laws mandated a 40-day quarantine for ships arriving with free Black sailors, who were to be jailed until departure; prohibited teaching enslaved or free Black persons to read or write, with white violators subject to fines up to $500 and imprisonment and Black violators subject to whipping; and made circulating materials inciting insurrection punishable by death.
Response to Nat Turner's Rebellion Following Nat Turner's rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, which occurred August 21-23, 1831, the Savannah Georgian reported on Virginia's new slave laws in its October 18, 1831 edition. A December 7, 1831 communication in the Savannah Georgian directed towards City Council, signed Virginia, regarded the seasonal absence of the troops and referenced "the events of last summer," stating that the presence of federal troops "would inspire much confidence and might serve to keep some at home who have said, after the events of last summer, nothing but actual necessity should induce them to stay another." In the following weeks, City Council appointed a committee to request the War Department erect new barracks within the healthier, city borders.
Construction and layout
Budget and planning
In January 1827, the Department of War submitted a letter to the Congressional Military Committee requesting an initial budget of $14,452.51 for Cantonment Oglethorpe. The budget itemized picket fencing and most buildings shown in later plans, including a two-story hospital. The washwomen's quarters, magazine, ordnance storehouse, sutler store, wells, and privies were not included in the budget but appear in an 1829 drawing.
Lieutenant John B. Scott advertised in the Savannah Georgian on October 10, 1826, requesting delivery of 192,000 feet of pine lumber in 28-foot lengths, 8 inches thick and at least 12 inches wide. Scott also secured contracts in 1826 for large quantities of oak firewood and fresh beef.
Site plans Three plans of Cantonment Oglethorpe are preserved in the National Archives Catalog. The architectural style of the building elevations is akin to the regional Lowcountry style. A plan dated March 31, 1829, includes dimensions of the buildings and perimeter picket fence. A third plan appears to be the initial design based on notations indicating incomplete perimeter fencing and fewer buildings. The key for names of buildings and rooms is found on its reverse side. The March 31, 1829 plan shows the picket fence enclosing the cantonment at right angles. The northern fence extended 450 feet without interruption. The west fence measured 602 feet and included a gate near the quartermaster and commissary stores. The east fence extended 480 feet with the main gate at its midpoint. The south fence featured an irregular configuration to accommodate a barn and stable in the southeast corner.
Location The cantonment's site plans show a north arrow rotated approximately 20 degrees west of the street grid, consistent with Savannah's Oglethorpe Plan. This alignment suggests the main gate faced towards White Bluff Road, the nearest contemporary road with this orientation. The other nearby road, Ogeechee Road, did not align with the city's street grid.
Farm Lot 1, Holland Tything, Percival Ward (Farm Lot 1) was surveyed in 1818 measuring 56 acres, 3 rods, and 14 perches total. According to the 1818 plat, this rectangular lot measured 20.60 chains (approximately 1,360 feet) in width and 27.5 chains (approximately 1,815 feet) in length. On April 3, 1827, the United States purchased the northern half of Farm Lot 1, (approximately 28 acres) for $800 (Deed 2O-187). A survey from July 15, 1850 represents the boundaries as Montgomery Street on the west, Gwinnett Street on the north, the central promenade of Forsyth Park (then White Bluff Road) on the east, and Park Avenue on the south.
At the time of purchase, the Mayor and Aldermen of Savannah encouraged the location of Farm Lot 1 due to its proximity to the Greater Ogeechee Road that headed southwest of the city. Ogeechee Road cut through a portion of the northwest corner of the property. Vincent's 1852 map and Colton's 1855 map of Savannah depict Ogeechee Road traversing from the intersection of Montgomery and West Bolton to approximately the midpoint of the 300 block of West Gwinnett Street.Vincent, Edward A. (1853). ''Vincent's Subdivision Map of City of Savannah, Chatham County, State of Georgia: shewing all the public buildings, lots, wards, etc. together with all the latest improvements from surveys and authentic records''. New York, NY. Cartographic and Architectural Division, National Archives II, College Park, MD. Record Group 77, Civil Works Map, File N 73 (2 sheets, oversized). Digitized scans received via email April 30, 2025.