"In 1814, we took a little trip

Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip'i We took a little bacon and we took a little beans And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans."

—Jimmy Driftwood (The Battle of New Orleans, 1959)

The German Memorial Fountain on Orleans Square

Located in the heart of Orleans Square in Savannah's Historic District, this beautiful German Memorial Fountain commemorates the early German immigrants to the Colony of Georgia. The fountain was dedicated in 1989 to honor the religious, social, economic, and political contributions made by German peoples in establishing and building the Colony of Georgia.

In 1734, Johann Martin Boltzius led a group of 300 Lutheran Saltzburgers expelled for religious reasons from present-day Austria. George II, the Lutheran King of England, offered the Germans refuge in his new Colony in Georgia. Following their difficult first several months in Savannah, Boltzius secured the promising settlement of New Ebenezer from founder James Oglethorpe.

Located only 30 miles outside the City of Savannah, directly up the Savannah River, The Jerusalem Lutheran Church in Ebenezer, Georgia, was completed by the Saltzburgers in 1769 and remains the oldest church building still in use in the State of Georgia.

Jimmy Driftwood was a songwriter and musician who wrote more than 6000 American folk songs. Among his most famous songs was The Battle of New Orleans, recorded by Johnny Horton and selected as the winner of the 1960 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Song. 

The song lyrics recounted the impressive and historic American military victory during the War of 1812 against the British at the Battle of New Orleans. The American commander of that battle was Andrew Jackson, fresh off a victory against Native Americans in the Creek War. Also known as the Red Stick War, the Creek War ended in August 1814 with the Treaty of Fort Jackson, when Jackson forced the Creek Confederacy to surrender millions of acres of (what is now) southern Georgia and central Alabama.

What had started in Savannah as good relations between Georgia founder James Oglethorpe and Native American Tomochichi -- the former Creek Indian who created the Yamacraw Tribe over differences about the incoming settlers in the area — ultimately ended in war and relocation for the Creek Natives.

Fought on January 8, 1815, the Battle of New Orleans featured the British Army led by Sir Edward Pakenham against the United States Army under Major General Andrew Jackson, fought not far from the French Quarter of New Orleans. The British hoped to take New Orleans and Western Florida, with the possibility of grabbing the recently purchased Louisiana Territory if the opportunity presented itself.

The War of 1812 ended with the Treaty of Paris, strangely signed weeks before the fighting commenced in the Battle of New Orleans. Still, the American victory in New Orleans assured the westward expansion of the United States and eventually led to the Presidency of Andrew Jackson in 1828 (see PFS-104). 

Orleans Square was laid out and dedicated in 1815. Chippawa Square, named to honor another famous battle from the War of 1812, has received frequent attention in this series of paintings: Independent Presbyterian Church (PFS-73), Foley House (PFS-64), Oglethorpe Monument (PFS-58), First Baptist Church (PFS-51), Savannah Theatre (PFS-41), Six Pence Pub (PFS-11), and Philbrick-Eastman House (PFS-60).

The 1844 Greek Revival Harper Fowlkes House (see PFS-63), designed by noted Irish architect Charles Cluskey and now owned by the Society of Cincinnati, is the most prominent structure on Orleans Square.