<P> The battle was one of the bloodiest of the war . While Prevost claimed Franco - American losses at 1,000 to 1,200, the actual tally of 244 killed, nearly 600 wounded and 120 taken prisoner, was severe enough . British casualties were comparatively light: 40 killed, 63 wounded, and 52 missing . Sir Henry Clinton wrote, "I think that this is the greatest event that has happened the whole war," and celebratory cannons were fired when the news reached London . </P> <P> It was perhaps because of the Siege's reputation as a famous British victory that Charles Dickens chose the siege of Savannah as the place for Joe Willet to be wounded (losing his arm) in the novel Barnaby Rudge . </P> <P> Three currently - existing Army National Guard units (118th FA, 131st MP and 263rd ADA) are derived from American units that participated in the Siege of Savannah . There are only thirty current U.S. Army units with lineages that go back to the colonial era . </P> <P> In 2005, archaeologists with the Coastal Heritage Society (CHS) and the LAMAR Institute discovered portions of the British fortifications at Spring Hill, the site of the worst part of the Franco - American attack on October 9 . The find represents the first tangible remains of the battlefield . In 2008, the CHS / LAMAR Institute archaeology team discovered another segment of the British fortifications in Madison Square . A detailed report of that project is available on line in pdf format from the CHS website . CHS archaeologists are currently finalizing a follow - up grant project in Savannah, which examined several outlying portions of the battlefield . These included the position of the Saint - Domingue reserve troops at the Jewish Burying Ground west of Savannah . </P>

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