Savannah True History Tours

Savannah True History Tours We provide walking tours of beautiful historic Savannah. Voted Savannah's Best in 2022, 2023, & 2024!

There are three kinds of tours in Savannah: Trolley tours, ghost tours, and the truth. Savannah is full of amazing history - There's no need to make it up! Our guide spent well over a year researching and writing our Historic Savannah Walking Tour. We take history seriously, and we guarantee you'll learn something new! Voted 2022's Best Walking Tour and Best Tour Guide by Connect Savannah's readers.

in 1861, 134 men steamed downriver from Savannah to Fort Pulaski. Senator Robert Toombs had written to Georgia Govern...
01/03/2025

in 1861, 134 men steamed downriver from Savannah to Fort Pulaski. Senator Robert Toombs had written to Georgia Governor Joe Brown that the fort would soon be reinforced by additional US troops. Upon arrival, the Georgians found only two men: An ordnance sergeant and a caretaker. The fort was promptly surrendered to the Georgians, marking what was at the time, the most overt act any state had taken against federal property. Among the Georgians at Pulaski were a few who would soon find wartime fame: Francis Bartow, Alexander Lawton, and Moxley Sorrel.

Tours all weekend, including Savannah History and Dark History!

Today’s date is a massive anniversary in Savannah history. , December 29, 1778, the British retook Savannah. In Novemb...
12/29/2024

Today’s date is a massive anniversary in Savannah history. , December 29, 1778, the British retook Savannah.

In November, British General Henry Clinton began moving his army of Regulars, Hessians, and Loyalists from NY to Georgia. Clinton’s 3,000+ men appeared off Tybee on December 23. They began coming ashore just two miles from the city on December 29.

Continental General Robert Howe drew up his 800’ish men in a V-shaped line just southeast of Savannah. He anchored both his left and right on swampy ground, confident his flanks were safe. Unfortunately for Howe, a local slave approached the British command with an offer to guide troops through the swamp on the American right flank. Howe sent 600 men with the slave who successfully brought the men around the Americans’ right flank. The rest of Howe’s command occupied the American front. Howe was clueless as to the disaster about to develop. Once he heard the firing to his rear flank and saw the British now advancing on his front, he ordered a retreat. The British cut off the path to the Augusta Road, so the Americans panicked further. Many Americans tried to swim across Musgrove Creek, just west of the city. Some made it, many surrendered. Some were even bayoneted before they could surrender. The day was a catastrophe.

The Americans lost nearly 100 men killed and wounded plus another 450 captured. More drowned while swimming across swampy creeks. The British lost less than 30 total. Georgia would be held by the British until 1782.

We’ll discuss Savannah in the Revolution on tonight’s Dark History Tour! Come out and celebrate the end of the rain.

We have five more tours this week, highlighted by the final Holiday History Tour of the season!Friday: 2:30: Savannah ...
12/26/2024

We have five more tours this week, highlighted by the final Holiday History Tour of the season!

Friday:

2:30: Savannah Orientation Tour
6:30: Holiday History Tour

Saturday:

10:00 AM: Savannah History Walk (Few tickets remaining for this one)
2:30: Colonial Park Cemetery Tour

Sunday:

7:30 PM: Dark History Tour

We hope to see you out there!

Christmas Eve service times of Downtown churches:Independent Presbyterian: 5:30 PM followed by caroling on the greenChr...
12/24/2024

Christmas Eve service times of Downtown churches:

Independent Presbyterian: 5:30 PM followed by caroling on the green
Christ Church: 5:00 and 10:00 PM
Lutheran Church of the Ascension: 5:30 and 9:00 PM
St. John’s, Episcopal: 5:00 and 10:40 PM
St. John’s, Catholic: 5:30 and 10:00 PM
Wesley Monumental UMC: 10:30 AM, 3:30, and 5:30 PM
First Baptist: 7:00 PM
Unitarian Universalist: 7:00 PM
Trinity UMC: 6:00 PM

We were unable to locate info for some, including Downtown’s historic black churches. Please feel free to add your congregation’s info in the comments!

Merry Christmas, and we’ll see you at The Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah tonight!

It’s that time of year again! “Jingle Bells” - Savannah’s own? There’s no doubt the song was copyrighted while its writ...
12/23/2024

It’s that time of year again!

“Jingle Bells” - Savannah’s own? There’s no doubt the song was copyrighted while its writer lived in Savannah. That man, James Pierpont, had recently relocated from Medford, MA. Medford certainly gets credit for the song’s vivid scenery, but was it written in Savannah? To this day, both cities claim credit! As an interesting aside, Pierpont remained in Georgia upon the state’s secession and served in the Confederate cavalry.

Merry Christmas!

Good afternoon from sunny St. Augustine! Another research trip brings us to the nation’s oldest city, but all the fun i...
12/19/2024

Good afternoon from sunny St. Augustine! Another research trip brings us to the nation’s oldest city, but all the fun is happening in Savannah this week. We have some great tours coming up, including tonight’s Holiday History Tour!

Tonight: Holiday History, 6:30 PM
Tonight: Dark History Tour, 7:00 PM

Saturday 12/21: Savannah History Walk at 10:00 AM & 2:00 PM, Colonial Park Cemetery Tour at 11:00 AM, Dark History at 6:30 PM

Monday 12/23: A rare daytime Dark History Tour at 2:00 PM

By popular demand, we’ve added another Holiday History Tour on Friday, 12/27.

Now back to St. Augustine: Sure seems like a prime spot for a True History Tour…

Santa turtles: One Savanah’s great Christmas traditions. Want to learn about more (read: A lot more)? Great, because ...
12/12/2024

Santa turtles: One Savanah’s great Christmas traditions. Want to learn about more (read: A lot more)? Great, because we have two more Holiday History Tours coming up this week!

Our next edition is this Sunday at 10:30 AM. Tickets are available on our website. Can’t wait to see you then!

12/07/2024

On this Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, we highly recommend following this USS Arizona account on X/Twitter as it “tweets” the events of December 7, 1941 as they occurred:

Ever wonder how past Savannahians celebrated the Holiday Season? Join us on this festive walking tour as we traverse th...
12/01/2024

Ever wonder how past Savannahians celebrated the Holiday Season? Join us on this festive walking tour as we traverse the Historic District and explore Savannah’s connection to some of your favorite holiday traditions!

Learn how Savannah became a Christmas gift to one of our Presidents and how Hannukah was celebrated in Georgia’s infancy. You may even be surprised to learn that a number of popular Christmas carols got their start in this lovely city.

This special tour is a great way to get into the holiday spirit, and we’ll even make a special pit stop to gain even more holiday cheer along the way!

This tour is currently scheduled for December 8 and 15 at 10:30 AM, as well as December 19 at 6:30 PM. We may just even add a few more as well. Come enjoy the holiday season with our newest guide, Sarah!

We have huge news x 2: A new guide AND a new tour! Please welcome Sarah Mathis to the True History Tours team. Sarah ...
12/01/2024

We have huge news x 2: A new guide AND a new tour! Please welcome Sarah Mathis to the True History Tours team. Sarah is an Air Force Veteran who has built a career on collecting and analyzing information to educate and inform others in a way that’s entertaining and effective. She's a docent at the Harper Fowlkes House and runs the popular Instagram account Hostess Savannah. As of today, she's also the owner and host of Hostess: A Savannah Podcast.

Now that you've met her, here's the first awesome tour she's bringing to the table: Savannah's Holiday History Tour! Over two hours, she'll take you on a deep dive into Savannah's holiday history and traditions. More to come in our next post.

Welcome, Sarah!

By coincidence, my alma mater, the Virginia Military Institute, celebrates its birthday on Veterans Day. 185 years ago ...
11/11/2024

By coincidence, my alma mater, the Virginia Military Institute, celebrates its birthday on Veterans Day. 185 years ago today, Cadet John Strange assumed sentinel duty from the militia that had previously guarded the former Lexington Arsenal.

Its graduates include 266 General or Flag Officers, seven Medal of Honor recipients, and the man who arguably saved the world: George C. Marshall.

Happy Veterans Day to all!

We have quite a variety of tours this week, including two rarities: A daytime Dark History Tour and a Civil War Tour!Fu...
10/30/2024

We have quite a variety of tours this week, including two rarities: A daytime Dark History Tour and a Civil War Tour!

Full schedule:

10/30: Dark History at 6:30
10/31: Dark History at 2:30 and 7:00
11/1: Savannah History Walk at 10:00, Dark History at 7:30
11/2: Savannah History Walk at 10:00 and 2:00, Civil War Tour at 1:00, Dark History Tour at 6:30

Come out and enjoy the beautiful weather with tours that are both enriching and entertaining!

We’re offering a rare (for us at least) Sunday tour this weekend! Our Revolutionary War Tour covers the before, during,...
10/26/2024

We’re offering a rare (for us at least) Sunday tour this weekend! Our Revolutionary War Tour covers the before, during, and after the War of Independence. You won’t be surprised to learn that the guide, a former National Park Service Ranger who worked on battlefields, ends this tour on a battlefield!

Come out for a Sunday stroll and learn about the bloodiest hour of the American Revolution that happened right here in our backyard.

10/17/2024

A big thank you for selling out Saturday’s Colonial Park Cemetery Tour! We’ve added a new tour for this Sunday at 1:30 PM. Our October 25 tour still has some availability, and we plan to add a few more before month’s end.

Thank you!

UPDATE: The 10/19 tour is sold out. We've added an additional tour this Sunday (10/20) at 1:30 in addition to the 10/2...
10/16/2024

UPDATE: The 10/19 tour is sold out. We've added an additional tour this Sunday (10/20) at 1:30 in addition to the 10/25 Tour. We'll be releasing some additional dates soon!

Thank you for your patronage!

You’ve heard the stories. You’ll hear them over a dozen times a day in October if you stand outside long enough. “There are mass graves in Colonial Park Cemetery.” Oh yea? “Exactly 666 people died from the 1820 Yellow Fever outbreak.” No, it was actually more. “Button Gwinnett and Lachlan McIntosh are buried the same distance apart as they stood during their famous duel, which was fought behind the cemetery.” Here’s a better question: Is Gwinnett even in Colonial Park? Oh, and they didn’t duel there.

If you want to know the truth, then we cordially invite you to the city’s only fact-based tour of Colonial Park Cemetery. Want to actually view the infamous vandalized stones? We got you. Who are the oldest and most recent burials? We’ll meet them, too.

Tours are currently scheduled for 10:30 AM on Saturday, October 19 and 10:00 AM on Friday, October 25. Additional October tours will be added soon! Best part: These tours are limited to only 15 guests, thus preserving an intimate experience and allowing the opportunity for any questions.

Max has an announcement for our Florida friends! If you were forced to evacuate your Florida home (or leave your Florid...
10/09/2024

Max has an announcement for our Florida friends! If you were forced to evacuate your Florida home (or leave your Florida vacation early) due to Hurricane Milton, we’d like to offer you any of our tours for half-price. Just send us a message on Instagram, Facebook, or email us at [email protected]. This offer is good for all public tours through this Sunday (10/13). If nothing else, we can hopefully distract you with history and a few laughs for a couple hours.

We wish the best to all our friends down in Florida this week.

in 1862, the United States experienced its deadliest day. Savannahians were not immune. Brigadier General Alexander ...
09/17/2024

in 1862, the United States experienced its deadliest day. Savannahians were not immune. Brigadier General Alexander Lawton’s Brigade was fiercely engaged as the Battle of Sharpsburg (called Antietam north of the Potomac) opened. Lawton’s Brigade, numbering 1,150 men that morning, lost 554 that day. Five of his six regimental commanders were casualties.

In the photo accompanying this post, you see the D.R. Miller Cornfield and a touch of the East Woods. If that photo was taken at 10 AM on September 17, 1862, you’d see nearly 8,000 killed and wounded Americans. Nearly 23,000 would become casualties across the full battlefield.

Lawton was seriously wounded and fortunate to escape with his life. He would not fully recover until 1863, and he never again held field command. He returned to Savannah after the war and was selected as the fifth President of the American Bar Association. He continued in public service with his appointment as Minister to Austria-Hungary. Lawton died in 1896 at the age of 77 and is buried in his beautiful family plot in Bonaventure.

Lawton receives mentions on both our Civil War and Dark History Tours. Because we’re geeks of the geekiest variety, we’d even be happy to show you his house - Just ask!

Another big THANK YOU is in store! You voted us Savannah’s Best Group Activity and Brandon as Savannah’s Best Tour Guid...
08/30/2024

Another big THANK YOU is in store! You voted us Savannah’s Best Group Activity and Brandon as Savannah’s Best Tour Guide in Savannah Magazine's annual poll! Savannah, you’ve embraced us from day one, and we’re so lucky to live in this amazing city. We’ll never stop researching and telling the TRUE history of Savannah, Georgia!

And by the way, it’s Labor Day Weekend! A huge weekend ahead full of family time and college football. If you’d like to get some exercise in while learning a little something, we have some great tours this weekend, including Savannah History Walks, Civil War Tours, and Dark History.

Thank you and have a great long weekend!

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Savannah, GA
31401

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Videos

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Savannah True History Tours!

If you haven’t seen a show here, you absolutely should. Seeing Ken Block and Drew Copeland of Sister Hazel in this environment was something special, even if they’re Florida fans.

And so it begins. For those on last night’s tour, recognize that standard near the end of the video? 200 years in just one week!

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