Colonists within the colony of Georgia, the last Colony to be founded by Britain, were hesitant to join the cause of revolution that their northern states agreed to join. However, after the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Georgian patriots stormed the royal magazine in the capital city of Savannah and captured arms. They then briefly captured Royal Governor James Wright, until he managed to escape via the HMS Scarborough. Having taken control of the capital, patriot forces sent delegate Lyman Hall to the Second Continental Congress in 1775. He would become one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Georgia was now on-board with the Revolutionary cause.
Meanwhile, Royal Governor James Wright was plotting his return. Having encountered stiff resistance in the North, the British turned their attention to the South, where they hoped Loyalist support would aid their military maneuvers. The First Battle of Savannah was fought in December 1778. British forces were successful in recapturing the city, and James Wright was re-installed as Royal Governor. Not all of Georgia, but large sections of it, were then returned to British control. Essentially, a civil war existed throughout portions of rural Georgia between Loyalist forces on one side and patriot forces on the other.
Determined to regain control of the capital, the Second Battle of Savannah consisted of an American-French siege on the city in the fall of 1779. The city was bombarded by French ships and eventually stormed. British defenses held, however, and the city remained in British control until 1782.
Hamilton Historical Records 