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Courtesy Best Read Guide

Colonial Cemetery, located at the corner of Oglethorpe and Abercorn streets, is Savannah's oldest city burial ground and contains monuments to some of the colony's most notable figures. Among those buried there are two of Georgia's early heroes, Button Gwinnett, one of the three Georgia signatories to the Declaration of Independence, and General Lachlan McIntosh, whose interests crossed Gwinnett's with fatal consequences during the American Revolution.

A dispute arose between the two men concerning the abortive Georgian invasion of Florida in 1777, which was an attempt to wrest the colony from the English while their attention was diverted by the American uprising. Gwinnett designed a plan for the Georgia militia to move south, surprise the English and take Florida. However, Gwinnett's plan was flawed and resulted in the militia's commanders, including General McIntosh, losing themselves in south Georgia swampland.

When the mission failed, Gwinnett and McIntosh were brought before a tribunal to offer their accounts of the disappointing and embarrassing events. In the end, Gwinnett won a modest vote of confidence from the tribunal, which dealt rather more harshly with the general.

McIntosh responded with heated words that included unpardonable insults and the code duello was invoked. The exchange is believed to have taken place in the city dueling grounds, propitiously located behind Colonial Cemetery. At a distance of approximately one dozen feet, the men faced each other and fired. Each shot struck its target in the thigh and Gwinnett fell, though he was game enough to offer another round. However, their seconds ended the duel and Gwinnett was removed for treatment. The wound was severe, however, and he died within three days.

McIntosh was brought to trial for murder, but was acquitted of the charge, as the dispute was freely entered by Gwinnett, a fact substantiated by Mrs. Gwinnett, who refused to condemn McIntosh for her husband's death.

Nevertheless, public feeling ran strongly against the general, who subsequently headed north for a command under George Washington. He redeemed his reputation by leading troops at the Battle of Savannah in 1779 to lift the English siege of the city and, in his later years, became one of the city's most esteemed citizens.

The two combatants are buried near each other in Colonial Cemetery, which today is a public park and the only place in the Historic District where you may walk your dog without a leash.

Many thanks to Barbara Hines and Preston Russell, whose book Savannah: A History of Her People Since 1733 can be found in stores throughout the Historic District.