Cantonment Oglethorpe

About

Cantonment Oglethorpe was a United States Army artillery installation that operated near Savannah, Georgia, from 1826 to 1835. Established on approximately 28 acres of land about a half mile south of Savannah's then city limits, the cantonment housed up to two companies of the Fourth and Second Regiments of Artillery under the Eastern Department of War. The installation became notable for its high mortality rate, with over 100 soldiers, women, and children dying from bilious malignant fever, likely malaria, between 1826 and 1828. Following years of seasonal disease outbreaks, military authorities implemented various strategies to reduce mortality, including seasonal relocations and eventually the construction of new barracks within the city. The post was abandoned in 1835 when troops relocated to the newly constructed Oglethorpe Barracks on Liberty Street. The former cantonment site was ceded to the City of Savannah in 1853 and now comprises a portion of the southwest quadrant of Forsyth Park and a western portion of Savannah's Victorian Historic District.