One, driven by strong benevolence of soul, 

Shall fly, like Oglethorpe, from pole to pole: 

Is known alone to that Directing Power, 

Who forms the genius in the natal hour; 

 —Alexander Pope (Horace Imitated) 

Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education Building 

Colony of Georgia Founder James Edward Oglethorpe created the original plan for the City of Savannah with its unique Ward design, which included a Square as the centerpiece of each Ward. Oglethorpe laid out the first six Wards and Squares himself before his final journey back to England. 

By 1855, Oglethorpe’s town plan for Savannah was extended from four Squares in 1734 to twenty-four by 1855. As you stand on any Square in Savannah, four trust lots were reserved for public buildings on the west and east sides. Four tithing lots were granted to the colonialists for their private homes on the northern and southern ends of each square, with each tithing lot further subdivided into ten units. 

Soon after the War of 1812, a new Ward honoring General Jacob Brown, the American commander at the Battle of Chippawa, was laid out. Chippewa Square centered Brown Ward.  

I’ve been delighted in painting several scenes nearby Chippewa: the Six Pence Pub (see PFS-11), the First Baptist Church (see PFS-51), the James Edward Oglethorpe Monument (PFS-58), the Philbrick-Eastman House (PFS-60), the Foley House Inn (PFS-64), and the Independent Presbyterian Church (PFS-73). 

Just north of Chippewa Square and directly across Bull Street from the Independent Presbyterian Church is the northeast tithing-lot set aside in 1788 for educational use by the Chatham Academy.  

The initial academy building, destroyed in a fire in 1899, was rebuilt in two parts. The grammar school facing Oglethorpe Avenue was rebuilt in 1901, while the temple-fronted high school entrance (painted here en Plein air) faces Bull Street and was completed in 1908.  

Today, this magnificent building houses the Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education. 

The namesake of Savannah’s Brown Ward, Major General Jacob Brown, may largely be forgotten in American history today. But Jacob Brown was one of the two most dominant American military figures emerging from the ranks after the War of 1812. When the war ended, Brown served as the United States Commanding General until he died in 1821. History has credited him with enacting policies that professionalized the American Army and with revolutionizing its supply-chain and payroll systems. 

The other dominant military figure who emerged from the War of 1812 was Brigadier General Winfield Scott, who later became the Commanding General of the United States, retiring in 1861. 

Jacob Brown’s leadership proved that well-trained American troops could hold their own against more seasoned British regulars who had earlier defeated Napoléon in Europe. The history books document that Brown won more battles against British forces than any other American general in history — quite a feat for a man with zero formal military training and raised a peace-loving Quaker in Pennsylvania.  

Remember, the Battle of Chippawa was fought on terrain now preserved as a National Historic Site in Canada. I was not, however, able to document evidence that Jacob Brown ever set foot in Savannah.  

By the way, the official name is the Battle of Chippawa. But in Savannah, it became spelled as Chippewa Square. The reason for the historic misspelling remains a mystery to this day.