Let it then be the wisdom of this nation to remain

at peace, as long as peace is within its option.” 

 —William Harris Crawford 

The Gazebo on Crawford Square: A Hidden Gem 

Like the man, it was named to honor, Crawford Square has been by far the square most neglected by tourists in Savannah. The life of William H. Crawford has largely been lost to both Savannahian and American history. Yet, many in his day thought Crawford a political talent destined for the Presidency of the United States. But for a sudden debilitating illness, he likely would have sat in the Oval Office. 

Crawford came closest of any Georgian to reach the Presidency until the 1976 election of Jimmy Carter. 

Take a look at Crawford Square in the Historic District of Savannah. Like me, I think you’ll find it spectacularly beautiful in its unique way. It is in many respects, unlike other squares in Savannah. 

But like the beautiful Gazebo located on Whitefield Square (see PFS-71), this gorgeous Gazebo painted en Plein air sits in the center of Crawford Square. As lovely a place for a picnic as any in the city. 

William Harris Crawford was the middle child with ten siblings. He was born in Virginia in 1772. Financial hardships led the Crawford family to move first to South Carolina, then later to settle in Georgia. 

In 1807, the Georgia legislature elected Crawford to the United States Senate. The Senate soon elected him president pro tempore of the Senate, which at that time made him first in line for the Presidency following the death of Vice-President George Clinton in 1812. 

The following year, President James Madison (see PFS-62) — the fourth president of the United States — appointed Crawford as Minister to France during the vital years of The War of 1812. 

Later, Crawford served as Secretary of War and then in 1816 as Secretary of Treasury — a position he retained for the remainder of the Madison administration. He also held that post until 1825 for the entire duration for James Monroe’s Administration. He was the man in charge during The Panic of 1819. 

Crawford and his supporters were adversaries of South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun. At one point, Crawford’s allies in Congress accused Senator Calhoun of corruption. A Congressional commission settled the issue by backing Calhoun. However, the controversy led to the wounding of a Crawford ally in a duel held by the Savannah River near Augusta, Georgia, with a prominent Calhoun supporter.  

Crawford was not spared the necessity of fighting duels and was wounded in one early in his career. Prevalent to the American South, honor culture played a central part in a Georgia man’s life. In the war to come, US national honor was a central issue and contingent upon economic and trade implications. 

The appointment of Crawford as the United States Minister to France in 1813 was no ordinary matter of diplomacy. Both France and America were in the middle of separate but mutually disastrous wars with Great Britain. Napoleon Bonaparte had made the strategic error of invading Russia — my home country — and then getting his army stuck in the frozen snow near Moscow.  

Tired of the Royal Navy stopping and seizing American-flagged ships on the open sea and impressing American seamen into British subjects, Congress declared war against Great Britain in June 1812. Maritime free trade was vital to the interests of coastal Georgia, particularly the port of Savannah. 

In 1814, the Brits burned our DC Capitol Building and the White House. To be continued (see PFS-104).