The James Edward Oglethorpe (1696-1785) Historical Marker reads:
"The monument in this Square to James Edward Oglethorpe -- the great soldier-philanthropist who founded the colony of Georgia -- was erected by the State of Georgia, the City of Savannah and various Patriotic Societies. Impressive ceremonies marked its unveiling in 1910.
The 9 foot bronze statue of Oglethorpe is the work of one of America's foremost sculptors, the celebrated Daniel Chester French. He has depicted the Founder of Georgia in the full dress of a British general of the period. Oglethorpe is portrayed with sword in hand: alert and ready for council or action. At his feet is a palmetto frond. The statue faces southward symbolizing the threat of Spain's imperial ambitions to the young colony.
The pedestal and base of the monument were designed by Henry Bacon, the eminent New York architect whose collaborations with Daniel Chester French include the Lincoln Memorial. The four lions at the corners of the lower base hold shields on which appear, respectively, the coat of arms of Oglethorpe and the great seals of the Colony of Georgia, the State, and the City of Savannah. On the pedestal of the monument is carved a portion of the text of the charter which was granted by Parliament in 1732 to "the Trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia in America."
The Dr. Wm. A. Caruthers (1802-46) Early American Novelist historical marker reads:
"One block west of this marker -- at the northwest corner of Hull and Whitaker Streets -- stood, formerly, the residence of William Alexander Caruthers, Virginia's earliest significant novelist. He resided in Savannah for several years before his death in 1846. Dr. Caruthers, who married Louisa Catherine Gibson of Whitemarsh Island, Chatham County, moved in 1837 to this city where he successfully practiced medicine. He took a prominent part in affairs in Savannah as a realtor; was one of the founders of the Georgia Historical Society and while an Alderman, 1841-1844, was instrumental in giving Savannahians direct election of their Mayors.
As one of the South's pioneering historical romancers, Caruthers rewrote and first published at Savannah his last and finest novel, "The Knights of the Golden Horse-Shoe" (1841), one of the earliest novels to be published in book form in Georgia. His first novel, "The Kentuckian in New-York" (1834), contains an admiring description of Savannah. Dr. Caruthers died of tuberculosis at Marietta, Ga., in 1846 and is buried there in an unlocated grave in St. James' churchyard."
From the Our Coast.com web site:
"Chippewa Square, located on Bull Street between Hull and Perry Streets, is at the very center of Savannah's famed Historic District. Established in 1815, it takes its name from the Battle of Chippewa during the War of 1812, in which American forces under Major General Jacob Jennings Brown defeated the English (irreverently known by the victors as "lobsterbacks" for their bright red tunics).
In the middle of the square is a statue of General James Oglethorpe. Oglethorpe, born in 1696, founded the colony of Georgia in 1733 with the intention of creating a utopian haven for debtors, a place for adventurers to make a fresh start in the New World. When the general landed on what is today River Street, he was met by a small tribe of Yamacraw Indians led by Tomochichi. Oglethorpe and Tomochichi quickly forged a strong friendship and the settlers were made welcome by the Indians.
Oglethorpe's plan for the colony was ambitious and he quickly devised the unique design of neighborhoods centered around squares that remains, two-and-a-half centuries later, remarkably and beautifully intact.
Under his guidance, Savannah cultivated mulberry trees to create raw silk for export to England. Of more far reaching significance was his role in delivering North America to the English. In the Battle of Bloody Marsh on St. Simons Island, about 75 miles south of Savannah, Oglethorpe and his soldiers defeated the Spanish who had come north from Florida. A small battle, it secured the lower Atlantic coast for the English when the Spanish retreated to Florida. The statue in Chippewa Square, sculpted by Daniel Chester French in 1910, faces south, in the Savannah tradition of placing monuments toward their historic enemies.
There were very few restrictions in the colony and Oglethorpe welcomed nearly everybody who came to settle in Savannah. Initially, his only proscriptions were against slavery, Catholics (because of the Spanish threat) and lawyers. Though officially denied permission to offer sanctuary to any Jews, Oglethorpe granted land to Portuguese Sephardic Jews who helped quell an outbreak of fever that ravaged Savannah. When Austrian Salzburger Lutherans arrived, Oglethorpe helped them establish the small community of Ebenezer northwest of Savannah.
The most famous of the early colonists were the Wesley brothers. John and Charles ministered to the faithful of Savannah, but their rigorous doctrines were met with little enthusiasm and they shortly returned to the Old World and founded Methodism."