One of the nice things about Savannah is the varied ethnic groups and celebrations that live here. In Savannah we have festivals celebrating the heritages of Jews, Irish, Germans, African-Americans, Scots, English, Hispanics, Asians, French, and an International Festival celebrating a multitude of ethnic groups.  In neighboring towns we have a Russian Festival, a Mexican Our Lady of Guadalupe festival, and so on. Finally, we have one of my favorite the Greek festival. 

The first Greeks arrived in Savannah around 1870. As many groups that first came to Savannah the church became the center of their cultural life. The first Greek Orthodox Church in Savannah was organized around 1900 and received its charter in 1907.  In 1918, they erected a Greek school behind the church where Greek language, history and the Orthodox Christian faith were taught on weekdays and Saturday mornings.

A local chapter of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association was organized in 1923. Its purpose was to "advance and promote pure and undefiled Americanism among the Greeks of the United States, and for the benevolent aid among this nationality."

In 1941 the Greek Orthodox Church purchased the Lawton Memorial Building from the City of Savannah. After a renovation, the former civic center was transformed into a beautiful house of worship. In 1951 the Church built a Greek Center. This is where the Savannah Greek Festival is celebrating its 67th anniversary this year is held. Today the church serves 350 families.

Probably, one of the most prominent modern day Greek citizens of Savannah was John P. Rousakis (January 14, 1929 – December 10, 2000). He was the first Greek-American to become Mayor of Savannah. Rousakis was elected to the Chatham County Commission in 1965.He ran for Mayor of Savannah in 1970. He won re-election in 1974, 1978, 1982 and 1986. This made him the longest serving mayor in Savannah history.

Rousakis was quite the athlete. He was elected to the Greater Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame. He was the captain of the Savannah High School state basketball champs in 1946 and '47. "Some people called him 'Jumping Johnny Rousakis.'” He couldn't get 2 inches off the ground," said his son, Paul. "He told me it was great timing. He always had the touch." He accepted a scholarship to Kentucky to play for legendary coach Adolph Rupp, then later transferred to Armstrong College and to the University of Georgia, where an ankle injury ended his playing career.

Rousakis was an active mayor that saw River Street, which was slated to become a parking lot, revitalized into the world renowned place it is today. His tenure included the development of City Market, which has become another tourist haunt but locals can also be seen there chowing down at Vinnie Van Go-Go’s pizza joint. His administration was instrumental in bringing Olympic Yachting to Savannah in 1996. His list of other accomplishments as mayor is quite remarkable.

He became, in some ways, Savannah’s celebrity. He made an appearance in the movie “Gator” as a hotel clerk which starred Burt Reynolds. Rousakis, whose parents emigrated from Greece, received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, awarded annually to significant Americans of foreign descent. He was honored with U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and New York Yankees manager Joe Torre. He was even cited in a new in a book that he may have had a part in President Nixon's 1972 election victory over George McGovern. In The Hunting of the President: The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill and Hillary Clinton, writers Joe Conason and Gene Lyons report that a letter Rousakis wrote McGovern was used by Nixon's campaign to discredit McGovern’s support among the Greek population. In the letter he labeled the McGovern supporter and Greek editor Elias Demetracopoulos an "obscure Greek communist journalist". This letter was circulated by the Nixon campaign to Greek-American newspapers to show McGovern did not have genuine Greek backing.

It was an outbreak of crime caused by the Ricky Jivens gang that finally would unseat him as Mayor. The violent crime rate was one of the highest in the nation. Savannahians, concerned about their economies and welfare, voted him out for the tough on crime Republican candidate Susan Weiner. She would become the first woman mayor of Savannah.
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The Greeks continue to enliven the cityscape and world of Savannah. Whether it be eating spanakopita at the Olympia Café on River Street, touring the beautiful Greek Orthodox Church, listening and watching Greek music and dance at the annual Greek Festival, or seeing a show at Rousakis Plaza on River Street, one can appreciate their presence in our city.
 

​Savannah can sometimes be referred to as Slowvannah but in fact we have been the leader in the various waves of economic and engineering advancement. Twice Savannah has been the home of inventions or innovations that greatly influenced the South’s economy. The first took place on Mulberry Grove. This was the plantation of Revolutionary War hero Gen. Nathaniel Greene. Because Greene was responsible for the retreat from the south of the British army after the War he was offered land from the Carolinas and Georgia in appreciation of his leadership. He accepted the land outside of Savannah and made his home there. Unfortunately the Southern heat was too harsh on the Rhode Island man and he died in his first year living at Mulberry Grove. His wife, the socialite Catherine Greene who was a favorite dance partner of George Washington, continued to run the plantation. One of her never-ending guests was Eli Whitney.  While there the Yale graduate was challenged to create a better way to remove the seed from upland cotton. This was a source of frustration for the farmers because it was too labor intensive to make a good profit from cotton. He met this challenge in his cotton gin. The cotton gin would make cotton king in the South and slavery grow as the cotton plantations prospered. It was the game-changer in the Southern economy. Whitney would go on to make his fortune through his emphasis on interchangeable parts in the making of muskets and milling machines but oddly enough because of challenges to or “borrowings” of his patent, he never made much money from his most famous and important work: the cotton gin.
        Since we are on the subject of cotton another unique innovation can be found in what was once referred to as King Cotton’s Palace or the Wall Street of the South: the Cotton Exchange Building found on Bay Street (pictured partly in the photo on the bottom). The Cotton Exchange Building was completed in 1887 and would become home to the cotton exchange of the largest seaport of cotton in the United States. The architect, William Gibbons Preston, was presented with quite the challenge by the state legislature which required of the building that it "shall not interfere with the full and complete and uninterrupted use of the public of said slip." He basically had to build his masterpiece in the air because the builders only had air rights above a public slip; the public owned the land under the building.  Furthermore the city of Savannah said the land under the building had to be wide enough for a wagon and its draft horses to pass through. His design was chosen out of eleven architects and is one of the few structures in the world erected over an existing street.  So next time you find yourself on River Street behind the Cotton Exchange pause for a second to look at this unique nineteenth century architectural engineering feat.
        Speaking of the nineteenth century do you know what is significant about May 22nd ?  Oh you landlubbers May 22nd is National Maritime Day. That is the day on which the SS Savannah set sail from the city on its way to Europe. It would become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. William Scarborough of the Scarborough House and now Ships of the Sea fame, was the financer. The ship launched from Savannah stopping first in Charleston before it went on its European tour. James Monroe came to Savannah and took a cursory sail on the ship before its departure. It was called a steam coffin by sailors reluctant to sail on it because they did not like the idea of a fire on a wooden boat. When it finally made its way to Europe it was stopped by two European ships to assist it because the smoke coming from the ship made them believe it was on fire. It would be another thirty years before an American steamship would again cross the Atlantic Ocean. Not only is National Maritime Day celebrated on the steam ship’s original launch day but there is a monument (pictured at the top) on River Street here in Savannah in its honor. The first nuclear-powered merchant ship NS Savannah was also named in honor of its illustrious predecessor.
       While we are on the subject of innovative transportation in the present day Gulfstream Aeorospace, a subsidairy of General Dynamics headquartered in Savannah where it moved in 1967, has business jets that seem as though they are setting new records monthly. A few records follow: The Gulfstream GII was the first business jet to cross the Atlantic Ocean nonstop. The Gulfstream G450 became first business jet to cross Atlantic Ocean using biofuels. The Gulfstream G650 set the world record for westbound, around-the-world flight in 41 hours, 7 minutes. Gulfstream was the first private aircraft manufacturer to offer synthetic vision and also was the first to develop and incorporate computer-based, in-flight maintenance review for aircraft. Gulfstream is one of the leading industries in Georgia and has invested huge amounts of money in the Savannah non-profit world.
      Gulfstream has also been one of the chief sponsors of a Savannah organization The Ocean Exchange which pays huge prizes for inventions. The Ocean Exchange was founded in 2010. Gulfstream initiated its Navigator Award in 2011 with Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s Orcelle award, joining in 2012, with their reward prizes of $100,000 a piece for the inventor\s who according to the announcement is "Translating sustainability into value" and the Ocean Exchange review panel is seeking Solutions Inspiring Action; scalable, sustainable and global innovations that are generating economic growth and increasing productivity while reducing waste and the use of nature’s resources. This year, the awards process focuses on renewable energy, zero emissions and new technologies that can support sustainable solutions and give efficiencies in logistics and supply chains – on land and on the ocean. Each applicant is asked to submit a written statement that describes how their solution contributes directly or indirectly to resilient oceans.
This is a yearly competition of The Ocean Exchange. The innovations that have already come out of this annual contest are impressive. As if that was not enough, The BIG Pitch, a yearly collegiate innovation competition, was initiated in 2015, in partnership with Georgia Southern University. Eight finalists are invited to present at an Ocean Exchange meeting in front of 150 delegates from business, NGOs, academia, and government. Delegates vote who receives one $10,000 cash award.
            Yet the person who best represents the innovative and influential nature of Savannah is Charles Herty. Herty was an internationally recognized chemist who revolutionized the southern forestry to the extent that he was called the George Washington Carver of pine trees. But before we explore his “Carverness” we would be remiss if we did not mention the fact that he organized, as a professor at the University of Georgia, their first football team. Now that I have the Bulldawg nation’s attention, let me continue. When he worked for the US Bureau of Forestry he revived the dying turpentine industry by inventing an inexpensive cup-and-gutter system of gum collection. This system helped create better quantities and better-quality turpentine. It also extended the productive life of the trees so that they could mature and could be used as saw timber. This not only saved the turpentine industry but it helped the Southern economy. Herty’s greatest contribution was in the paper and pulp industry. He was largely responsible for studies and leadership that would lead to pine trees that proliferated the south to replace the northern spruce trees to make newsprint. Herty did not live to see the completion of this work, as he died on July 27, 1938. The Southland Paper Mills, Inc. was organized that same year and the mill site was dedicated to Herty on May 27, 1939, and the first commercial newsprint made of Southern pine started production at this facility on January 17, 1940. The pine tree industry still thrives in the South to this day.
        Following the death of Dr. Herty in 1938, the Savannah Pulp and Paper Laboratory he started was renamed the Herty Foundation. Its research continues to this day. According to the Foundation’s website it tests and validates new process and product concepts for industries in a variety of key market sectors including: pulp and paper, chemicals, non-woven materials, and the emerging biomass-to-energy industry. The Herty Center also partners with clients to demonstrate new ideas, develop novel products. Since 2012, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal transferred management of Herty to Georgia Southern University (GSU) to enhance economic and business development in the state of Georgia.
         These are a few of the innovations of Savannah; many more could be named, such as the first refrigerated van, the ongoing work of organizations such as Savannah College of Art and Design and Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. Savannah was the site of inventions by Herty and Whitney that did or still have tremendous impact on the Southern economy. Savannah has been leaders in transportation with Gulfstream, US Steamship Savannah, and Great Dane among others. So maybe Savannah is not so slow after all. 

The Antelope (see last week’s entry) was not the only slave ship to make her mark in the nation and Savannah. As you know the United States banned the importation of slaves in 1808. But this did not stop the efforts to smuggle slaves in. The Wanderer was one such ship. It was built in 1857 and outfitted for a long voyage. It was constructed under the New York Yacht Club banner. The rumors of the ship being used for slaving did not prevent it from passing an inspection by the government clearing it to set sea.
Colonel John D. Johnson, the builder of the yacht, was a New Orleans sugar baron. He commissioned a luxury sailing vessel for his personal use. The Wanderer was considered a marvel. It was able to achieve high speeds with a streamlined design allowing it to sail at twenty knots per hour. It would be anybody’s pride and joy.
But strangely enough Johnson sold the Wanderer in 1858 before owning it a full year. A Charlestonian William C. Corrie bought it from him. This is where a Savannahian played the devil. Charles A. L. Lamar of Savannah proposed that together, Corrie and he retrofit the Wanderer and convert it into a slave ship. Lamar was of a good Savannah family with a Supreme Court Justice, the second president of the Republic of Texas,  and U.S. treasury secretary in his lineage. He was bred right.
After a trip to Africa to purchase slaves the Wanderer returned to the United States. They had between 500 and 600 Africans aboard when they started but when they finally reached shore they had only 409 Africans. At least eighty Africans died in route. The slavers worried that they may be caught smuggling slaves into the country landed at the remote Jekyll Island on November 28, 1858. The Island was apparently not remote enough as word soon got out that a strange ship with Africans aboard had landed off the coast of Georgia.
The rumors ran rampant as the slaves were sold off. At last evidence revealed that the crew of the Wanderer had presented counterfeit documentation to the authorities. This would lead to Lamar and Corrie to be tried in federal court in Savannah in May 1860. Lamar was found not guilty by a local jury. It is hard to believe that his family name did not play a pivotal role in his acquittal, especially when he reminded witnesses that he could make life miserable for anyone who testified against him.
It should also be noted that the US prosecutor was Henry R. Jackson who became a major general in the Confederate States Army. Jackson was a published poet and a prominent lawyer in Savannah. After the Civil War he was named as minister to Mexico from 1885 to 1886. He also was a railroad executive, banker, and president of the Georgia Historical Society (1875 – 1898). Jackson died in Savannah, Georgia, and was buried in Bonaventure Cemetery.
As for Lamar he served in the Confederate States Army as a Colonel on the staff of General Howell Cobb. He was shot and killed in the last battle of the Civil War at Columbus, Georgia. True to the Lost Cause he died while attempting to lead a charge against Union troops, seven days after Appomattox. The Savannah Morning News wrote that he was "the last man who fell in organized struggle for Southern independence." He is interred at Laurel Grove.
The Wanderer incident incensed many northerners and contributed to the increasingly strained and deteriorating relationship between the North and the South. “If they fail to hang the men,” wrote the New York Times of the South, “if their officials are so lax, or their juries so perjured, as to permit this trade to be carried on with impunity, in face of all our laws against it — they will suffer all the consequences of an actual complicity in the proceeding itself… . the entire population of the North will wage upon [the South] a relentless war of extermination.” It also has a unique place in American history as many believe it was the last American slave ship.
On the south of Jekyll Island stands a monument to the African survivors of the Wanderer. It consists of three 12-foot (3.7 m) steel sails and several historical storyboards. On November 25, 2008 a dedication of the memorial was held, attended by 500 participants, including descendants of the original Wanderer slaves.
 
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Savannah has a grand maritime history. In this history are also some dark areas. One of those dark stories is a slave ship which had 275 captives called the Antelope. Forty one percent of the captives were between the ages of five and ten. The Antelope, after sailing to Surinam and St. Bartholomew trying to sell the captives unsuccessfully, loitered off the coast of St. Augustine flying an American flag. This drew unwanted attention so that when it entered Georgia waters around St. Marys it was stopped by the Revenue cutter Dallas. It was June 29, 1825.
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Savannahian and Georgia attorney general Richard W. Habersham took interest in the slave ship Antelope. John Smith, captain of the Antelope, filed a claim for the return of the ship and her cargo. Claims for ownership of the Africans were filed on behalf of the Kings of Portugal and Spain. Habersham filed a claim on behalf of the United States to place the Africans as free persons under laws prohibiting slave trade under the provisions of the 1819 Act in Addition. This more than likely ruffled a few feathers in the slave city of Savannah. The 1819 Act in Addition gave the President authority to use the U.S. Navy and other armed ships to capture slave ships and to assist any slaves found onboard to their freedom. But it is unlikely the expected a southerner such as Habersham to make the effort to enforce the Act.

The Africans were placed in the custody of the United States Marshall for the District of Georgia. They were housed in an open area at the Savannah race course, which became known as the "African encampment." The Antelope’s case eventually reached the United States Supreme Court in 1825. Francis Scott Key, writer of our National Anthem, represented the United States Government. Savannah’s own John Berrien represented the slave owner’s side. Berrien's father, John Berrien Sr., had served in the Revolutionary War (1775-83) under Lachlan McIntosh of Georgia. After the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Berrien's father moved his family to Savannah.

After Berrien Jr. finished law school at Princeton, he would become a judge in 1810. During the War of 1812 (1812-15), he was a captain in the Chatham Light Dragoons and later a colonel in the First Georgia Calvary. In 1822 and 1823 Berrien represented Chatham County in the Georgia senate. In 1825 the Georgia legislature elected him to the U.S. Senate. He became a prominent Senator with legendary oratorical powers that earned him the title "American Cicero."

Two of America’s great wordsmiths, Key and Berrien, would duel in the case of the Antelope. In the end the case was settled in favor of the owner of the slave ship. It was stated slavery was against the law of nature but property rights outweighed moral turpitude.  The Supreme Court found ownership could only be established for 93 of the captives. The other 120 captives were to be returned to Africa. The returned Africans were sent to Liberia in July 1827, where they founded the colony of New Georgia. This case would foreshadow the Dred Scott Decision which would help lead us into the Civil War.

As for Berrien he returned to the U.S. Senate in 1841 and served in that body until he was defeated by Robert Toombs in 1852. After the loss, he returned to Savannah and resumed his law practice. He would serve the University of Georgia for thirty years as a trustee. Berrien was one of the Georgia Historical Society's founders in 1839 and its first president. He served as president of the Georgia branch of the Society of the Cincinnati. He was on the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution and even was president of the American Bible Society.

Richard Habersham was appointed United States Attorney and served until his resignation in 1825. He was elected as a representative of Georgia in the United States House of Representatives from 1839 to 1842 and died in office. These two Savannah lawyers were on opposite sides in the Antelope case and yet they served Savannah and their nation with great distinction.