Oglethorpe was a first-rate soldier. He defeated a superior Spanish
force from Florida, and successfully resisted attacks from the Indians.
Also, he was a man whose ethical sense was in advance of his period. He
did not permit slavery in Georgia, and it was not adopted there until he
went back to England. In planning Savannah he was assisted by a
Charleston engineer named Bull, for whom the chief street of Savannah
is named. The place is laid out very simply; it has rectangular blocks
and wide roads, with small parks, or squares, at regular intervals.
There are some two dozen of these small parks, aside from one or two
larger parks, a parade ground, and numerous boulevards with double
roadways and parked centers, and the abundance of semi-tropical foliage
and of airy spaces, in Savannah, gives the city its most distinctive and
charming quality--the quality which differentiates it from all other
American cities. Originally these parks were used as market-places and
rallying points in case of Indian attack; now they serve the equally
utilitarian purposes of this age, having become charming public gardens
and playgrounds. One of them--not the most important one--is named
Oglethorpe Square; but the monument to Oglethorpe is placed elsewhere.
Madison Square, Savannah, is relatively about as important as Madison
Square, New York, and though smaller than the latter, is much prettier.
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