The Swainsboro Exchange Club held their weekly meeting, Tuesday September 6, 2022, at the Rustic Grille at 12:30 p.m. with President David Davis presiding. Davis called on Exchange Club member Wilder Smith, Jr. to introduce Dr. John Derden who presented his program on the American Revolution. Compatriot Derden is a member of the Wiregrass Chapter, Georgia Society Sons of the American Revolution. Derden recently presented his presentation to more than 600 attendees of the 132nd Congress, National Society Sons of the American Revolution, in Savannah, GA on July 13, 2022. The title of his presentation was: It all Started in a Bar: Revolutionary Savannah. He focused on the role and significance of the port city in the American Revolution and emphasized that Savannah's strategic importance to both sides during the war made the town a focal point of several campaigns. He also added that the failed attempt by the combined French and American forces to retake Savannah in October of 1779, led to what has been described as ‘The bloodiest hour of the American Revolution.’
