At last, we got to see one of the sites we’d come to see.

Bethesda was founded by George Whitefield in 1740 for orphans of the new colony of Georgia. It was probably not wise for Whitefield to have involved himself in the project, as he was shouldered with responsibility for it for the rest of his life. Much of his transatlantic travelling was related to Bethesda, and he was always soliciting money for it.

The modern Bethesda is at the same location, but none of the original buildings are there. Not long after Whitefield died it burnt to the ground. The rebuilt Bethesda also burnt down and the site was abandoned for many years until the Union Society took it on with Whitefield’s original vision of a house of mercy for orphans. Today Bethesda is known as Bethesda Home for Boys (www.bethesdahomeforboys.org) and operates as a residential and day school.

I had tried to e-mail, but no success, and tried to phone, but it was busy, so we just had to turn up on the off-chance. First we had to get there. My memory of how to get there was a little shaky and we went round in a couple of circles before we finally arrived. The entrance arch looked different. Not surprising since the 1940 arch was damaged in 2004 (hurricane?) and was replaced by a new one dedicated earlier this year.

We were welcomed by the staff in the office and given free run of their small museum. It’s not really open at the moment, but we were given a special dispensation. There is a small model of the original Bethesda and a floor to ceiling portrait of Selina, Countess of Huntingdon. Some of the older biographies and histories describe this painting—the Countess holding a crown of thorns in her right hand and with her coronet under her right foot—as having been lost at sea before it was delivered. They are wrong, as you can see.

After basking in the peaceful, sunny atmosphere, we said our goodbyes and headed into Savannah. We booked onto one of the city tours, with the Oglethorpe company (Oglethorpe was founder and first governor of Georgia). The bus we were on was called the John Wesley, and there is a statue of Wesley in one of the city squares. This seems odd as Wesley left Savannah as an unmitigated failure as minister and missionary (remember, he was still not a Christian at this point) and under the cloud of a scandal. Whitefield, who left for Savannah from Deal as Wesley arrived back, was considered a hero when he left Savannah. He was the exact opposite of Wesley in his manner and style and the people knew he loved them and loved him for it, especially as many were converted under his ministry. With the establishment of Bethesda and his promotion of the cause of Georgia, Whitefield did far more for Savannah than Wesley ever did. But Whitefield has a square named after him, which interrupts Habersham Street. James Habersham was a close friend of Whitefield and the first president of Bethesda.