Haitian Monument

In the fourth year of the American Revolution, when the war had become an international conflict, more than 500 soldiers of African descent from Saint Domingue, the modern island of Haiti, sailed in the fall of 1779 to join the Georgia Campaign under the French commander Charles Henri d'Estaing. Known as Les Chasseurs Volontaires de Saint Domingue, they were the largest unit of soldiers of African descent to fight in the American Revolution, made up of free men who volunteered for the attempt to capture Savannah from the British. In the Battle of Savannah on October 9, 1779, they fought alongside the American army of General Benjamin Lincoln and, serving as part of the reserve, distinguished themselves by their bravery as they provided cover during the retreat of the American and French allies, saving many lives by deterring a fierce British counterattack. After the battle, many of these Haitians were diverted to other military duties and returned home years later, if at all. Several veterans of the campaign later became leaders in the movement for Haitian independence, which ended French colonial rule in 1804 and made Haiti the second nation in the Western Hemisphere to throw off European colonialism. Among those connected with this history was Henri Christophe, who participated in the battle as a young drummer, later became a commander of the Haitian army, and became King of Haiti, among the first heads of state of African descent in the Western Hemisphere. Although hundreds of the Chasseurs Volontaires remain anonymous, a number are documented, and their collective sacrifices, known and unknown, are honored.

Savannah, Georgia · United States