Haitian soldiers fought for American liberty at the 1779 Siege of Savannah

By 1779, the American Revolution had expanded into an international conflict. American and French forces joined together in an attempt to reclaim Savannah from British control. Among the allied troops were soldiers of African descent from Saint-Domingue, the French colony that would later become Haiti. These men were known as the Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Domingue.

On October 9, 1779, these soldiers participated in a direct assault on the British earthworks surrounding the city. The primary fighting occurred at a fort called the Spring Hill Redoubt. This engagement became one of the bloodiest battles of the entire war, and the allied attack ultimately failed. Many of the Chasseurs were sent to other duties after the siege, and a large number of them did not return home for years, if at all.

The monument before you was erected in 2007 by the Haitian American Historical Society to recognize the contribution of these men. While hundreds of the soldiers remain anonymous, twenty-five names are carved into one side of the stone base. These include Henri Christophe, Jean-Baptiste Mars Belley, André Rigaud, Martial Besse, Pierre Cange, Jean-Baptiste Chavannes, and Pierre Pinchinat.

Several of the men who fought here during the siege later led the movement that established Haiti as the second nation in the western hemisphere to successfully end European rule. The significance of their service was formally recognized on April 25, 1944, when American Secretary of State Cordell Hull dedicated a plaque at a cathedral in Saint-Marc, Haiti, honoring the volunteers who risked their lives in the cause of American liberty.