Haitians in the American Revolution, 1779

Yamiche Alcindor? @Yamiche
Haiti’s US Ambassador Paul Altidor tells me Haiti’s government has formerly summoned a US official to explain Trump’s comments to Haiti’s officials. “Haitians fought along US soldiers in the revolutionary war and we continue to be great contributors to American society,” he said


Nick LaFave @NickLaFave 2m2 minutes ago
Haitian Monument Statue in Franklin Square, Savannah, GA. Honoring them for a battle in October of 1779.

Link to tweet

____The Volonteer-Hunters of Saint-Domingue- Les Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Domingue – a volunteer regiment made up of ten companies of light infantry (chasseurs) enlisted from “freemen of color”. It was the largest unit of men of African descent to fight and proudly participated in the American Revolutionary War in Savannah, Georgia. This group of brave soldiers was established by an order on March 12, 1779, under the command of Laurent François Le Noir de Rouvray. In 1779, Saint-Domingue was an island colony of France. It is now divided into the nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In September and October of the same year, these troops made up one-tenth of the allied army in the six-week siege of Savannah, Georgia, including the battle of September 24th and the attack of October 9th.

The small drummer boy named Henri Christophe, who participated in the American Revolutionary War in Savannah, Georgia, became later a tremendous leader in the Haitian independence from French Colony. He became a commander of the Haitian Army in Cap-Haïtien, northern part of Haiti and later king for fourteen years of that region. Henri Christophe was well-known for building the Citadelle, now an UNESCO recognized patrimony and the palace of Sans Soucis near the City of Cap-Haïtien.
http://haitianhistory.org/savannah
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In October 1779, a force of more than 500 Haitian free blacks joined American colonists and French troops in an unsuccessful push to drive the British from Savannah in coastal Georgia.

More than 300 allied soldiers were gunned down charging British fortifications Oct. 9, making the siege the second-most lopsided British victory of the war after Bunker Hill.

Though not well known in the U.S., Haiti's role in the American Revolution is a point of national pride for Haitians. After returning home from the war, Haitian veterans soon led their own rebellion that won Haiti's independence from France in 1804.
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/archive/ga-monument-dedicated-to-haitian-soldiers-in-american-revolution/article_1f7c9d2f-e0a8-51d8-805c-4dd1fb5c708e.html