Haitians in U.S. Revolution get monument
Haitians learn it in school, but it's virtually unknown in the U.S.: In the Revolutionary War's bloody siege of Savannah, hundreds of Haitian soldiers were there for the colonies.
That contribution to American independence has been honored with a monument dedicated Monday in Savannah's Franklin Square. Life-size bronze statues of four soldiers now stand atop a granite pillar 6 feet tall and 16 feet in diameter.
"This is a testimony to tell people we Haitians didn't come from the boat," said Daniel Fils-Aime, chairman of the Miami-based Haitian American Historical Society, one of many Haitian Americans who came to Savannah for the dedication. "We were here in 1779 to help America win independence. That recognition is overdue."
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.
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That contribution to American independence has been honored with a monument dedicated Monday in Savannah's Franklin Square. Life-size bronze statues of four soldiers now stand atop a granite pillar 6 feet tall and 16 feet in diameter.
"This is a testimony to tell people we Haitians didn't come from the boat," said Daniel Fils-Aime, chairman of the Miami-based Haitian American Historical Society, one of many Haitian Americans who came to Savannah for the dedication. "We were here in 1779 to help America win independence. That recognition is overdue."
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.