Haiti’s Unsung Role in the American Revolution

Black and African-American History cannot be marginalized or cordoned off as separate and apart from America’s history of growth, development, freedom, and success. Did you know that 500 Haitians volunteered and fought against the British with the American Patriots under General George Washington during the American Revolution? A statue honoring their service and valor was unveiled in Savanna, Georgia – the site of a key battle, the Battle of Savanna, fought against the British.

The French troops included 500 free Haitians, calling themselves the Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Dominigue. Soldiers of African descent fighting for the Patriots was an anomaly during the Southern Campaign – most American slaves attempted to flee and join the British forces, as they had no desire to defend their Patriot masters’ right to enslave them. Many of the Volontaires themselves later went on to rebel against French control of Haiti. In fact, the Volontaires’ 12-year-old drummer, Henri Christoph, commanded Haiti’s revolutionary army and later became king of Haiti.

Haiti has paid a hefty price since its defeat of the French. Both the U.S. and France exacted heavy tariffs and instituted regressive taxation policies that bankrupted the nation and made it a debtor state for generations. The Americans’ invasion of Haiti and installation of the tyrannical dictator Duvalier’s (Papa Doc’s) regime siphoned off billions of dollars from Haiti’s economy, further impoverishing its working-class poor, while America’s military established a basically American-controlled economy and police state to ensure that sugar plantations and rubber industries remained profitable under the puppet governments set up by Franco-American interests. White supremacist Europe and America to this day have never forgotten the humiliation Napoleon’s great army experienced when they encountered the fierce Haitian fighting forces that repelled the French battalions. The fort constructed by Haiti’s soldiers was a military marvel and virtually impenetrable at the time. Haiti’s pride and historic independence has always been a haunting albatross upon the Euro-American psyche. This is history you will not be taught in American schools.