On the eve of Haiti's Independence Day (1 January), let us recall that the US Congress in 2008 voted unanimously, a resolution introduced by the Miami Democrat Representative Kendrick Meek, commemorating the heroic act of Hundreds of Haitian soldiers who died fighting for the Independence of the United States in Savannah.

"I think it's very very important that we come together to celebrate the contribution of other countries and the role they played not only for our independence, but also in making it concrete," said Meek at the time.

This resolution also marked the independence of Haiti and the abolition of slavery "This is the first time that the Congress recognizes the heroic act of these Haitians" It was October 9, 1779 that soldiers belonging to the The battalion of volunteer hunters from Santo Domingo (about 800) fought the English alongside the American separatists in the battle of the siege of Savanna," wrote the Sun Sentinel at the time.

The honor of the US Congress came a few months after the Miami-based Haitian Amerian Historical Society (HASH), a non-profit organization, erected a memorial in Savannah, Franklin Square, Georgia. Remember that this Haitian monument was made in two steps by James Mastin, a sculptor from Miami. With the initial collection of donations ($ 400,000) 4 of the 6 originally planned characters were carved and unveiled in 2007. The monument was then completed, thanks to additional fundraisers) in 2009 with the addition of two missing characters. The monument depicts Volunteer Hunters of Santo Domingo in military uniform and a 12-year-old boy playing drums, who represents Henri Christophe, who later became King Henry in Haiti, to whom we owe the famous Citadelle in Haiti.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/article-663-haiti-histoire-etablir-la-verite-et-l-exactitude-historique.html (in french)

HL/ HaitiLibre