THIS EVERYDAY LIFE

The Haitians at the Battle for Savannah People I have to tell you that I am convinced that I have been suffering from what is commonly referred to as “senior moments” for quite some time. The situation that brought this to mind occurred the other day when I visited Savannah for the sole purpose of meeting my friend and business partner on River Street to discuss some problems we’ve been having. On my way to the meeting I parked as usual at the Savannah Visitor’s Center. The parking is always cheap, no hassle and within walking distance of River Street. There have been occasions though that leaving River Street and navigating back to my car has been quite tedious. If you know River Street and its many entertainment venues, you know what I mean. Well to cut to the chase. On my way to the meeting, I cut through Franklin Square and came across a monument dedicated to Haitians that fought during the Battle for Savannah. At first I was startled. But then the fact came back to me that when in Vietnam a fellow soldier I’d befriended told me something about this. Considering he was originally from Martinique and was only in the Army to speed up American citizenship requirements, I kind of discounted his accounts. Heck I’d never heard or read, and darn sure enough had not been taught in school about Haitian participation in the War for Independence. Besides it just didn’t click logically that Africans from a slave holding French colony would be here fighting in America for white peoples’ freedoms, when these same white people themselves owned slaves. Then my mind sped forward to just a few months ago about an article I’d read in the Savannah Morning News regarding this same matter. At the time, I must confess to being so preoccupied I just didn’t pay it close attention. Ha, how could an American of African descent not pay close attention to something like this is beyond even me. Me with my fleeting memory should have even remembered this. Heck with all the things that Africans have endured in the New World, any information such as this is so valuable that it should never be forgotten, especially on the part of a person of African descent. It should be a part of them that is as valuable as breathing. Damn the formal educational system, this should be a thing passed down by word of mouth from elders to youths. Not to say its not a part of our written history, just isn’t prominently told. In 1779 a contingent of freed Haitian soldiers recruited by some French officer (identity unimportant), volunteered to accompany him to America to fight in the Revolution. On October 9, 1779, they played an important role in the British Siege of Savannah. The contingent consisted of 750 volunteers. Among them was Henri Christohe, (a 14 yr. old drummer boy) who was later to lead the Haitians in the overthrow of the French and rid them of their Haitian colony. They were badged the Chasseurs-Voluntaires de Saint-Domingue. Don’t know where that guy from Martinique is at today, but I sure would like to find him and apologize for doubting his veracity about this matter. But one of my original questions still remain-why did they? So I went online to see what the Haitians themselves had to say about the volunteers’ intentions. Well lucked up on this site-http://www.haitianhistory.org/contents.php?pagetitle=History. Goodness, the debate went from one extreme to the other. From praising the volunteers as being true Haitians to scorning them for being more French than the French, heck its obvious the Haitians don't really have a clue either. Then again, no matter the reason they participated in one of the most important phases of this country’s history. Don’t really know why I even spent the time wondering why these guys did what they did. Heck even America’s Africans has been guilty of doing some weird things. Buffalo Soldiers-Even though I swell with pride at the fact that these Africans are recognized for the fact they played an important part in the settlement of some parts of the Southwest and West, I must admit to some sadness. Sadness because here was a group of recently freed African slaves that took part in denying another group of people their Liberty. Same goes for the Black Seminoles, because of a dispute with some Seminole tribal leaders, migrated to Texas to volunteer as Army scouts and fighters against Native Americans. Well don’t know why I waste time dwelling on that even. Ironies in human behavior run rampant throughout history. Viewing the monument to the Haitians was not the only surprise I was to receive that day. Across the street from the monument was the First African Baptist Church. Founded in 1775, it is the oldest African church in North America. Again a telling question (to me at least) jumped to the forefront-how in the hell did it survive? Well people I did research but I am going to let your bones do the search-http://www.oldestblackchurch.org/html/body_history.htm. Place it your browser. Very interesting.