New Monument in Franklin Square, Savannah

Franklin Square, named for Benjamin Franklin who was Georgia Colony's Agent in London in the 1700s, is located in downtown Savannah. This is one of many squares downtown and is located on Montgomery Street between Congress and Bryan Streets. Franklin is adjacent to City Walk as well as First African Baptist Church, two well known historical landmarks.

Now there is a new monument, a project of the Haitian Historical Society, which is representative of the Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint Domingue, a group of soldiers that comprised of over 700 free men of color from the island of Haiti who fought in the American Revolution before the fall of Savannah in 1779. This monument consists of 6 figures that are representative of of the ten companies of Haitian soldiers that fought the 6 week long blockade of Savannah.



The drummer boy represents Henri Christophe, who as a teenager fought in this event, and later became a leader in the struggle for Haitian independence from French rule. He became commander of the Haitian army and later King of Haiti.


It was great to see this monument in Savannah, depicting a time when all African Americans in the city was in slavery, and free men of color was fighting for freedom.