OTD in Haitian History (October 9, 1779): Twelve-Year Old Henry Christophe Participates in the American Revolutionary War at the Battle of Savannah

October 9, 2025

By Marlene L. Daut

Did you know that at the age of only twelve-years-old Henry Christophe, Haiti's first and only king, found himself participating in the American Revolutionary War? Christophe fought at the Battle of Savannah, which took place on October 9, 1779, under the command of the famous French general known as the Comte d’Estaing.

Christophe was not the only Black soldier from the Caribbean to fight for U.S. freedom. Joining him was Louverture’s storied rival André Rigaud and fellow free men of color Vincent Ogé and Jean-Baptiste Chavannes. A monument to these fighters, called the Chasseurs-Volontaires, sits today in a shady square in Savannah, Georgia, depicting Christophe as a drummer boy.

Although he caught a bullet, Christophe managed to survive the war. But many of those he fought alongside did not. The French spectacularly lost this campaign. Thus, we can only imagine the kinds of atrocities that Christophe witnessed before he was even thirteen years old.

Haunting memories and psychologically catastrophic visions are the hallmarks of PTSD. And while the deep and dark scars from multiple whippings etched into the back of Jean-Jacques Dessalines can be found in descriptions of him, much less discussed is Christophe’s own tragic early history, and how the events of his most tender years might have emotionally and mentally, as well as physically, scarred him.

In The First and Last King of Haiti, by detailing Christophe’s involvement in the Battle of Savannah and the French Siege of Grenada, which took place just a few months before, I sought to challenge the narrow historical focus on the continental U.S. around the war for independence and broaden the scope of the conflict.

Indeed, as the bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence approaches in 2026, I hope we will all do more to remember the Caribbean (and Christophe’s) role in the American Revolution.

To cite this article: Marlene L. Daut, "OTD in Haitian History (October 9, 1779): Twelve-Year Old Henry Christophe Participates in the American Revolutionary War at the Battle of Savannah," King of Haiti's World Blog, October 8, 2025 <https://marlenedaut.com/blog/otd-in-haitian-history-october-9-1779-twelve-year-old-henry-christophe>