CaribWorldNews, SAVANNAH, GA, Tues. Oct. 13, 2009: A tribute to over 500 Haitian volunteers who fought in the 1779 Battle of Savannah has been unveiled.

After 9 years in the making, a monument to the 500 was unveiled this past weekend in Franklin Square, Savannah, Georgia.  But the tribute comes 230 years after the Revolutionary War.

The monument was originally unveiled unfinished with only four statues in 2007 and a single-donor helped the monument reach completion with all six bronze statues. It was unveiled on Saturday and was sculpted by James Mastin. The central image of the monument was the depiction of six soldiers, including a drummer boy of the Revolutionary War in Regimental uniform in a resolute and determined pose.

The Chasseurs Volontaires de Saint-Domingue was the largest unit of soldiers of African descent to fight in the conflict.

The unit suffered losses of 25 killed or wounded in its 1779 actions in Savannah. The unit was charged with covering the allied retreat after the bloody battle at the Spring Hill Redoubt.

The next year, when the British captured Charleston, more than 60 Chasseurs were taken prisoner.