1779, September–October: (The Chasseurs Volontaires and the Disaster of Savannah): In 1779, France sent an expeditionary force under Comte d’Estaing to assis…

1779, September–October: (The Chasseurs Volontaires and the Disaster of Savannah): In 1779, France sent an expeditionary force under Comte d’Estaing to assist American Continentals, which included the Chasseurs Volontaires de Couleur from Saint-Domingue. This 1,550-man contingent featured future Haitian leaders such as André Rigaud, Jean-Baptiste Chavannes, and a young Henry Christophe. The force landed on September 8 and joined 4,000 American troops in surrounding Savannah, but three separate attacks on October 9 were repulsed by the British. Henry Christophe was among those wounded in what George Washington called the “disaster of Savannah”. This military experience exposed the gens de couleur to revolutionary ideals and a “tradition in arms” that they would later bring back to Saint-Domingue.