The Savannah morning news., 1901-07-07
NEGRO IN THE REVOLUTION.
PART THE CoLoRED RACE TOOK
IN THE WAR FOR Liberty,


Teachers at the COIOred College.
One of the addresses before the teach
ers at the Georgia State colored College
day or two ago was that by President
r. r. Wright on Noted Negro Revoll-
tionary Characters The address was
unique and interesting and dealt to a
considerable extent with the part the
negro took in the war of the Revolution
around and in Savannah and with the ne
gro Of that day.
when speaking of the brave deeds of
colored men in the Revolutionary War"
said President Wright, I'VE are in the
habit of referring to the Massachusetts
patriots, Crispus Attacks, Peter Salem
and others want to intro
duce you TO Georgia Rev
olutionary patriot black soldier
who fought through the Revolutionary
war, was honored by the Legislature and
Governor of Georgia, and was pensioned
by the United States government.
Gov. Gilmers account of Georgia's
greatest negro Revolutionary patriot is
an interesting one. He bore the very or
binary name of Austin Dabney For
his services in the Revolutionary war,
the Georgia Legislature voted him large
lot of land in Oglethorpe county. Dabney
became very much attached TO a white
comrade in the army, and he had no
children, he decided to educate the son
of his white comrade at the University
of Georgia, then Franklin College. After
the young had graduated from the
university, Dabney continued to support
him until ne had finished his study of
law, and was fairly established in his
practice. The record shows that no
person was prouder of the achievements
of the brilliant young white lawyer than
was his negro benefactor-Austin Dab
ney.
"a story of Dabney and Gov james
jackson, and Col. Wylie Pope, shows not
only the esteem In which Dabney was
held, but is a vivid picture of the kindly
feeling of the white people IN those days.
On one occasion when Dabney came to
Savannah, which he did once year, for
the purpose of drawing his pension, he
came In company with Col. Wylie Pope.
The two Travelled together on the most
familiar terms until they arrived in the
streets of Savannah, when the colonel
remarked to Dabney that he was man
of sense, and knew that it was not suita-
BILE for him TO ride side by side with him
in the streets of Savannah TO which Dab
ney replied that he understood the mat
ter very well. Accordingly, when they
came to the principal street. Dabney
checked his horse and fell behind They
had not gone very far before Col. Pope
passed the house of Gen. James Jackson,
who was then Governor of the state
Upon looking back he saw the Governor
run out of the house and seize Dabney's
hand and shake 1t as II he had been
his long lost brother, draw him off his
horse and carry him into his house where
he stayed whilst in town. Col. Pope
used to tell this anecdote with much
glee, adding that he felt chagrined when
he learned that whilst he spent his time
at a tavern unknown and uncared for,
Austin was the honored guest Of the Gov
ernor
Another event occurred In Savannah
during the Revolutionary War whk>h
should give colored men place in Amer
ican history In the public squares Of the
city the ever-grateful citizens ilssue erect
"a two monuments; one to the memory
of brave Count Pulaski and the other
to the gallant Irishman, Sergt. Jasper,
both of whom in the siege OF Savannah
gave their lives for American independ-
ence. The truth of history forces us to
say that these monuments are testimon-
falls. not OF victory, but of defeat; never
theless. they are meant TO do honor not
only to the dead, but to the living. The
testimonial however, is incomplete. There
could have been erected there a monu-
ment of victory, too. When Lafayette,
the great apostle OF human liberty, laid the
cornerstone OF the Pulaski monu-
ment, he mentioned the fact
of the heroism OF negro troops at Sa-
vannah. which was found in the historic
cal records of the siege of Savannah in
the French archives by the Hon. Richard
Rush, our minister to France. in 1s49
"Mr. Rush's record shows that the most
brilliant feat on that day, and one of the
In the American cause, was by the Black
Legion of Volunteers. who came from
Eanto Domingo 10 Savannah to help the
Americans win their independence. With
Pulaski and Jasper, they faced the dogs
OF war on that eventful day and saved
the retreating American forces from an
initiation by the British. Like the Ninth
and Tenth Cavalry, which occupied the
right and left OF Col. Roosevelts Rough
Riders in the battle OF La Quasima and
who are said TO have saved the gallant
Roosevelt so, in 1779, this Hayttan Black
Legion saved Gen. Iincoln's army from
disaster and defeat. The patriot forces
had sustained severe defeat. the French
losing 760 soldiers and 81 officers and the
Americans losing s1a making a total of
1,1SS AS the patriot army began its re-
treat. Lieut.. Col. Maitland of the Brit
ish forces charged the Americans rear
with the purpose of accomplishing their
annihilation. 1t was then that there oc-
CURED the most brilliant feat of the day.
In the army OF DEstaing was a legion
OF blacks and mulattoes known as De
Fontages Legion. The legion was COM
manded by Count de Fontages, a brave
and experienced officer. The size OF this
legion is given variously as 600 to 500
black men. The legion met the fierce
charge of Maitland and saved the re-
treating patriot army from destruction.
This fact. which get from history. ought
10 give US a new monument on Bull
street in Savannah in memory Of the
brave and gallant blacks at the siege
OF Savannah. In this legion there We're
a number of black men who afterwards
distinguished themselves. One. Henri
Christophe. became President of the re-
public of Hayt.
The same black patriot band. after
hghting at the seige OF Savannah, be-
came famous again in the spread Of free
dom throughout the South American
republics. 1t was by its aid that the
lluetrious Bolivar. liberator and founder
of FIVE republics in South America, I'M
dertook sn 1871 his great work of shak-
sng off the yoke OF Spain and of secur-
ang Independence to those rich countries
which swelled the Golfers OF the Cath
olio crown. 1T was by negro arms,
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