# Haiti: Her History and Her Detractors/Part I: Chapter IX

CHAPTER IX
Reactionary measures—The natives unite under the leadership of Dessalines—The war of Independence—Death of Leclerc—Rochambeau—Atrocities committed by the French—Capois-la-Mort—Expulsion of the French.
The deportation of Toussaint Louverture following Andre Rigaud’s, opened the eyes of the natives. Blacks and mulattoes all realized now that only a close and firm union could save them from the fate in store for them. There was no longer any possible doubt as to the aim of the mission intrusted to General Leclerc: white supremacy was to be restored and the power of the natives annihilated. The first Consul, elated with his success in Europe, anticipated an easy victory in Saint-Domingue. He did not take the least trouble to conceal his plans: the French Government went to the extent of adopting a law maintaining slavery and the slave-trade. At Guadeloupe Vice-Admiral Lacrosse had immediately restored this barbarous institution. These reactionary measures served to alarm the former slaves of Saint-Domingue who had achieved their liberty by force of arms. General Leclerc made no effort to dispel their anxiety; for to him it seemed to be the easiest of tasks for the invincible soldiers who had subdued Europe to crush such unworthy opponents as he deemed the blacks to be. In consequence, he proceeded deliberately in taking the measures by which to carry out the great schemes of the first Consul. The possible humiliations of the natives mattered little. Above all it was necessary to place them once again beneath their former yoke. The Captain-General began by annulling the military grades conferred by Toussaint Louverture; ​he afterward distributed the native troops among the various regiments arrived from France; and he ordered the disarmament of all the cultivators. Upon his summons, a Colonial Council met at Cap-Français. The colonists who were in this body, with no restraining influence over them, went so far as to request the restoration of slavery in the presence of Christophe, who shouted in reply to their demand: "If there is no liberty, there will be no colony!" Leclerc thought that the surest way to keep the natives on the plantations was to prevent them from acquiring real estate; to this end he instructed the public notaries not to authorize any sale of land of less than fifty "carreaux." The cultivators were prohibited to marry women who were not on the plantations to which they belonged; and they were not permitted to go from one place to another without a permit ("cartes de sûreté"). The gendarmerie had the right to sabre all those who were found without these "cartes de sûreté." To crown the situation, Bonaparte adopted, on the 2d of July, 1802, a decree forbidding the blacks and mulattoes to set foot on the territory of France.
These blundering tactics exasperated the indigenes. General Leclerc did not scruple to hang and to drown the imprudent persons who voiced their complaints too loudly. The disarmament principally caused the greatest discontent. The cultivators felt that, by taking from them the arms they had used for the defense of the colony against the English and the Spanish, the French were depriving them of the surest means of protecting their liberty. In consequence they were unwilling to obey General Leclerc's orders. Dessalines, Pétion, Christophe, etc., were determined not to miss this opportunity to prepare the people for the anticipated struggle by showing them that they would henceforth be at the mercy of those who thought of restoring slavery. In consequence they were very active in carrying out the mission intrusted to them. Thus the quantity of confiscated rifles so pleased the Captain-General that he left for Tortuga Island, feeling sure of having ​secured peace. The apparent devotion of the native officers tended to increase his illusions. As a matter of fact the situation was very critical. Yellow fever had made its appearance. The disease was mowing down officers and soldiers indiscriminately. Generals Debelle and Hardy were among the first to succumb to its effects ; the hospitals were filled to overflowing.
At Plaisance a black man, Sylla, who had never been subdued, was enlisting new followers. In the West Lamour Dérance, who through fetichism knew how to rouse his companions, was threatening Léogane and even Petit-Goave. In the South there were disturbances at Baradères, Saint-Louis, and Torbeck.
Leclerc had no sooner left Tortuga to return to Cap-Français than the blacks rebelled and set fire to the plantations. All these uprisings, though isolated and without cohesion, were nevertheless evidences that great discontent existed among the natives; this unrest was the prologue of the great drama which was in preparation. Insurrection was smouldering in all hearts. For the success of the audacious step which had been planned it was above all necessary to secure an authorized leader and to bring under control the unmanageable energy of the various bands of insurgents who were fighting on their own account: this in itself was a difficult task at a time when the bravery and the jealous independence of all were so quick at resenting the slightest restraint. The leader of the future war of independence was already determined on it was Dessalines, whose heroic defence of the Crête-a-Pierrot, his military rank, and his unquestionable courage designated him for the first place. All that remained was to induce the chiefs of the different insurgent bands to recognize his authority. To attain this end, two men, Pétion and Geffrard, devoted their energy and tact.
However, Charles Belair took upon himself to play the part of liberator. In August, 1802, incited by his wife, the stern and fearless Sannite, he took up arms in the mountains of Verrettes, styling himself ​"Commander-in-Chief of the Indigenes." The disturbance reached the mountains of l’Arcahaie. Charles Belair's uprising was untimely; and his pretensions to the supreme command were detrimental to the cause of liberation. It became thus a necessity to subdue him. Dessalines and Pétion set out against him. These two men were very influential; since Toussaint Louverture's deportation, the former had been considered as the leader of the blacks, and Pétion, since the exile of Rigaud, was regarded as the leader of the mulattoes. They met at Plaisance. Leclerc's ill-advised methods of procedure had served to unite the two officers who, while fiercely fighting against each other in 1800, had each learned to esteem the other's courage. The bad feelings of the past gave place to the great hopes they had in the success of the struggle they were planning. These two former opponents shook hands and their reconciliation decided the independence of Haiti. At Plaisance, Pétion not only recognized Dessalines's authority, but also admitted that he was the only man who could succeed in expelling the French from the island. They were not long in reaching an agreement and in deciding on the plan of the campaign. They had now but to wait for a favorable opportunity to begin hostilities.
In the mean time war was to be waged against the unfortunate natives who had anticipated the time fixed for the deliverance of the country. The followers of Sans-Souci were compelled to take shelter in the depths of the forests. Charles Belair was defeated and his wife, Sannite, fell into the hands of the French; in the hope of saving her life, he voluntarily gave himself up; but his chivalrous action did not move his unmerciful victors. Less than six hours after their arrival at Cap-Français man and wife were handed over to a court martial which, on the 5th of October, sentenced them to death; they were executed the same day. Sannite died bravely; considering the attempt to blindfold her as an insult to her courage she boldly presented her breast to receive the fatal shot.
Their momentary defeat had not depressed the ​insurgents. Sans-Souci rallied his followers and again assumed the offensive. He even compelled Pétion and Christophe to retreat. Charles Belair's friends gathered their forces in the mountains of l'Arcahaie. The French General Pageot, who was sent after them, failed in his mission; he was obliged to return to Port-au-Prince. Numerous bands of rebels threatened Jacmel and Léogane. Rochambeau, accompanied by the French Generals Pageot and Lavalette, undertook to subdue them. His arrival at Jacmel was signalized by a horrible crime: by his orders, about 100 natives, who were only suspected of having little zeal for France, were thrown into the hold of a man-of-war, the hatchways of which were tightly closed; the men were then suffocated by the fumes of the ignited sulphur, their corpses being afterward thrown into the sea.
These atrocities did not have the desired effect of intimidating the people; on the contrary, they became daily more and more aggressive. Lamour Dérance, whose authority was acknowledged by such leaders as Larose, Sanglaou, etc., distributed his warriors about the mountains of Port-au-Prince and in the plains of Cul-de-Sac and Léogane.
In the North the French Generals Brunet and Boyer, notwithstanding the assistance of the black General Maurepas, did not succeed in subduing the rebels. In order to terrify the country-people, Brunet, then in the parish of Gros-Morne, caused some unoffending peasants to be hanged. This uncalled-for act of barbarity was speedily avenged by Capois. Deserting the cause of France he took possession of Port-de-Paix, where he put to death all the whites with the exception of the women and children.
Little by little as the struggle progressed it seemed to assume a more horrible aspect. Rochambeau and his lieutenants doubled the executions, until it became impossible to estimate the number of those who were hanged, drowned, or asphyxiated. A mulattress, Henriette Saint-Marc, simply suspected of being in connivance with the rebels, was hanged in the market-place of ​Port-au-Prince; that evening Rochambeau gave a ball, notably in celebration of his exploit against a woman. The slightest suspicion was enough to send blacks and mulattoes who incurred it to the gallows. These acts of violence opened their eyes to the fact that their only chance of safety lay in immediately taking side with the men of their race who were fighting France. All the Northern province at once rose up in arms.
Under the pretext of renewing his declaration of devotion and faithfulness to Leclerc, Dessalines suddenly appeared at Cap-Français; in reality he came to confer with Pétion, who was at that time at Haut du Cap with Clervaux. Whilst awaiting reinforcements Leclerc was compelled to resort to the native soldiers in order to quell the insurrection. For this purpose he was obliged to act as though he placed entire confidence in Dessalines, who nevertheless remained undeceived by the welcome given to him. He hastened to return to Artibonite.
In the mean time, Clervaux had been imprudent enough to say that he would not hesitate to join the insurrection were he sure that the French intended restoring slavery at Saint-Domingue. To prevent the arrest and the possible execution of his companion Pétion decided to precipitate matters. Late on the night of October 13, 1802, he deserted the cause of France; after spiking the cannon he left Haut-du-Cap and withdrew on the Déricourt plantation, followed by the troops under his command. In winning him over the insurrectionists made a valuable acquisition. But ​the dauntless spirit needed to inspire them and the strong hand capable of energetically delivering the decisive blows were still missing. Clervaux had followed Pétion; Christophe was about to join them. Still the combined gallantry of these brave soldiers did not suffice: it was the sword and the unfailing courage of Dessalines which were indispensable in the mighty task of freeing the island forever of the oppression of the French domination.
At the very outset Pétion's position demanded the display of much caution and tact. The followers of Petit Noel Prieur, against whom he had not long ago been fighting, assumed a threatening attitude; he had not only to appease them, but also to try and get them to set aside their grievances against Christophe. Giving them himself the example of conformity to discipline and abnegation, Pétion, who up to that time had held the rank of adjutant-general, yielded the command of the insurrection which he had provoked to Clervaux, who was a brigadier-general.
On the 15th of October, 1802, the native troops which had deserted France 's cause stormed Haut-du-Cap. There the French committed a crime so appalling that of itself it would have been sufficient to justify all the excesses of the natives. On learning of Pétion's defection Leclerc had immediately ordered 1,200 native soldiers to be disarmed and embarked on the men-of-war at that time in the harbor of Cap-Français. These unfortunate prisoners were massacred at the first news of the storming of Haut-du-Cap, their bodies being one after the other hurled into the sea. Twelve hundred victims at one stroke! Was not such a merciless act enough to fill the hearts of the men of their race with wrath! Nicolas Geffrard, who was in hiding at Cap-Français, availed himself of the confusion resulting from the fight at Haut-du-Cap to escape and join Pétion. The future leader of the war in the Southern province was thus on hand.
Whilst these occurrences were taking place in the vicinity of Cap-Français, Dessalines had been at work ​in the interest of the cause. He went to Plaisance and Gros Morne, where he conferred with Magny and Paul Prompt, already at the head of many followers. In the neighborhood of Gonaives he afterward held an interview with General Vernet, Commandant of the arrondissement. Leaving Gonaives he proceeded to Petite Rivière, where Cottereau had already secretly gathered together a great number of cultivators.
On entering Petite Rivière, on October 17, 1802, he was warned by Saget that the Commandant of the place was commissioned to arrest him. Nevertheless, Dessalines committed the imprudence of accepting an invitation to breakfast at Father Videau's, the rector of the parish, in whose house French soldiers had been concealed. But an old woman, a servant of the rector, saved the life of the future liberator of Haiti in warning him by a stealthy gesture that they were about to tie him down. With the swiftness of a flash of lightning, the black General rushed from the house, sprang into the saddle and galloped at full speed to the Place d'Armes, where he fired two shots with his pistols. Cottereau and his followers understood the signal and fell upon Petite Rivière. The die was thus cast, and from that hour the insurrection had its acknowledged leader. Dessalines lost no time in taking possession of the fort of La Crête-à-Pierrot, where he found arms and ammunition of which he was sorely in need. This success provoked a new crime on the part of the French: General Quentin, at Saint Marc, caused a whole battalion of native troops to be massacred; here occurred another wholesale slaughter. These atrocities inflamed the spirit of the natives. Colonel Gabart attacked Gonaives with so much vigor that the French were compelled to evacuate the town. Dessalines was less successful against Saint-Marc, which he failed to storm. This defeat convinced him of the necessity of organizing his troops. After establishing his headquarters in the Artibonite province, this illiterate man, who could barely sign his name, astonished even his opponents by the energy and the audacity of his ​combinations. Within a comparatively short time he got up a regular army. And what were these soldiers? Men who had just been freed from slavery—peasants, most of whom had never handled a gun! But he succeeded in transforming these ignorant and ineffective forces into invincible legions.
His army was scantily clothed and fed—he had neither the means nor the time to organize a commissariat. Arms and ammunition had often to be taken from the enemy. The tatterdemalions who made up his army soon commanded the respect of the haughty Frenchmen whom they were defeating at every turn. In facing death the blacks were decidedly not inferior in courage to the whites.
Leclerc was greatly surprised to see those whom he still affected to despise, to see those whom he still considered like "serpents and tigers to be destroyed," fast becoming lions bent on devouring his army. He was soon compelled to center his forces at Cap-Français. His disappointment was inconceivable. Instead of the splendid success he expected to achieve, he found himself facing a humiliating defeat. This embarrassing situation had a bad effect on his health. On October 22 he became ill, and on the 2d of November, 1802, he had ceased to exist. His funeral-knell was also the death-knell of the French domination.
Toussaint Louverture had been deported only five months since, and yet his prediction was becoming verified: the powerful branches of the tree of liberty were strangling those who had tried to uproot it.
After Leclerc's death, Rochambeau assumed the post of Captain-General. The colonists were overjoyed; at last they had as their leader a man of so unscrupulous a conscience that the shedding of the blood of the natives would be unlimited—the man who had inaugurated the system of execution by asphyxiation in the hold of the men-of-war. The struggle was already a fierce one; henceforth it was to be of the most savage, barbarous kind.
The new Captain-General arrived at Cap-Français ​on the 17th of November, 1802, and he at once began committing the acts of cruelty for which he was famed. General Maurepas, whom Brunet had arrested at Port-de-Paix, had been, together with his whole family, transferred to the man-of-war Le Duguay-Trouin, at that time in the harbor of Cap-Français. Colonel Bandin and a regiment of native troops were also embarked on the same ship. By Rochambeau's order all these unfortunate people were thrown into the sea and drowned.
At that time it sufficed to be black or mulatto to be suspected of sympathizing with the insurgents, and, in consequence, to be mercilessly murdered. Yet the French were among the first to call Dessalines a monster when he retaliated by killing the whites. If it were possible to excuse such excesses, must not one make allowances for the uncultured men who were fighting in order to shake off an odious yoke? The French were supposed to represent progress and civilization; should they not be the ones to give the example of respect of human life and of the rules of war? If Dessalines is called a monster, what epithet then does Rochambeau deserve, he whose victims cannot be numbered!
At first good fortune seemed to favor the new Captain-General. Reinforcements had just arrived from France; he availed himself of this opportunity ​to assume the offensive. Generals Clauzel and Lavalette were ordered to storm Fort Liberté, which with strong forces under their command they attacked on the 1st of December, 1802. Toussaint Brave, who was in command, gallantly defended the post as long as he was able, and when at last he was compelled to evacuate the town he set fire to it in order to leave the French naught but its smouldering ruins.
Probably finding the help of the brave soldiers whom France was sending to the island at a great sacrifice not sufficient for quelling the insurrection, Rochambeau decided to resort to auxiliaries, his equals assuredly in ferocity. General de Noailles was sent to Havana, instructed with the important mission of buying blood-hounds to aid in the destruction of the blacks. In order to excite the appetite of his new assistants, the son of a field-marshal had the inspirations of a Nero. A post was set up in the centre of a circle where the seats were occupied by Rochambeau, the officers of his staff, and many colonists and their wives. And this was the performance that they witnessed. Hungry blood-hounds sprang into the arena; tied to the post could then be seen a young black servant of the French General Pierre Boyer. The beasts seemed to shrink from their horrible task. In order to invite them to it General Pierre Boyer drew his sword and with one stroke disemboweled his unfortunate servant; then catching hold of one of the dogs he forced its mouth into the palpitating entrails of the victim; and the appalling feast began amidst the applause of the spectators and the sounds of the military band; a live man was torn to pieces by the blood-thirsty animals! What are the reprisals made by the blacks when compared with such revolting cruelty?
But the hounds were not more successful than the soldiers of Marengo; they failed to subdue the natives.
​Thinking that Leclerc's death would have discouraged the French army, Pétion, Christophe, and Clervaux tried to storm Cap-Français at night on the 7th of November, 1802. But they were defeated and a lack of ammunition compelled them to abandon the fortifications they occupied in the vicinity of the town.
Pétion thought that the time had come to unify the command, as a conflict between the various leaders would have been detrimental to the cause of independence. Besides, the forces were scattered without any cohesion. In the Northern province Sans-Souci was endeavoring to assert his authority as Commander-in-Chief, and he was supreme in power from Borgne to the mountains of Fort Liberté. In the West Lamour Dérance had under his command: Larose at l'Arcahaie; Cangé in the neighborhood of Léogane; Métellus, Adam, Germain Frère, and Caradeux in the vicinity of Port-au-Prince; Magloire Ambroise, Lacroix in the mountains of Jacmel. For Pétion, Christophe, and Clervaux the only legitimate authority was that of Dessalines; this was fully acknowledged in the Artibonite province; and it was strictly necessary to have it accepted by all.
In consequence, after his failure in the attack on Cap-Français Pétion went to Petite Rivière, where he met Dessalines; there they came to a thorough understanding.
Proclaimed Commander-in-Chief of the native army, Dessalines appointed Pétion Brigadier-General. Christophe and Clerveaux were of great assistance to him in helping to bring under his authority the followers of the other leaders, who, although acting independently of one another, were bravely fighting against the French soldiers. Lamour Dérance tried to storm Jacmel and Léogane but failed in the attempt. The followers of Germain Frère and Caradeux succeeded in occupying Turgeau, from which place Port-au-Prince gets her water supply; they were, however, soon compelled to leave.
At the end of 1802 the island was divided thus: The ​French occupied the whole former Spanish portion; in the North they had Cap-Français, Môle, Fort Liberté, and Tortuga Island, the rest of the province being in the possession of the natives. The whole Artibonite province, with the exception of Saint-Marc, was under the authority of Dessalines. In the West, Port-au-Prince, Mirebalais, Croix-des-Bouquets, Grand-Goave, Petit-Goave, Léogane, and Jacmel were still under French domination; as was also the whole Southern province.
However, the Southern province had begun to be disturbed. In order to prevent more disturbance, the French resorted to their usual system: the executions. At L'Anse-à-Veau many people were drowned. At Cayes blacks and mulattoes who were merely suspected of not having much sympathy for France were at once hanged or drowned. These crimes incensed the natives; and a black man, Joseph Darmagnac, took up arms in the town of Cayes. He was defeated and with the rest of his followers was put to death. The French availed themselves of Darmagnac's affray to gratify their vengeance. Twenty-two native officers who were imprisoned on board the frigate Clorinde in the harbor of Saint-Louis were all thrown into the sea and drowned. As usual these cruelties, instead of demoralizing the blacks, made them more eager to retaliate.
Geffrard had succeeded in penetrating into the Southern province. He hastened to organize the forces at his disposal. After occupying Miragoane he stormed Anse-à-Veau on the 16th of January, 1803. At the same time Gilles Bénech, at the head of about 2,000 peasants, took possession of Tiburon. Uprisings took place at Port-Salut and at Camp Périn in the plain of Cayes; all the leaders acknowledged the authority of Férou, who was at that time Commandant of the arrondissement of Coteaux. Intrenched at "Morne-Fendu" and at Marauduc the natives defeated the French who had tried to dislodge them from their positions. This success provoked the insurrection of the whole plain of Cayes.
​Yet Geffrard had met with some reverses. Defeated by the French he was compelled to evacuate Anse-à-Veau and Miragoane and to take shelter in the mountains, where he reorganized his forces. However, he was soon able once more to assume the offensive; and on the 5th of March, 1803, he was in the plain of Cayes, where he met Férou. He immediately set about obtaining the acknowledgment of the authority of Dessalines as Commander-in-Chief. Unity of command prevailed thus in the Southern province without any trouble. It was soon established also in the North and in the West.
From Artibonite Dessalines proceeded to Port-de-Paix, where his authority was acknowledged without demur by Capois whom he appointed brigadier-general. Romain and Yayou were still under Sans-Souci's command. Dessalines appointed both brigadier-generals and placed the former at the head of the arrondissement of Limbé and the latter in command of Grande-Rivière. In order to win over Sans-Souci's last remaining officers he conferred the rank of colonel on Petit Noel Prieur, who became Commandant of the Place of Dondon belonging to the arrondissement which was under Christopher's authority. After this Dessalines went up into the mountains of Grande-Rivière, where he met Sans-Souci, who, being deprived of the help of his principal followers, was compelled to acknowledge the authority of the Commander-in-Chief of the native army.
Having settled all things to his satisfaction, Dessalines returned to the Artibonite. But Christophe had not forgotten his old quarrel with Sans-Souci. Considering the moment propitious for ridding himself of his enemy, he invited him to an interview on the Grandpré plantation, and there murdered him. Petit Noel and his followers rose up at once in order to avenge the death of their former leader. Christophe was compelled to flee; and Paul Louverture, who endeavored to pacify Sans-Souci's avengers, was beheaded by them. Dessalines arrived with a strong body of soldiers and ​dispersed Petit Noel's followers. Henceforth his authority was securely established in the North. In the West Lamour Dérance still remained in open defiance, but every means was employed in the hope of subduing him.
In the mean time, Pétion, Christophe, Clervaux, and Vernet were appointed by Dessalines major-generals, thus completing the organization of his army. The whole French portion of the island was now devastated by fire and sword.
In the North, Rochambeau, profiting by the reinforcements he had just received from France, despatched General Clauzel against Port-de-Paix, which Capois was forced to evacuate. But the fearless black General redeemed his defeat by storming the Petit-Fort, where he captured the ammunition of which he was in great need. Capois, surnamed Capois-la-Mort by reason of his indomitable courage, now conceived one of those plans the temerity of which alone illustrates the spirit of the soldiers of the war of independence. He decided to attack Tortuga Island. But how to reach this island without ships was the difficult problem. For this lack he made up by building a raft consisting merely of planks held together with lianes. On the night of February 18, 1803, 150 soldiers under the command of Vincent Louis were huddled together on this frail means of transport in tow of two row-boats. They fell unexpectedly on the garrison of Tortuga and for a while seemed to be the conquerors. But the French, who soon got over their surprise, rallied, and owing to their superior forces defeated Vincent Louis, who succeeded in making his escape with some of his companions. The unfortunate blacks who were taken prisoners were tortured to death in expiation of the audacious attempt.
This failure did not discourage the untiring energy of Capois. On April 12, 1803, he stormed Port-de-Paix, and soon after Vincent Louis on his raft was again on his way to Tortuga. He succeeded this time ​in taking possession of the island, which the French never recovered.
In the vicinity of Cap-Français the struggle was very fierce. Romain tried twice to storm the town, but failed. On his side Toussaint-Brave captured and then lost Fort-Liberté.
In the South one event was succeeding the other with great rapidity. After establishing his headquarters at Gerard, Geffrard pushed on with his military operations. Nothing could stop the enthusiasm of the people. In every encounter the French were routed. The insurgents occupied successively Anse-à-Veau, Miragoane, Petit-Trou, Saint-Michel, Aquin, Saint-Louis, Cavaillon; all the coast line up to Tiburon was in their power.
In order more easily to suppress the insurrection in the South, Rochambeau took up his abode at Port-au-Prince. Instead of gaining new laurels he daily debased himself with new crimes. By his order Madame Paul Louverture and her son Jean-Pierre Louverture were drowned in the harbor of Cap-Français. The executioners spared neither age nor sex. Sixteen native officers were left on an islet where they were tied to the trees; defenseless against the stings of all kinds of insects they suffered the slow and terrible agony of starving to death.
On his arrival at Port-au-Prince (March 20, 1803) Rochambeau heard that Petit-Goave had just fallen in Lamarre's power and that Léogane was threatened by Cangé. The troops he despatched succeeded in ridding Léogane of the enemies who surrounded it. But General Neterwood failed at Petit-Goave. In trying to storm the fort where Lamarre was intrenched the French General fell mortally wounded and his soldiers fled in great disorder.
The natives were steadily gaining ground. Pétion ​was holding his own at L'Arcahaie, where he had established his headquarters. In the beginning of June, 1803, Dessalines had stormed Mirebalais; and his army, like an irresistible torrent, broke into the plain of Cul-de-Sac, which was devastated by fire. Port-au-Prince was, in consequence, in great straits as to procuring needed provisions. These successes were gained in spite of the reinforcements which from time to time France was sending to Saint-Domingue. And the rupture of the peace of Amiens came in time to strengthen the cause of the natives. In May, 1803, France was again at war with England; therefore the French forces in Saint-Domingue could no longer rely on the least help from the mother country; and in addition to this yellow fever reappeared: the last flicker of the French dominion was about to be extinguished.
When in July, 1803, the first English men-of-war began to harass the French ships on the coasts of Saint-Domingue, Dessalines saw his opportunity to deliver the decisive blow. But Lamour Dérance still refused to acknowledge his authority; he had assumed an independence detrimental to the uniformity of the military operations. Colonel Philippe Guerrier was therefore instructed to arrest him. Lamour Dérance, invited to come and inspect the Colonel's regiment, accepted the invitation confidently, relying on his influence, and was thus caught in the trap into which his credulity led him. Once among Guerrier's soldiers he was arrested without any trouble; he was afterward sent on the Marchand ​plantation, where he died soon after. Henceforth the native army had but one chief—Dessalines. There was no longer any hindrance in its way.
Dessalines, who in the mean time had left for the South, proceeded to organize the forces of that province; it was put under the command of Geffrard, who was promoted to the rank of major-general. Gérin, Jean-Louis-François, Coco Herne, and Férou were respectively appointed Commandants of the arrondissements of Anse-à-Veau, Aquin, Cayes, and Jérémie.
Dessalines chose for his secretary Boisrond-Tonnerre, the future author of the Act of Independence.
Without losing time the Commander-in-Chief returned to the Western province. The French had just lost Léogane, which Cangé had stormed. From Léogane Dessalines marched to Jacmel, the siege of which he organized; he then proceeded to Petit-Goave, and from there returned to Cul-de-Sac. On his passage he had created four new regiments. Untiring in his activity, he possessed entire control of everything and missed no opportunity to further the success of his cause. He held friendly intercourse with the officers of the British men-of-war which were blockading various ports of Saint-Domingue; in this way he was able to procure arms and ammunition, always scarce in the camp of the natives.
Whilst Dessalines was everywhere communicating his ardor and his faith to all around him, Rochambeau had returned to Cap-Français, where he centred his forces in view of the decisive struggle. At that time the French army numbered 18,000 men, including officers and privates. To avenge its reverses, the chief continued to commit incredible atrocities. Placide Justin gives the following account of an encounter which took place at l'Acul: "The attack began with great fury; and for a while the blacks retreated; but they soon assumed the offensive and repelled the enemy, who retreated with heavy losses; at night they ​were masters of the battlefield. During the day the French had taken about 1,500 prisoners in the camp of the blacks. The French General ordered that the unfortunate native soldiers be at once put to death. A great number of the victims of this cruelty did not die immediately; they were left in a mutilated state too horrible to be described. Their agonizing cries and groans broke the silence of the night; they could be heard at a great distance."
Rochambeau's cruelty became so revolting that two of his companions, the French Generals Clauzel and Thouvenot, thought of securing "the person of this madman and of sending him to Europe in order to rid the colony of his presence." But the Captain-General discovered the conspiracy, the authors of which ​were arrested and deported. However, his tyranny and the woeful plight of the island made the colonists so uneasy that they began to flee from Saint-Domingue. "It was," says Gastonnet des Fosses, "a general signal of dispersing; the colony looked like a ship about to founder."
Under the heavy blows of the natives the ship was foundering in reality. In the South, Férou, assisted by Colonel Bazile, was sweeping away the French posts in his victorious march against Jérémie. The French General Fressinet, who was in command, was unable to defend the town, which he evacuated on the 4th of August, 1803, Férou at once taking possession of it. The bi-colored flag bearing its proud motto, "Liberty or death," floated over the arrogant city of the overbearing colonists of Grand 'Anse. Cayes, the only important town of the Southern province still in the power of the French, was being besieged by Geffrard.
Dessalines, who seemed to be ubiquitous, so great was his activity, had gone from Cul-de-Sac to Petite Rivière where he instructed Gabart to storm Saint-Marc. The arrival of the natives before the town coincided with the presence in the harbor of an English frigate. The garrison, already starved out, was in the last stage of exhaustion. In consequence, the French General d'Hénin, who was in command, did not deem it wise to wait for an attack. He hastened to sign a capitulation with the captain of the English frigate and, on the 4th of September, 1803, he evacuated the town, which Gabart immediately occupied. Dessalines, who was at that time at Port-de-Paix, left in haste for Saint-Marc.
On the 9th of September, Toussaint-Brave took possession of Fort-Liberté, which the French had also abandoned.
On September 17 Cangé and Magloire Ambroise, who were besieging Jacmel, occupied the town in pursuance of an armistice concluded with the French General Pageot, who retired with his army to Santo Domingo.
​Dessalines decided then to assume a vigorous offensive against Port-au-Prince, at which place the French authorities were at odds; to which was added the further disadvantage of the starving condition of the inhabitants owing to the great scarcity of food. The Commander-in-Chief made his last preparations at Petite Rivière, and started forth on September 15 with Generals Pétion and Gabart as principal lieutenants. After successfully engaging in a series of skirmishes, Dessalines took possession of La Croix-des-Bouquets; and on the 23d of September he established his headquarters at Turgeau, at the very entrance of Port-au-Prince, which was being besieged by Pétion on one side and by Gabart on the other. Cangé was investing the fort of Bizoton, which the French garrison was compelled to evacuate on the 2d of October. The artillery, under Pétion's command, then commenced the bombardment of the city. The French General Lavalette was soon at the end of his resources and obliged to capitulate. On the 5th of October he sent one of his aides-de-camp to Dessalines's headquarters, where an agreement was speedily arrived at. According to the convention the French soldiers were allowed to leave the island; hence, on the 8th of October, 1803, they were embarked on the French men-of-war at that time in the harbor. On the following day Dessalines made his triumphal entrance into Port-au-Prince.
In the North the French had in their power only Cap-Français and Môle St. Nicolas; and but Cayes alone in the South. And this last-named town was almost lost to them. Closely surrounded by Geffrard and blockaded by the English, the town was incapable of great resistance. Therefore, General Brunet, who was in command, signed the capitulation with the English, and on the 17th of October, 1803, Geffrard took possession of Cayes. In the South, as in the West, there was no longer any vestige of the French domination.
In order to become the sole master of Saint-Domingue it now remained but for Dessalines to storm Cap-Français, in which place Rochambeau had established quite ​a reign of terror. The Captain-General did not spare even his own countrymen. The blood of a Frenchman was the last stain upon his hands. "In order to get money," says Gastonnet des Fosses, "he ordered the inhabitants to contribute to a forced loan. Eight European merchants were taxed 30,000 francs each; one of them, Fédon, being unable to pay his share, was arrested and shot by the order of the Captain-General. This was in reality a murder. By his cruelties Rochambeau had incensed the inhabitants so that he could not now rely on their help."
Nevertheless, he was getting ready for an energetic defense. But his plans were frustrated by Dessalines's prompt action. The Commander-in-Chief of the army of the indigenes did not waste time in celebrating his victory. As soon as he was master of Port-au-Prince he began his preparations for the last and decisive struggle. After instructing his generals to centre their troops at Carrefour Limbé, Dessalines left Port-au-Prince on the 21st of October, 1803. When he reached the vicinity of Cap-Français he found himself at the head of an army of 20,000 men, well disciplined and inured to the hardships of war. The plan of attack was cleverly prepared and carried out. The approaches of Cap-Français were defended by forts established at Bréda, Champain, Pierre-Michel, and by Vertières Hill, where a blockhouse sheltered the French infantry.
Dessalines perceived at a glance the mistake made by Rochambeau in neglecting to occupy the important position of Charrier, which he at once instructed Capois to take possession of. This place could not be reached without facing the hostile fire of both the infantry and the artillery. On the morning of November 18 the columns moved forward, seemingly unmindful of the bullets and cannon shots which were mowing down their ranks. Rochambeau in person, surrounded by his guard of honor consisting of artillery and infantry, was in command at Vertières; he was, in consequence, exposed ​to the fierce attacks of Capois. Both sides fought with desperate bravery. The native generals, incited by Dessalines's presence and also by the goal they wished to reach, were often seen during the bloody struggle fighting gun in hand side by side with their soldiers. As to Capois, he compelled the applause even of Rochambeau; driven off by the relentless fire of the enemy, his army unceasingly returned to the charge, stimulated by the audacity with which its leader was defying death. Horse and rider rolled on the ground as a cannon ball hit the General's charger; but with lightning rapidity Capois extricated himself, and sword in hand he once more rushed back to his place at the head of his soldiers. Amidst the hurrahs of the French troops Rochambeau gave order for the firing to cease, and a cavalryman proceeded toward the amazed natives. "Captain-General Rochambeau," said he, "congratulates the General who has just covered himself with so much glory."
The messenger withdrew and the fight was resumed, until in the afternoon a torrential rain put an end to the battle. Both sides lost heavily. But the consequences of this encounter were of the greatest importance to the natives: they acquired possession of a country.
Rochambeau hastened to return to Cap-Français, the exterior fortifications of which were partly evacuated. On the same night, November 18, he sent a flag of truce to Dessalines; and on the 19th the following capitulation was agreed upon:
"This day, the 27th Brumaire, of the 12th year (19 November, 1803), the Adjutant Commandant Duveyrier, having received full power from General Rochambeau, Commander-in-Chief of the French army, to treat for the surrender of the town of Cape, and Jean-Jacques Dessalines, General of the native army, have agreed on the following articles, viz.:
"I. The town of the Cape (Cap-Français) and the forts dependent thereon shall be given up in ten days, reckoning from to-morrow, the 28th of Brumaire, to General-in-Chief Dessalines.
​"II. The military stores which are now in the arsenals, the arms and the artillery of the town and forts, shall be left in their present condition.
"III. All the ships of war and other vessels which shall be judged necessary by General Rochambeau for the removal of the troops and inhabitants, and for the evacuation of the place, shall be free to depart on the day appointed.
"IV. All the officers, military and civil, and the troops composing the garrison of the Cape, shall leave the town with all the honors of war, carrying with them their arms and all the private property belonging to their demi-brigades.
"V. The sick and wounded who shall not be in a condition to embark shall be taken care of in the hospitals until their recovery. They are specially recommended to the humanity of General Dessalines.
"VI. General Dessalines in giving the assurance of his protection to the inhabitants who shall remain in the town, calls at the same time upon the justice of General Rochambeau to set at liberty all the natives of the country, whatever may be their color, who under no pretext of right should be constrained to embark with the French army.
"VII. The troops of both armies shall remain in their respective positions until the tenth day after the signature hereof, which is the day fixed on for the evacuation of the Cape.
"VIII. General Rochambeau will send, as a hostage for the observance of the present stipulation, the Adjutant-General Urbain Devaux, in exchange for whom General Dessalines will send an officer of the same rank.
"Two copies of this Convention are hereby executed in strict faith, at the headquarters of 'Haut-du-Cap' on the day, month, and year aforesaid.
(Signed) Dessalines. Duveyrier.
"The articles of capitulation, accepted by General ​Dessalines, are," says Marcus Rainsford "an instance of forbearance and magnanimity of which there are not many examples in the annals of ancient and modern history."
Commodore Loring, in command of the English squadron which at that time was cruising in the vicinity of Cap-Français, requested Dessalines to send him some pilots in order to allow him to enter the port. But the Commander-in-Chief of the army of the indigenes, being unaware of the intentions of the English, refused to grant the request. Nevertheless, Rochambeau at last consented to become their prisoner of war, together with the whole French garrison.
On the 29th of November, 1803, Dessalines took possession of Cap-Français, which was usually called the Cape; and on December 4 Colonel Pourcely entered Môle, which was evacuated by General de Noailles.
Saint-Domingue was thus entirely lost to France. After a year of heroic efforts the natives were at last masters of a land literally soaked with their blood. The bicolored flag, the emblem of liberty, now floated over the whole French portion of the island.
James Franklin speaks as follows of the people who had just conquered their country: "It would be wrong not to express in proper terms the admiration called forth by the resistance which the blacks made whenever they were hard pressed by the French troops. They at times displayed a great deal of heroism and unshaken courage. Standing on the dead bodies of their comrades, they were often seen fighting man to man with the French. … At the evacuation of the island the negro troops were in a state of discipline but little inferior to the French, and in point of courage equal. Looking at them in other ​respects, and taking into consideration that they were men who before, nay even at that time, were in the grossest state of ignorance and moral degradation, our astonishment is excited when we find that in the moment of rage and revenge they often refrained from acts of cruelty and torture, whilst their insatiable enemies were committing the most shocking barbarities."
* ↑ "The executions," says Pamphile de Lacroix, "taking place daily, new defections were of daily occurrence. The proof that there was abuse in the executions can be found in the fact that the more that took place, the less the rebels seemed to be scared. The blacks showed on the gallows the same courage with which the martyrs of the early ages faced death." (B. Ardouin, Vol. V, p. 278.) "Shooting, hanging, and, what is still more horrible, drowning, decimated the indigenes, who were condemned on mere denunciations which were often of very slight foundation. These cruelties, unworthy of the French, were vainly multiplied; they served only to provoke terrible hatred against us and to give new followers to the cause of the rebels." (Gastonnet des Fosses, La perte d'une colonie, p. 328.)
* ↑ Here is the opinion of a Frenchman, Mr. Gastonnet des Fosses, about Maurepas's death (La perte d'une colonie, Paris, A. Faivre, éditeur, 1893; p. 334): "Two black Generals, Laplume and Maurepas, were faithful to us and we could trust them. Maurepas was under the authority of General Brunet, who was in command at Port-de-Paix. For some time he was wrongly suspecting him of treason and of being in relations with the insurgents. In consequence, when he was instructed to evacuate Port-de-Paix and to retreat to Cap-Français, he arrested Maurepas and several colored officers, whom he brought with him to Cap-Français. General Leclerc had just died and Dauze, the Colonial Prefect, was in command until the arrival of Rochambeau. He was of the opinion of sending Maurepas and his companions to France. On the 17th of November Rochambeau landed at Cap-Français, and, by his order, the fate of the prisoners was quickly settled. Maurepas, his family and his companions, were embarked on Le Duguay Trouin; and at night these unfortunate people were cast into the sea. This was murder; and it is sad to notice that its perpetrators were Frenchmen."
* ↑ B. Ardouin, Studies of Haitian History, Vol. V, p. 392. "Rochambeau went so far as to import from Cuba hounds especially trained for the hunting of the blacks. At the beginning of the nineteenth century he renewed the horrors committed in the sixteenth century by the Spanish conquerors." (Gastonnet des Fosses, loc. cit., p. 338.)
* ↑ The brother of Toussaint Louverture.
* ↑ A black woman who was about to be executed with her two daughters, raised their courage with the following words: "My children, death will exempt you from bringing forth slaves."
* ↑ B. Ardouin, Studies of Haitian History, Vol. V, p. 393.
* ↑ The flag whose folds would henceforth protect the right to freedom and liberty of a whole race, which centuries of oppression were unable to suppress, was adopted toward the month of May, 1803. Revolutionary France had raised the tricolored flag which, for the natives of Saint-Domingue, meant the union of the whites, the blacks, and the mulattoes. Dessalines had kept the three colors of France; and many were led to believe that he had no intention of separating from the mother country. To assert the idea of independence the Commander-in-Chief, by Pétion's advice, suppressed the white portion of the flag and kept only the blue and the red. Henceforth, in the mind of every native the exclusion of the white from the flag meant also the expulsion of the white Frenchmen from the island, which was to remain in the sole possession of the blacks and mulattoes.
* ↑ Histoire d'Haiti (Paris, 1826), p. 399.
* ↑ Here is the statement made by Marcus Rainsford, late Captain of the Third West India Regiment (An Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti; London, 1805), of the affair of L'Acul (pp. 336-338): "Rochambeau began the attack with impetuosity, and the blacks for a short time gave way, but on his endeavoring to push the advantage, they repulsed him with loss, when the day closed. In penetrating the black line the French had secured a number of prisoners, and on them they determined to wreak the vengeance of which they were disappointed in the battle. Whether this determination arose from an idea that the part of the French wing which had been cut off were already absolutely sacrificed, or from the mistaken policy of extermination, cannot here be determined, but the unhappy victims were, without the smallest consideration for their own men who were prisoners in the black camp, immediately put to death. As they were not carefully exterminated, many were left in a mutilated state during the whole of the night, whose moans and shrieks were heard at a distance around the spot sufficiently loud to excite a sensation of horror throughout the country. The black commander, when acquainted with the case, although the maxim of the benevolent Toussaint, not to retaliate, had been hitherto followed up, could no longer forbear; he immediately caused a number of gibbets to be formed, selected the officers whom he had taken, and supplying the deficiency with privates, had them tied up in every direction by break of day, in sight of the French camp, who dared not to interfere. The blacks then sallied forth with the most astonishing vigor and regularity, raised the very camp, threw the whole line in disorder, and drove the French army close to the walls of Cap-Français. Such was the retaliation produced by this sanguinary measure; a retaliation the justice of which, however it is lamented, cannot be called in question." James Franklin (The Present State of Haiti: London, 1828) confirms Rainsford's statement.
* ↑ Gastonnet des Fosses, La perte d'une colonie, p. 339.
* ↑ Gastonnet des Fosses, La perte d'une colonie, p. 340.
* ↑ La perte d'une colonie, p. 344.
* ↑ An historical account of the Black Empire of Hayti, p. 341.
* ↑ Son of Count Rochambeau, whose statue adorns Lafayette Square in Washington, Donatien de Rochambeau, made prisoner by the English, was sent to England, where he remained until 1811. Exchanged at that time he served in the French army in Germany and died, in 1813, at the battle of Leipsic.
* ↑ The present State of Haiti. London, 1828; p. 170, 171.