From October 1796 until March 1797, Simcoe briefly served as the commander of the British expeditionary force which was dispatched to captured the French colony of Saint-Domingue (modern-day Haiti), which was in the midst of a slave rebellion. After assuming control of the British forces in Saint-Domingue, Simcoe was attacked by Haitian forces under the command of Toussaint Louverture, who at the time was fighting on behalf of the French Republic. An assault on the British-held town of Saint-Marc was repulsed, though Haitian forces captured Mirebalais and the Central Plateau. Simcoe was eventually replaced as leader of the expeditionary force in March.