Charlemagne Péralte Charlemagne Masséna Péralte ( 1886 - 1 November 1919 ) was a Haiti an nationalist leader who opposed the US Invasion of his country in 1915 . Leading guerrilla fighters called the Cacos , he posed such a challenge to the US forces in Haiti that the occupying forces had to upgrade their presence in the country . Péralte remains a highly praised Haitian hero . Early life . Born in 1886 in the central city of Hinche , Péralte was born into a family that had migrated from an area that is the present day Dominican Republic , ( Péralte is a French version of the Spanish name Peralta ) . Péralte is revered on both sides of the island , in Haiti and in the Dominican Republic . Name on birth certificate : François Borgia Charlemagne Peralte Date of birth on birth certificate : 10 October 1885 His father was General Remi Massena Peralte . Source for correction : " 1885 – 1985 , Un Centenaire ; Charlemagne Peralte , " , Georges Michel . Privately published in Port - au - Prince , 1989 . Footnote , p . 19 . Cites research of Roger Gaillard concerning birth and baptismal certificates in " Premiere Ecrasement du Cacoism " , Port - au - Prince : Le Natal , 1981 . Also appears in Douglas Henry Daniels ' s English translation of Michel ' s book , " Charlemagne Peralte and the First American Occupation . " Dubuque , Iowa : Kendall / Hunt Publishing CO . , 1996 . Guerrilla resistance . An officer by career , Charlemagne Péralte was the military chief of the city of Léogane when the US Marines invaded Haiti in July 1915 . ( See United States occupation of Haiti ( 1915 – 1934 ) ) Refusing to surrender to foreign troops without fighting , Péralte resigned from his position and returned to his native town of Hinche to take care of his family ' s land . In 1917 , he was arrested for assaulting the home of an American Officer of the occupation troops , and was sentenced to five years of forced labor . Escaping his captivity , Charlemagne Péralte gathered a group of nationalist rebels and started guerrilla warfare against the US troops . The troops led by Péralte were called " Cacos " , a name that harked back to rural troops that historically took part in the political turmoil of late 19th century Haiti . The guerrilla warriors of the Cacos were such strong adversaries that the United States upgraded the US Marine contingent in Haiti and even employed airplanes for counter - guerrilla warfare . Death and aftermath . After two years of guerrilla warfare , leading Péralte to declare a provisional government in the north of Haiti , Charlemagne Péralte was betrayed by one of his officers , Jean - Baptiste Conzé , who led disguised US Marines Sergeant Herman H . Hanneken ( later meritoriously promoted to Second Lieutenant for his exploits ) and Corporal William Button into the rebels camp , near Grand - Rivière Du Nord . Péralte was shot in the heart at close range and assassinated . His assassins then fled with his body during the skirmish and chaos that ensued . In order to demoralize the Haitian population , the US troops took a picture of Charlemagne Péralte ' s body tied to a door , and distributed it in the country . The effect was the opposite . Betrayed and killed at the age of 33 , Charlemagne Péralte took the dimension of a martyr for the Haitian nation . Charlemagne Péralte remains were unearthed after the end of the US occupation in 1935 . A national funeral , attended by the then - President of Haiti , Sténio Vincent , was held in Cap - Haïtien , where his grave can still be seen today . A portrait of Charlemagne Péralte can now be seen on the Haitian coins issued by the government of Jean - Bertrand Aristide after his 1994 return under the protection of US troops . As a footnote , for their daring exploit , Corporal Button ( 1895 – 1921 ) and Sergeant Hanneken ( 1893 – 1986 ) were both awarded the Medal of Honor for killing the " supreme bandit of Haiti " . Hanneken later served in World War II , notably at Guadalcanal and ended his career as a Brigadier General . In his late days , he constantly declined to comment on his exploits in Haiti , notably to Haitian journalist asking for interviews on the 100th anniversary of Péralte ' s birth , in 1986 .