1792-July: General La Salle conducted an inspection of the volunteer battalions at La Rochelle and ordered the immediate censorship of the slogan “Live Free …

1792-July: General La Salle conducted an inspection of the volunteer battalions at La Rochelle and ordered the immediate censorship of the slogan “Live Free or Die” from the Loire battalion’s banner. The general expressed concern that such provocative language would incite the enslaved population in Saint-Domingue to “massacre their masters” if the rebels adopted it. Consequently, the troops were forced to cover their original motto with strips of cloth inscribed with “The Nation, the Law, the King” and “The French Constitution.” Furthermore, the traditional “liberty tree” intended for the colony was replaced by a “tree of Peace” to dampen the soldiers’ revolutionary ardor.