1794, June: (The British Occupation of Port-au-Prince): While Toussaint reconquered the Artibonite for France, the British reached their strategic “high-wate…

1794, June: (The British Occupation of Port-au-Prince): While Toussaint reconquered the Artibonite for France, the British reached their strategic “high-water mark” by capturing Port-au-Prince on June 4, 1794. The assault began with a bombardment of Fort Bizoton, followed by a bayonet charge of 60 Welsh grenadiers who overran 450 defenders of the Legion of the West during a torrential rainstorm. The British seized twenty-two merchant ships and £400,000 in prize money, subsequently establishing a fort on a hill behind the wooden cathedral that remains known today as Fort National. This loss forced the French commissioners, Sonthonax and Polvérel, to flee across the mountains toward Jacmel.