1820, August 15 – October 6: (The Stroke at Limonade and the Fall of the Kingdom): In mid-August 1820, age sixty-two, Henry Christophe seemed in vigorous hea…

1820, August 15 – October 6: (The Stroke at Limonade and the Fall of the Kingdom): In mid-August 1820, age sixty-two, Henry Christophe seemed in vigorous health, and in residence at Bellevue-par-le-Roi — a château eight miles east of Milot — he was joined by Marie-Louise, his family, and the court to celebrate the Queen’s name day on Sunday, August 15, at the parish church of Limonade. Kneeling in his priedieu, Henry watched the celebrant elevate the Host when he was suddenly bathed in sweat and swayed giddily; as a glass of water was pushed forward, he called for his carriage, tottered to his feet, then toppled, and Dr. Stewart cut away his uniform to cup and bleed him — it was late afternoon before Henry could speak, and then only in the slur of an apoplectic, as the cerebral hemorrhage had paralyzed his entire right side. By nightfall, teledjòl was spreading the word that Henry Christophe was a powerless cripple, and though the plotters who had feared him now had their hour, it was October 2 before the conspirators mustered sufficient courage to strike: at St. Marc the soldiers rose and slew the général de place Jean Claude, chopping off his head and sending it south in a gunnysack as an earnest to Boyer. Two conspiracies had been afoot: one of aggrieved soldiers in the 8th Regiment at St. Marc, resentful of hard work, harsh discipline, low pay, and the cashiering of their beloved Colonel Paulin — who, when stripped of his Cross of St. Henry, had submitted impassively until an adjutant reached to cut away his galons, at which he rounded in fury: “I won these epaulets on the battlefield — nobody can take them away!” The other conspiracy was that of the generals, fueled not by grievance but by ambition, led by Jean-Pierre Richard, Duc de Marmelade — one of the King’s most trusted officers and governor of the Cap — along with Paul Romain and Philippe Guerrier.