Le Cap. General liberty proclaimed by Sonthonax on the place d’armes; The Death of Caesar performed.

He had no more than 1,800 soldiers left at Le Cap, freedmen and Europeans together; he was almost without munitions of war; Jean François and Biassou at the head of their bands, together with the Spanish troops of the line, thirty thousand men in all, threatened to fall upon Le Cap; the revolutionary principles had to be saved with the help of new citizens. At last 29 August came. From daybreak the freedmen and the European troops were under arms. The streets were strewn with palms and flowers; everything beneath our beautiful sky breathed love, joy and tenderness. Citizens, men and women, made their way in crowds to the place d’armes, where the altar of the fatherland stood, hung with garlands and flags, upon a base sixteen feet high. Sonthonax mounted the altar, already covered with children, women and old men. The solemnity was majestic; an immense people, full of emotion, surrounded the palm tree of liberty, crowned with tricolor streamers. Short in stature, with a frank countenance and eyes that expressed all the ardor of his soul, Sonthonax said in a strong voice: “All the negroes and people of mixed blood now in slavery are declared free, to enjoy the rights attached to the quality of French citizens.” The heavens rang with cries of joy broken by sobs, sabers and bayonets flashed, the solemn salvos of the artillery burst forth. The rest of the day passed in the intoxication of happiness; The Death of Caesar was performed. When the Africans saw displayed on the stage the bloodied body of Caesar, who had been, they were told, an enemy of liberty, they applauded with prodigious ardor and filled the town with prolonged cries. The festivities lasted several days.