Fort-Dauphin. Sack and massacre of 950 French by Jean François’s bands.

Meanwhile Biassou refused to submit to the authority of Jean François. Jean François could get his soldiers to march against Biassou only by promising them the plunder of Fort-Dauphin. After the victory his bands demanded that he fulfill his promise. There were at Fort-Dauphin about a thousand French royalists of both sexes who had returned to the colony, recalled by Spanish proclamations that had promised them aid and protection. Jean François asked the authorities of Fort-Dauphin for the sack of the town. His request was supported by Vasquez, his confessor and vicar-general of the army. The Spanish, fearing that he might throw himself into the Republican party like Toussaint Louverture, granted him all he wished. On 6 July Jean François appeared at the gates of Fort-Dauphin and entered the town. The white population felt no alarm, knowing him to be in the service of the King of Spain. The European garrison, composed of the regiments of Cantabria, of New Spain and of Havana, was drawn up in line of battle on the parade ground under the orders of Colonel Montalvo. The bands of Jean François were also under arms, waiting impatiently for the order to fall upon the French, who until then had no suspicion of the fate reserved for them. Vasquez celebrated divine service, went to the parade ground and blessed the flags of the Black troops. Then he gave Jean François his hand to kiss, saying to him: “Exterminate these atheists, these regicides, these Hebrews.” At once the European garrison shut itself up in the fort of the town, and the massacre began in the streets and in the houses. In a few hours 950 French men, women and children had been slaughtered. Some émigrés managed to save themselves by putting on the clothes of Castilian soldiers. But the European troops made no move in favor of these unfortunates, whose wealth became the prey of the authorities. The bands of Jean François did not stop plundering until sunset. The next day they left the town laden with booty. Such auxiliaries were more fatal than the enemy himself.