Haut-du-Cap and Vertières. Base of the insurgents blockading the Cap; Christophe joined them here

Clervaux, followed by a few horsemen, pursued him vigorously; d’Henin turned about in fury, and single combat began between these two warriors, who had embraced each other at the ball not five days before. Clervaux cut him down with his saber and threw him from his horse. The French horsemen, ashamed of their flight, charged again and freed their general. Meanwhile Pétion, advancing along the high road at the head of the 13th, took Fort Pierre-Michel and found there all the guns spiked by the French, who had fled. Clervaux, instead of pressing his advantage and entering the Cap on the heels of the fugitives, spent his efforts around the entrenchment of Jeantot, which was vigorously defended by the chef de brigade Anhouil. He made seven assaults on the fort and was seven times repulsed. The colonel of the 10th colonial, Jean-Philippe Daut, a Black man, strove in vain to carry the post of the Haut-du-Cap, held by a battalion of the captain-general’s guard of honor. General Clausel, for his part, profiting by Clervaux’s mistake, rallied the fugitives and set up a battery against Fort Michel, which Adjudant-General Pétion had seized. The shells and bombs forced the Indigenous to abandon the position. Pétion, having found all the guns of Michel spiked, had been unable to answer the enemy’s fire. Clausel at once ordered General d’Henin, covered with wounds, to charge the 13th at the head of his dragoons. This cavalry, though it displayed the most brilliant valor, could not break the 13th colonial, which took back the position it had held before the battle. At the same time Petit Noël Prière, who had assailed the town from the side of the heights, was driven back with loss. The firing ceased on both sides, and the two armies remained facing each other. During the battle, horrible scenes were taking place within the town of the Cap. The whites, seized with terror, massacred all the Black men and men of color who crowded the prisons; the tears and prayers of the Indigenous women could not move the European soldiers. At the same time the town rang with the heartrending cries of the 1,200 men of the 6th colonial, Black and mixed-race, who had been put aboard ship. The sailors, frightened at the sight of so many Indigenous soldiers who, they claimed, meant to make themselves masters of the vessels, stabbed these unarmed unfortunates to death with cries of “Let us kill those who can kill us!” Their bodies vanished beneath the waves. Battalion commander Jacques Clervaux was also stabbed and thrown into the sea. Can one wonder at the vengeance the Indigenous took on the French? How sharply General Leclerc’s conduct contrasts with that of Pétion at the Morne Rouge, when he sent back his white prisoners. The captain-general warmly embraced Colonel Anhouil, who had saved the Cap by repulsing the seven assaults Clervaux had made on Fort Jeantot. Pétion’s defection grieved him deeply. Knowing the temper of that Indigenous officer, he judged that Pétion would not have joined the insurgents had he not been certain of the success of his undertaking. He climbed up to Fort Jeantot and examined the enemy camp attentively. He noticed that the French arms had been torn from the flags of the 10th and 13th. “They are fighting not only for their liberty but also for their independence,” he said in despair to General Clausel, whose somber face expressed that the fault lay with the First Consul. “It is all over,” he cried; “there is no longer any remedy for the evil.” It was a prophecy whose fulfillment was hastened by the government of Rochambeau. This event added to the sum of his griefs. He waited anxiously for news of Dessalines, in whom he still had some remnant of confidence; he still counted a great deal on General Christophe, whose frankness he liked.

Christophe, during the battle of 16 October, had remained idle at Saint-Michel. In the night of 24 to 25 Vendémiaire (16 to 17 October), he had Colonel Boyé brought before him and said to him: “I am sending you back to your general; tell him that he is a reckless man without experience and without faith; that I despise the millions and the honors he offers me to abandon the cause of my brothers. As for you, colonel, if I did not respect the law of nations, you would never see the Cap again.” The Frenchman watched without fear as the sabers that threatened his life were raised over his head. Christophe, admiring his courage, had a fine meal served to him and had him conducted, under escort of a battalion, as far as the French outposts. On 18 October, at daybreak, he arrived at the Haut-du-Cap with the 1st, 2nd and 5th colonial and had the French arms torn from his flags. As soon as Petit Noël Prière caught sight of him, he rushed at him, full of fury, calling him traitor and murderer. His bands, sharing his rage, formed a howling circle around Christophe. Christophe, on horseback, took on a majestic bearing full of resignation. The bitter smile on his lips bore witness to all his contempt for this chief of bands. He seized one of his pistols and cocked it. Petit Noël Prière dismounted, saber in hand, and sprang at him, saying: “There are no more French to hold you up; now it is between us two.” But the soldiers of the 13th, Pétion and Clervaux placed themselves between the two adversaries, crying: “Stop! Stop!” The disorder is at its height; bayonets cross; sabers are brandished; pikes are turned on Christophe. Pétion raises his voice and shows the multitude the whites, who will profit by this dissension. Explanations are exchanged. The bands go on shouting; they demand Christophe’s death. Yet the ferment is calmed at last; Petit Noël Prière withdraws at the head of his men, promising Christophe to settle his account later. Christophe, a man of high intelligence, of order and of severe principles, had delayed rising with his brothers only because he had believed that the Sans-Soucis, the Macayas and the Petit Noëls had taken up arms moved by nothing but the instinct of plunder; he did not wish to side with men whom he thought incapable of conceiving an insurrection founded on principles of order and legality. But as soon as he had seen Pétion and Clervaux give battle to the French, he had hesitated no longer, determined to fight, if need be, both the whites and Sans-Souci at once. Clervaux reorganized the 6th with cultivators, most of them from La Marmelade, a great many of whom had already served under him. Pétion had the 10th and 13th under his orders. Geffrard remained with him without a command. Christophe still kept at the head of the 1st, 2nd and 5th. Clervaux, as the senior of the field officers, took command of all the troops, and Petit Noël Prière held himself apart at the head of his bands. They surrounded the Cap on almost every side.