Pierroux. Battle in which Néraud beat Pétion

On the Bédette plantation in the plain there was a corps of observation 200 horsemen strong. A battalion of the European 86th, 500 men, and a squadron of gendarmes of 160 men held the town of the Croix-des-Bouquets, whose command belonged to Adjudant-General Gilbert Néraud. The French troops of the Croix-des-Bouquets arrived at Pierroux at eight in the morning of 9 December. Gilbert Néraud attacked General Pétion with a brisk fusillade. The Indigenous, though taken by surprise, formed their line of battle under the enemy’s fire. Geffrard, Marinier and Jean-Louis François withstood the shock of the French along the whole line; they even forced them to give ground. Gilbert Néraud ordered his cavalry to charge; but it could not break the square formed by the 7th, 10th and 13th demi-brigades. The 86th, though it had shown brilliant valor, retreated under cover of the cavalry. Pétion, pressing the advantages of his victory, dashed in pursuit of the French. They, ashamed of their retreat, faced about and began the fight again. Jean-Philippe Daut had received Pétion’s order to abandon the Frère camp and hasten to Pierroux. But he did not move, fearing to be attacked from behind by Lamour Dérance’s men, who were showing hostile intentions. At the same time the French received reinforcements that Néraud had asked of General Fressinet, who commanded at Port-Républicain. Eighty dragoons, four pieces of light artillery and 500 men of fine European troops appeared on the field of battle. The fight grew fiercer and bloodier. Néraud threw himself on the Indigenous with fresh fury. The Indigenous, blasted by grapeshot, entrenched themselves in the great house of Pierroux. Gilbert Néraud had the four cannon trained on them; their cartridges were spent, the grapeshot was crushing them; they were forced to abandon the great house. Then the French cavalry charged them impetuously and put them to utter rout. They would have been cut down to the last man had they not thrown themselves into vast fields of cadasses that stretched behind the Pierroux plantation. The Europeans, unable to make their way through these high and dangerous thorns, gave up the pursuit. Pétion reached the Jonc plantation, where Jean-Philippe Daut came to join him. The national dragoons, Black and of color, who served in the French ranks and were hardened to the fatigues of the country, came again to charge the Indigenous. A young white officer was on the point of cutting down General Pétion when he stayed his blow on recognizing him: he gave him time to get away. Still the Indigenous general would have perished had not Captain Benjamin Noël, with a few grenadiers of the 10th and the 13th around him, faced about and held the enemy dragoons for some moments with several musket shots. The national horsemen rushed furiously on this handful of brave men and rode over them, and one of them, young Hoche Vilbon, a man of color, carried off one of the colors of the 13th.