La Tortue. Ramel’s expedition overthrew the Indigenous of the interior; Vincent Louis and Gardel escaped from the Coquillage

The Indigenous of Capoix’s division, who had crossed the channel of La Tortue on rafts, still held the interior of that small island. We have seen that they had burned the hospital set up there on the Labatut plantation. Rochambeau, having repulsed Romain’s last attack, thought he could spare some troops from the town of the Cap; he resolved to send an expedition to La Tortue. On 17 February Adjutant-Commandant Ramel set out on the ship of the line Duquesne with five light vessels. The effective strength of this expedition was 400 infantry, a detachment of 150 chasseurs of the captain-general’s guard under the orders of Battalion Commander Booze, and 60 dragoons. Ramel, as soon as he had landed on La Tortue, went to the Doubaire plantation. He joined his troops to those of Adjutant-Commandant Boscus and marched against the Indigenous of the interior, whom he overthrew and cut to pieces after a stubborn fight. He lost an intrepid officer, Herumberger, captain of the chasseurs of the guard. Citizen Fey, commander of the lugger Vautour, took into his boats during the combat a crowd of white proprietors who were fleeing the field of battle along the shore. The sailors of the Vautour beat to death with their oars those of the Indigenous who, clinging to planks, were swimming in the channel to reach Laveaux-Lapointe or Saint-Louis du Nord. Battalion Commander Vincent Louis and Captain Gardel, followed by a few grenadiers of the 9th, entrenched themselves among the steep rocks and the woods near the anchorage of the Coquillage. They held out there until nightfall. They had lost most of their companions. They made three signals by three great fires in succession. Capoix, seeing these fires from Laveaux-Lapointe, recognized the signal of distress he had agreed upon with Vincent Louis. Indigenous boats at once set out from the Carrerouge of Saint-Louis and reached the Coquillage of La Tortue. Vincent Louis and Gardel embarked with a few men and came back to the Carrerouge, from which they went to Capoix at his headquarters at Laveaux-Lapointe.