Laxavon. The army of the North takes the road there

It was at Fort-Liberté that the troops of the North received their uniforms. General Clervaux, delayed by the flooding of the rivers, had not yet joined them. On the 21st they took the road to Laxavon, with the 9th in the rear guard. On the 22nd they crossed the savanna of Tête and that of Hargue, and in the middle of the night arrived in that of Guayabine. On the 23rd, at nine in the morning, the division crossed the river of Guayabine, not without difficulty. After following the road not far from the course of the river Grand-Yaque, whose waters empty into the bay of Monte Cristi, the troops reached the town of L’Hôpital, in the magnificent valley of Santiago, and spent the night on the hattes Hilaire Gaston and Pichasse. The next day at noon they entered the town of Amina. They were marching four leagues from the course of the river, which they approached in order to cross it; and on the 25th, at four in the morning, they halted on the left bank. On the opposite bank they saw the Spanish-French troops drawn up in line of battle, about 1,500 men, under the orders of Sérapio, commander in chief of the department of Cibao. The enemy occupied a breastwork 300 feet long, armed with two field pieces, and a fort defended by a twelve-pounder and raised on a small hill. Although Clervaux’s division had not arrived, the Haitian troops amounted to 9,000 men. The 2nd and 27th demi-brigades took up position opposite the enemy entrenchments on a rise on the left bank; the 28th and 29th took position behind them; and the 1st, the 9th, the battalion of Santiago and the artillery companies held the middle of the high road, ready to force the crossing.