Pétion, discharged from the service, withdrew his record of service from the navy.

Signed: FORFAIT.”

It is true that Sonthonax, in his last mission, no doubt to prepare disciples for his destructive projects, had scattered military dignities with scandalous profusion; he had heaped them upon worthless men whose only antecedents were murder, arson and pillage. No just government could in truth have confirmed such appointments. But was it not the height of iniquity to refuse to the artilleryman of the Sainte-Cécile, to the commander of Fort Ça-Ira, to the victor of La Coupe, to the defender of Belle-Vue and of Jacmel, to the general who directed the retreat of the army of the South, who only very recently had again distinguished himself at Curaçao, the retention of a rank that he had won at the point of his sword? In that metropolis, where one saw such prodigious military fortunes, how many were acquired more legitimately and more gloriously than that of Pétion?

At last Pétion was discharged from the service, like all his companions, who came to France one after another; on 24 thermidor (12 August) he withdrew his record of service, which he had deposited at the navy; it is a new regret for me, for one would have liked to see in what terms this man so full of modesty spoke of himself.