Memoir of Toussaint Louverture, Written by Himself - Revision history

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64.9.51.82 at 19:58, 26 February 2007

2007-02-26T19:58:15Z

64.9.51.82: /* MEMOIR OF GENERAL TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE. WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. */

2007-02-26T19:57:48Z

‎MEMOIR OF GENERAL TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE. WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.

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2007-02-05T02:51:59Z

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68.36.122.51: /* General Leclerc - June 5, 1802 - letter to Toussaint Louverture */

2007-02-05T00:13:28Z

‎General Leclerc - June 5, 1802 - letter to Toussaint Louverture

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← Older revision		Revision as of 06:27, 4 January 2014
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−	[[image:toussaint_louverture_horse.jpg\|right\|thumb\|200px\|Toussaint Louverture<br>French engraving from [[1802]].]][[image:toussaint_louverture_beard.jpg\|right\|thumb\|200px\|Title page of 1863 book about Toussaint Louverture by J. R. Beard.]]'This autobiographical text by [[Toussaint Louverture]] - written at the beginning of his imprisonment at [[Fort de Joux]] in France, - was first published by by M. Saint-Remy, a [[mulatto]], in ''Mémoires de la Vie de Toussaint L'Ouverture'', Paris, 1850 (p. 83). <br>	+	[[image:toussaint_louverture_horse.jpg\|right\|thumb\|200px\|Toussaint Louverture<br>French engraving from [[1802]].]][[image:toussaint_louverture_beard.jpg\|right\|thumb\|200px\|Title page of 1863 book about Toussaint Louverture by J. R. Beard.]]'This autobiographical text by [[Toussaint Louverture]] - written at the beginning of his imprisonment at [[Fort de Joux]] in France, - was first published by by M. Saint-Remy, a [[mulatto\| man of mixed ancestry]], in ''Mémoires de la Vie de Toussaint L'Ouverture'', Paris, 1850 (p. 83). <br>

	The memoir was first translated and published in English in ''[[Toussaint L'Ouverture: A Biography and Autobiography]]'' by John R. Beard in 1863. John Relly Beard very much disaproved of Saint-Remy whom he accused of being to partisan to the mulatto cause and therefore not able to provide great insight on the Haitian Revolution and it's contemporaries.		The memoir was first translated and published in English in ''[[Toussaint L'Ouverture: A Biography and Autobiography]]'' by John R. Beard in 1863. John Relly Beard very much disaproved of Saint-Remy whom he accused of being to partisan to the mulatto cause and therefore not able to provide great insight on the Haitian Revolution and it's contemporaries.

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 <p>I communicated to him these letters, whereupon he told me that he had seen from St. Marc six large vessels making sail for the coast of [[Port Républicain]]; but he was ignorant of what nation they were. I ordered him then to repair promptly to this port, since it was possible that [[Henri Christophe|Gen. Christophe]] having refused the entrance of the Cape to the general commanding the squadron, the latter might have proceeded to Port Républicain in the hope of finding me there; should this prove true, I ordered him, in advance, to request the general to wait for me, and to assure him that I would go first to the Cape in the hope of meeting him there, and in case I should not find him there, I would repair at once to Port Républicain to confer with him. I set out for the [[Le Cap|Cape]], passing by Vases, the shortest road. On arriving upon the heights of the Grand Boucan, in the place called the Porte-Saint-Jacques, I perceived a fire in the town on the Cape. I urged my horse at full speed to reach this town, to find there the general commanding the squadron, and to ascertain who had caused the conflagration. But, on approaching, I found the roads filled with the inhabitants who had fled from this unfortunate town, and I was unable to penetrate farther because all the passages were cannonaded by the artillery of the vessels which were in the roadstead. I then resolved to go up to the Fort of Bel-Air, but I found this fort evacuated likewise, and all the pieces of cannon spiked.</p>
-<p>I was, consequently, obliged to retrace my steps. After passing the hospital, I met Gen. Christophe, and asked him who had ordered the town to be fired. He replied that it was he. I reprimanded him severely for having employed such rigorous measures. "Why," said I to him, "did you not rather make some military arrangements to defend the town until my arrival?" He answered, "What do you wish, general? My duty, necessity, the circumstances, the reiterated threats of the general commanding the squadron, forced me to it. I showed the general the orders of which I was the bearer, but without avail." He added, "that the proclamations spread secretly in the town to seduce the people, and instigate an uprising, were not sanctioned by military usage; that if the commander of the squadron had truly pacific intentions, he would have waited for me; that he would not have employed the means which he used to gain the commander of the Fort of Boque, who is a drunkard; that he would not in consequence have seized this fort; that he would not have put to death half of the garrison of Fort Liberty; that he would not have made a descent upon Acul, and that, in a word, he would not have committed at first all the hostilities of which he was guilty.</p>
+<p>I was, consequently, obliged to retrace my steps. After passing the hospital, I met Gen. Christophe, and asked him who had ordered the town to be fired. He replied that it was he. I reprimanded him severely for having employed such rigorous measures. "Why," said I to him, "did you not rather make some military arrangements to defend the town until my arrival?" He answered, "What do you wish, general? My duty, necessity, the circumstances, the reiterated threats of the general commanding the squadron, forced me to it. I showed the general the orders of which I was the bearer, but without avail." He added, "that the proclamations spread secretly in the town to seduce the people, and instigate an uprising, were not sanctioned by military usage; that if the commander of the squadron had truly pacific intentions, he would have waited for me; that he would not have employed the means which he used to gain the commander of the Fort of Boque, who is a drunkard; that he would not in consequence have seized this fort; that he would not have put to death half of the garrison of [[Fort Liberty]]; that he would not have made a descent upon Acul, and that, in a word, he would not have committed at first all the hostilities of which he was guilty.</p>
 <p>Gen. Christophe joined me, and we continued the route together. On arriving at Haut-du-Cap, we passed through the habitations of [[Breda]] as far as the barrier of Boulard, passing by the gardens. There I ordered him to rally his troops, and go into camp on the Bonnet until further orders, and to keep me informed of all the movements he made. I told him that I was going to Héricourt; that there, perhaps, I should receive news from the commander of the squadron; that he would doubtless deliver to me the orders of the Government; that I might even meet him there; that I should then ascertain the reasons which had induced him to come in this manner; and, that, in case he was the bearer of orders from the government, I should request him to communicate them to me, and should in consequence make arrangements with him.</p>
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 <p>[[Henri Christophe|Gen. Christophe]] left me then to repair to the post which I had assigned to him; but he met a body of troops who fired upon him, forced him to dismount from his horse, plunge into the river, and cross it by swimming.</p>
-<p>After separating from Gen. Christophe, I had at my side Adjutant-General Fontaine, two other officers, and my aide-de-camp, Couppé, who went in advance; he warned me of the troops on the road. I ordered him to go forward. He told me that this force was commanded by a general. I then demanded a conference with him. But Couppé had not time to execute my orders; they fired upon us at twenty-five steps from the barrier. My horse was pierced with a ball; another ball carried away the hat of one of my officers. This unexpected circumstance forced me to abandon the open road, to cross the savanna and the forests to reach Héricourt, where I remained three days to wait for news of the commander of the squadron, again without avail.</p>
+<p>After separating from Gen. Christophe, I had at my side Adjutant-General Fontaine, two other officers, and my aide-de-camp, [[Couppé]], who went in advance; he warned me of the troops on the road. I ordered him to go forward. He told me that this force was commanded by a general. I then demanded a conference with him. But Couppé had not time to execute my orders; they fired upon us at twenty-five steps from the barrier. My horse was pierced with a ball; another ball carried away the hat of one of my officers. This unexpected circumstance forced me to abandon the open road, to cross the savanna and the forests to reach Héricourt, where I remained three days to wait for news of the commander of the squadron, again without avail.</p>
-<p> But, the next day, I received a letter from [[Rochambeau|Gen. Rochambeau]], announcing "that the column which he commanded had seized upon Fort Liberty, taken and put to the sword a part of the garrison, which had resisted; that he had not believed the garrison would steep its bayonets in the blood of Frenchmen; on the contrary, he had expected to find it disposed in his favor." I replied to this letter, and, manifesting my indignation to the general, asked to know, "Why he had ordered the massacre of those brave soldiers who had only followed the orders given them; who had, besides, contributed so much to the happiness of the colony and to the triumph of the Republic. Was this the recompense that the French Government had promised them?"</p>
+<p> But, the next day, I received a letter from [[Rochambeau|Gen. Rochambeau]], announcing "that the column which he commanded had seized upon [[Fort Liberty]], taken and put to the sword a part of the garrison, which had resisted; that he had not believed the garrison would steep its bayonets in the blood of Frenchmen; on the contrary, he had expected to find it disposed in his favor." I replied to this letter, and, manifesting my indignation to the general, asked to know, "Why he had ordered the massacre of those brave soldiers who had only followed the orders given them; who had, besides, contributed so much to the happiness of the colony and to the triumph of the Republic. Was this the recompense that the French Government had promised them?"</p>
 <p>I concluded by saying to Gen. [[Rochambeau]], that "I would fight to the last to avenge the death of these brave soldiers, for my own liberty, and to reëstablish tranquillity and order in the colony."</p>

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 <p>If I did oblige my fellow-countrymen to work; it was to teach them the value of true liberty without license; it was to prevent corruption of morals; it was for the general happiness of the island, for the interest of the Republic. And I had effectually succeeded in my undertaking, since there could not be found in all the colony a single man unemployed, and the number of beggars had diminished to such a degree that, apart from a few in the towns, not a single one was to be found in the country.</p>
-<p> If Gen. Leclerc's intentions had been good, would he have received Golart into his army, and given to him the command of the 9th demi-brigade,--a corps that he had raised at the time that he was chief of battalion? Would he have employed this dangerous rebel, who caused proprietors to be assassinated in their own dwelling-places; who invaded the town of [[Môle-Saint-Nicolas]]; who fired upon Gen. Clerveaux, who commanded there; upon Gen. Maurepas and his brigade commander; who made war upon the laborers of Jean-Rabel, from the Moustiques and the heights of [[Port-de-Paix]]; who carried his audacity so far as to oppose me when I marched against him to force him to submit to his chief, and to retake the territory and the town which he had invaded! The day that he dared to fire upon me, a ball cut the plume from my hat; Bondère, a physician, who accompanied me, was killed at my side, my aides-de-camp were unhorsed. In short, this brigand, after being steeped in every crime, concealed himself in a forest; he only came out of it upon the arrival of the French squadron. Ought Gen. Leclerc to have raised likewise to the rank of brigade commander another rebel, called L'Amour Desrances, who had caused all the inhabitants of the Plain of Cul-de-Sac to be assassinated; who urged the laborers to revolt; who pillaged all this part of the island; against whom, only two months before the arrival of the squadron, I had been obliged to march, and whom I forced to hide in the forests? Why were rebels and others amicably received, while my subordinates and myself, who remained steadfastly faithful to the French Government, and who had maintained order and tranquillity, were warred upon? Why was it made a crime to have executed the orders of the Government? Why was all the evil which had been done and the disorders which had existed imputed to me? All these facts are known by every inhabitant of [[St. Domingo]]. Why, on arriving, did they not go to the root of the evil? Had the troops which gave themselves up to [[Leclerc|Gen. Leclerc]] received the order from me? Did they consult me? No. Well! those who committed the wrong did not consult me. It is not right to attribute to me more wrong than I deserve.</p>
+<p> If Gen. Leclerc's intentions had been good, would he have received Golart into his army, and given to him the command of the 9th demi-brigade,--a corps that he had raised at the time that he was chief of battalion? Would he have employed this dangerous rebel, who caused proprietors to be assassinated in their own dwelling-places; who invaded the town of [[Môle-Saint-Nicolas]]; who fired upon Gen. Clerveaux, who commanded there; upon Gen. Maurepas and his brigade commander; who made war upon the laborers of [[Jean-Rabel]], from the Moustiques and the heights of [[Port-de-Paix]]; who carried his audacity so far as to oppose me when I marched against him to force him to submit to his chief, and to retake the territory and the town which he had invaded! The day that he dared to fire upon me, a ball cut the plume from my hat; Bondère, a physician, who accompanied me, was killed at my side, my aides-de-camp were unhorsed. In short, this brigand, after being steeped in every crime, concealed himself in a forest; he only came out of it upon the arrival of the French squadron. Ought Gen. Leclerc to have raised likewise to the rank of brigade commander another rebel, called L'Amour Desrances, who had caused all the inhabitants of the Plain of Cul-de-Sac to be assassinated; who urged the laborers to revolt; who pillaged all this part of the island; against whom, only two months before the arrival of the squadron, I had been obliged to march, and whom I forced to hide in the forests? Why were rebels and others amicably received, while my subordinates and myself, who remained steadfastly faithful to the French Government, and who had maintained order and tranquillity, were warred upon? Why was it made a crime to have executed the orders of the Government? Why was all the evil which had been done and the disorders which had existed imputed to me? All these facts are known by every inhabitant of [[St. Domingo]]. Why, on arriving, did they not go to the root of the evil? Had the troops which gave themselves up to [[Leclerc|Gen. Leclerc]] received the order from me? Did they consult me? No. Well! those who committed the wrong did not consult me. It is not right to attribute to me more wrong than I deserve.</p>
 <p> I shared these reflections with some prisoners which I had. They replied that it was my influence upon the people which was feared, and that these violent means were employed to destroy it. This caused me new reflections. Considering all the misfortunes which the colony had already suffered, the dwellings destroyed, assassinations committed, the violence exercised even upon women, I forgot all the wrongs which had been done me, to think only of the happiness of the island and the interest of the Government. I determined to obey the order of the First Consul, since Gen. Leclerc had just withdrawn from the [[Le Cap|Cape]] with all his forces, after the affair of [[Crête-à-Pierrot]].</p>

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 The memoir was first translated and published in English in ''[[Toussaint L'Ouverture: A Biography and Autobiography]]'' by John R. Beard in 1863. John Relly Beard very much disaproved of Saint-Remy whom he accused of being to partisan to the mulatto cause and therefore not able to provide great insight on the Haitian Revolution and it's contemporaries.
-==MEMOIR OF GENERAL TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE. WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.==and gherry
+==MEMOIR OF GENERAL TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE. WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.==
 [[image:louverture_signature.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Signature of Toussaint Louverture]]

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 The memoir was first translated and published in English in ''[[Toussaint L'Ouverture: A Biography and Autobiography]]'' by John R. Beard in 1863. John Relly Beard very much disaproved of Saint-Remy whom he accused of being to partisan to the mulatto cause and therefore not able to provide great insight on the Haitian Revolution and it's contemporaries.
-==MEMOIR OF GENERAL TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE. WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.==
+==MEMOIR OF GENERAL TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE. WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.==and gherry
 [[image:louverture_signature.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Signature of Toussaint Louverture]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:51, 5 February 2007
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−	<p>The same day I received a letter from Gen. Brunet, of which the following is an extract n:--</p>	+	<p>The same day I received a letter from Gen. Brunet, of which the following is an extract:--</p>

	===General Brunet - June 7, 1802 - letter to Toussaint Louverture===		===General Brunet - June 7, 1802 - letter to Toussaint Louverture===

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:13, 5 February 2007
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−	<p>The same day I received a letter from Gen. Brunet, of which the following is an extract:--</p>	+	<p>The same day I received a letter from Gen. Brunet, of which the following is an extract n:--</p>

	===General Brunet - June 7, 1802 - letter to Toussaint Louverture===		===General Brunet - June 7, 1802 - letter to Toussaint Louverture===

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-[[image:toussaint_louverture_horse.jpg|right|thumb|160px|Toussaint Louverture<br>French engraving from [[1802]].]]This autobiographical text by [[Toussaint Louverture]] - written at the beginning of his imprisonment at [[Fort de Joux]] in France, - was first published by by M. Saint-Remy, a [[mulatto]], in ''Mémoires de la Vie de Toussaint L'Ouverture'', Paris, 1850 (p. 83). <br>
+[[image:toussaint_louverture_horse.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Toussaint Louverture<br>French engraving from [[1802]].]][[image:toussaint_louverture_beard.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Title page of 1863 book about Toussaint Louverture by J. R. Beard.]]'This autobiographical text by [[Toussaint Louverture]] - written at the beginning of his imprisonment at [[Fort de Joux]] in France, - was first published by by M. Saint-Remy, a [[mulatto]], in ''Mémoires de la Vie de Toussaint L'Ouverture'', Paris, 1850 (p. 83). <br>
 The memoir was first translated and published in English in ''[[Toussaint L'Ouverture: A Biography and Autobiography]]'' by John R. Beard in 1863. John Relly Beard very much disaproved of Saint-Remy whom he accused of being to partisan to the mulatto cause and therefore not able to provide great insight on the Haitian Revolution and it's contemporaries.
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 ==MEMOIR OF GENERAL TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE. WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.==
-[[image:louverture_signature.jpg|right|thumb|160px|Signature of Toussaint Louverture]]
+[[image:louverture_signature.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Signature of Toussaint Louverture]]
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