Marie-François Auguste de Caffarelli du Falga

General Marie-François Auguste de Caffarelli du Falga (aka General Caffarelli) (1766 Haute-Garonne, France - 1849 Falga, France) was made an aide-de-camp to Napoléon Bonaparte in 1800. He was sent to interrogate Toussaint Louverture in his French prison cell at Fort de Joux and met with Toussaint several times, the first time on September 15, 1802.

One of his duties was to find out about treasures, that French authorities believed Toussaint had hidden in Saint-Domingue. Toussaint, in his memoir disputes that he ever took any treasures and indeed it seems as if Napoléon and his aide were absolutely wrong to assume that Toussaint had ever diverted any money.

John Relly Beard writes that "It has been suggested that torture [of Toussaint Louverture] was employed by Bonaparte's aid, Caffarelli" although he states that he can find no evidence to support this claim. (Beard p. 342)

See also

• Toussaint Louverture letter to Napoléon from Fort de Joux (1802) - Letter in which Toussaint mentions meetings with Caffarelli.
• The Last Days Of Toussaint L'Ouverture - account of a 1859 visit to Fort de Joux. Includes: Post-mortem Examination of Toussaint L'Ouverture and describes the prison.
• Theater review: The Lion in Captivity - play dealing with Toussaint Louverture's harsh imprisonment, with Caffarelli one of the protagonists.

References

• Beard, J. R. (John Relly) (1863). Toussaint L'Ouverture: A Biography and Autobiography. Chapel Hill, NC: Academic Affairs Library, UNC-CH. Online Publication