At the beginning of 1794 the English were in possession of Arcahaie, Léogane, Môle-Saint-Nicolas, Jérémie, and of the whole province of La Grand'Anse. In the North the Spaniards occupied Gros-Morne, Plaisance, Lacul, Limbé, Port-Margot, Borgne, Terre-Neuve, etc. On December 6, 1793, Toussaint Louverture, who was fighting for Spain, became master of Gonaives. General Laveaux, appointed acting Governor-General by Sonthonax, was at Port-de-Paix; and the mulatto Villate held the highest military command at Cap-Français. On leaving the latter place for Port-au-Prince, the Civil Commissioner transferred his powers to the mulatto Péré. Thus a Governor-General, a military commander and a civil delegate were all three in command at a time when circumstances called for unity of action.
The Civil Commissioners Distrust the Colored Men
Sonthonax left Cap-Français in a state of great indignation at the defections which were daily increasing the number of France's enemies. The wealthy planters and the European officers espoused the Spanish cause they did not scruple even to join the followers of Jean-François, Biassou, and Toussaint Louverture. The very men who a few years previous had had naught but the utmost contempt for the slaves were now helping these very slaves to wage war on their own country. Some colored men such as Savary, at Saint-Marc, and Jean-Baptiste Lapointe at L'Arcahaie, following the example given them by the whites, in their turn betrayed the trust placed in them. Their conduct angered Sonthonax to such a degree that he began to distrust indiscriminately all the colored men. Then began the unfortunate policy of division which was destined to bring about disastrous consequences, the bad effects of which it has been so difficult to root out in Haiti.
In July, 1793, Polverel and Sonthonax had written to the mulattoes, trying to incite them against the whites and cautioning them to be on their guard concerning the general freedom of the slaves. However, it so happened that events had made this dreaded general freedom an accomplished fact. Therefore those desirous of exploiting either the mulattoes or the blacks had to resort to the divide et impera maxim. In consequence nothing was spared to excite the mutual jealousy of the men of the black race and to sow discord among them.
In the mean time, Sonthonax, on his arrival at Port-au-Prince, had ordered the disbanding of the militia. He set free Guyambois, who had been imprisoned by Polverel for having been the leader in the conspiracy which was destined to place Saint-Domingue under the authority of a triumvirate consisting of himself, Jean-François, and Biassou. Through Guyambois, Sonthonax entered into relations with Halaou, a black chief, who, in order to preserve his influence over his followers, pretended to be in communication with Heaven through a white cock which was his inseparable companion. The Civil Commissioner invited Halaou to Port-au-Prince, where a banquet was given in his honor at the Executive Mansion. A report that the death of Beauvais, who was at La Croix-des-Bouquets, was decided upon, began to be noised abroad. Upon leaving Port-au-Prince the black leader unfortunately went to La Croix-des-Bouquets; this step served to confirm the rumor which had been set afloat. In consequence, Pinchinat and Montbrun made up their minds to do away with him ; and Marc Borno undertook to carry out the criminal project. He started at once for La Croix-des-Bouquets, where, on his arrival, he ordered a sergeant to kill Halaou. A bloody fight ensued, in which the followers of the latter were defeated. This murder was provoked by the instigation wrongly or rightly attributed to Sonthonax, who did nothing to conceal his distrust of the colored men. He soon appointed as commandant of "the place" of Port-au-Prince the white General Desfourneaux, who, having been arrested by Polverel's order, and tried by a court martial presided over by Montbrun, harbored a bitter grudge against this mulatto officer. Montbrun was the highest military authority at Port-au-Prince. The appointment of this new officer was not to his liking. His displeasure increased, when, contrary to hierarchic discipline, Desfourneaux was directly authorized by Sonthonax to supply a regiment with new soldiers. The commandant of the place availed himself of the opportunity to enlist and arm all the whites, whose hostility toward the colored men was a recognized fact. The latter, blacks and mulattoes, who formed the "Legion of Equality" under the command of Montbrun, became uneasy. A conflict was thus made inevitable; it occurred during the night of March 17, 1794. Montbrun's soldiers attacked and defeated Desfourneaux's. The streets of Port-au-Prince were again stained with blood at a time when the union of all its inhabitants was of absolute necessity to its successful defense.
At the beginning of January, 1794, an English squadron, under the command of Commodore John Ford, had appeared in the harbor. The energetic refusal of Sonthonax to surrender the city had impressed the English; they withdrew without making any attack. But they were not long in returning with stronger forces. On May 30 their fleet was again in the harbor. The landing forces, with General White at their head, were reinforced by the French counter-revolutionists under the command of Baron de Montalembert, H. de Jumecourt, and Lapointe. Against this army of about 3,000 men Port-au-Prince could not oppose more than 1,100 soldiers. The English occupied the city on June 4. Thereupon the Civil Commissioners' retreated to Jacmel, when on June 8 the corvette L'Esperance arrived from France. Captain Chambon notified them of the decree of impeachment adopted against them by the Convention on July 16, 1793. The Commissioners lost no time in sailing, leaving the defense of the colony to the care of Laveaux in the North and of Rigaud in the South.
Before leaving Jacmel, Polverel wrote to Rigaud on June 11, denouncing Montbrun as a traitor. Yet the Civil Commissioners took no steps to have the traitor court-martialed; instead of this he continued to exercise his powers as Governor of the West. Thus to the mulatto Rigaud fell the task of arresting and dismissing the mulatto Montbrun, which served but to foster distrust and jealousy. Even before the conflict of March 18, when Sonthonax was compelled to embark his protégé Desfourneaux, the Civil Commissioner had a great dislike for Montbrun. So he charged the latter with having given up Port-au-Prince to the English. However, Montbrun had fought gallantly at Fort Bizoton, where he was wounded. Notwithstanding this, Rigaud caused Montbrun to be arrested and sent to France; after four years imprisonment he was summoned to appear before a court martial at Nantes and was acquitted of the accusations brought against him. He served in the French army and was appointed general. He died at Bordeaux in 1831.
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