Immediately after the business of the war had been completed, Toussaint proceeded to the restoration of public worship, according to the forms which existed prior to the revolution, and he even extended the liberty of religious worship beyond the Roman communion, by admitting one or two of the Methodist persuasion, who had arrived from the United States, to the privilege of preaching in Cape François, and to whom he gave every protection.
His military establishment was on a scale of some extent during the war, but was much reduced at the peace. The discipline of his troops did him great credit, and excited considerable surprise in the British officers; their movements were effected with great precision, and although they were not after the manner of European evolutions, yet they were well adapted for that species of irregular warfare in which they were engaged. The men were under tolerable command, and no symptoms of insubordination were known to have shewn themselves; they seemed to be aware of the consequences that would ensue to their cause if order and submission were not rigidly exacted, and they were therefore taught to obey their officers as a duty indispensable for their security.
The country generally was so intersected and varied with underwood and mountains of difficult ascent, that more reliance was placed on the movements of irregular bodies detached in small parties, than on any thing that could be accomplished by the more steady operations of heavy masses. Such being the mode of warfare best calculated to meet the obstacles presented to military operations, Toussaint sought to drill his troops in such evolutions as would enable him effectually to meet the exigencies with which he might have to contend. He had them taught expertness, promptitude and dexterity, and quick and steady firing, without any attention to those movements in column which are so much practised in Europe. It is said of them, that “at a whistle a whole brigade would run three or four hundred yards, then separating, throw themselves flat on the ground, changing to their backs or sides, keeping up a strong fire the whole of the time till they were recalled; then they would form again in an instant with their wonted regularity. This single manœuvre used to be executed with such facility and precision as totally to prevent cavalry from charging them in bushy and hilly countries.” This system is nearly similar to the one practised by our rifle and light infantry corps in England, and decidedly best adapted for any operations in the colonies, where the country presents so rugged and uneven a surface. The amount of his force has been variously stated, and I do not conceive it possible to give a fair estimate of the whole during the time of the war: his peace establishment consisted of about forty thousand foot and two thousand cavalry, all of which were well equipped, and at all times in readiness for active service.
In the organization of his government, and in the framing of his constitution and laws, Toussaint was assisted by some able men from America and Europe. He never allowed any prejudices against white persons to influence him, when their services were required, nor did he permit any of the superior officers of his government to shew any disrespect towards them, but he exacted the most courtly attention to them as the most likely means to secure the aid of men of learning, whatever may have been their country or their calling. It was by this that he induced the able Molière and M. Marinit, as well as several well-informed English and Americans to reside near him; to these he was kind and liberal, obtaining from them the greatest assistance in the organization of his municipal governments, and in the whole arrangement of the different departments of state, as well as in forming regulations for the better insuring to his country a commercial intercourse with strangers, without which all his efforts in cultivating the soil would have been unavailing; for without a vent for the products there would have been no stimulus for the exertions of the grower, and one of the sources of national wealth would consequently have been dried up. His tour through the Spanish part of the island was attended with considerable advantage to him, for it infused a kind of confidence into the people, by whom he was received in every part with great respect, and often with every demonstration of joy. This is not surprising, for the fame of his deeds and his warlike achievements and his deportment, which is said to have been mild and courtly, were likely to excite favourable sentiments, and to elicit a good deal of applause. This tour was certainly one of necessity, and not undertaken from any vain parade and ostentation; for the Spanish part of the island, although formally ceded to France by the treaty of 1795, had not all been occupied by the republican forces. The city of Santo Domingo, a place of considerable strength, and surrounded with fortifications sufficiently powerful to resist any attack that might have been made upon it, still held out, and it was not until the arrival of Toussaint in 1801, with a large force, that a legal surrender of the whole Spanish division was finally accomplished. Having succeeded in this, he left his brother Paul in command, and then pursued his journey through the other districts, establishing posts, appointing officers to command them, with other important military and civil arrangements, which he deemed necessary for the purpose of governing more easily the whole of that part of the island. Having completed this tour, which was attended with much benefit to every part of the island which he visited, he began to hope for some repose from the fatigues attendant on such multifarious occupations, which might enable him to cultivate the sweets of peace and retirement, as well as to see all those designs fully completed, and which had for their object, the enriching of his country and the happiness of his people.
The end of the year 1801 placed the whole island once more in some degree of tranquillity, and in submission to the authority of the negro chief, rapidly advancing in wealth and increasing its intercourse with those countries which sought to establish with it the friendly relations of commerce. But the short peace of Amiens, which took place in October of that year, leaving the then ruler in France, Bonaparte, without any power to contend with, his first object was the recovery of Saint Domingo. Wanting employment for his large armies, and instigated by the fugitive colonists who had been expelled at the commencement of the revolution, and who were anxiously longing for their lost possessions; thirsting also for colonies and commerce, and urged by the speculators in France, he determined on subjugating the island by force, reestablishing slavery, and reinstating the ex-colonists in their original properties. To accomplish these objects by force rather than by negotiation, was more congenial to the temper and martial spirit of the French ruler. He therefore began to make extensive preparations for an undertaking, which he vainly thought could not fail ultimately to gain new laurels for his troops, and exalt himself more than ever in the estimation of the people of France, who were always forward to reward him for any successes which accompanied his efforts, with no ordinary demonstrations of joy.
This expedition consisted of twenty-six sail of the line, on board of which were embarked 25,000 men, under the command of the brother-in-law of Bonaparte, General Le Clerc, seconded by some of the ablest generals of France, and many other officers of distinction who were conversant with the island, and who formerly held properties in it. Not, however, relying entirely on what such a force might be able to execute, the First Consul had recourse to a measure which he concluded would insure the neutrality of Toussaint, if it did not induce him to lend him an active cooperation. Two of the sons of the negro chief had been sent to France for their education, for the purpose of giving them the opportunity of following a course of studies, which might prepare them to fill, with advantage to their country, those important posts for which they seemed destined. Taken from their preceptor by orders of the First Consul, they were hurried on board the fleet, to be made as it were to intercede with their father, and, if possible, to prevail on him to accede to such proposals as the commander-in-chief of the expedition was empowered to offer; and, in fact, they were placed as hostages in the hands of the French commanders, and thus made amenable for any hostile steps which their father might be disposed to take.
The expedition arrived in the bay of Sumana, in the eastern extremity of the island, on the 25th of January, 1802, when, without the least delay, General Le Clerc distributed his force into three divisions, which were to make simultaneous attacks on three distinct parts of the colony. One division was directed to disembark and take possession of the city of Santo Domingo, and was commanded by General Kerseran; another, under General Boudet, was sent to Port au Prince; whilst the commander-in-chief proceeded with the remainder of the troops to the south side, when a part was landed at Mansenillo Bay, under General Rochambeau; and the principal body with Le Clerc, and his personal staff intended to disembark at Cape François, for the purpose of gaining possession of that city.
Toussaint had been apprised of the intentions of the French government to send out a force to Saint Domingo, but of its extent, its nature, and its ulterior designs, he had no knowledge. He merely conjectured, that it had no hostile object, and that it was just such a force as might have been expected would be sent by the parent state, for the better insuring the peace and obedience of the colony. That such was his impression I think there is great reason to believe, for he issued his orders to all his generals at their respective posts, commanding them to receive the French troops without suspicion; and his proclamation called upon the people to admit them as friends. Others again seem to infer that he not only knew that the designs of the consular cabinet were inimical to the existing order of things in the colony, but that he knew the extent of the means which were to be employed in their execution. If this latter were the fact, then that caution, vigilance, and activity which had marked his former career, had entirely forsaken him, for it is evident he made no preparations for the reception of a force entertaining hostile intentions.
I shall not go through the whole detail of the landing of this armament at the different points selected for that purpose, but I shall offer a short sketch of the general operations which followed.
Whatever might have been the instructions given by the First Consul to Le Clerc, the latter did not appear the least disposed to try the effect of negotiation before he displayed some intentions of hostility, for General Rochambeau, who landed in the neighbourhood of Fort Dauphin, formed his troops on the beach, and the negroes, who had been led by the proclamation of their governor-general to believe that they had landed as friends, ran in crowds to witness the disembarkation, and with the most friendly demonstrations welcomed their arrival. But Rochambeau, most dastardly and inhumanly, without the slightest intimation of what was to follow, charged them at the point of the bayonet, when a great many were slaughtered, and the rest with difficulty fled to places of protection, leaving the fort in possession of the French. This took place on the 2d of February, two days before the arrival of the commander-in-chief in the harbour of Cape François, and as the account of it soon reached the city, General Christophe, who commanded there, was enabled to prepare for its defence, and at once discovered, that instead of coming as friends, this force had arrived for the purpose of subjugation.