The Freedmen's Book

by Lydia Maria Child

General Le Clerc was very angry when he found that his overtures were distrusted. He swore that he would seize Toussaint before he took his boots off. He forthwith issued a proclamation declaring him to be an outlaw. When General Toussaint read it to his soldiers, they cried out with one accord, "We will die with you." He said to his officers: "When the rainy season comes, sickness will rid us of our enemies. Till then there is nothing before us but flame and slaughter." Orders were given to fire the towns as the French army approached, and to deal destruction upon them in every way. He gathered his army together at the entrance of the mountains, and, aided by his brave generals Christophe and Dessalines, kept up active skirmishing with the enemy. Horrible things were done on both sides. The Bay of Mancenille was red with the blood of negro prisoners slaughtered by the French. The blacks, infuriated by revenge and dread of Slavery, killed white men, women, and children without mercy. General Dessalines was of a savage temper, and incited his troops to the most ferocious deeds.

But the natural kindliness of the negro character was manifested on many occasions, even in the midst of this horrible excitement. In many cases they guided their old masters to hiding-places in the mountains or forests, and secretly conveyed them food.

Toussaint, with only a plank to sleep on and a cloak to cover him, was constantly occupied with planning attacks and ambuscades, and preaching on Sundays, exhorting the people, with fiery eloquence, to remember that the cause of Liberty was the cause of God. General Le Clerc, meanwhile, was disappointed to find so many difficulties in the way of his wicked project. His troops wilted under the increasing heat of the climate, and began to murmur. He issued proclamations, promising, in the most solemn manner, that the freedom of all classes in St. Domingo should be respected. These assurances induced several black regiments to go over to the French. Toussaint's brother Paul, and two of his ablest generals, Bellair and Maurepas, did the same. Still the Commander-in-Chief, aided by Christophe and Dessalines, kept up a stout resistance. But news came that fresh troops were coming from France, and Christophe and Dessalines had an interview with General Le Clerc, in which, by fair promises, he succeeded in gaining them over to the French side. A messenger was then sent to ask for a conference with General Toussaint. Solemn assurances were repeated that the freedom of the blacks should be protected; and a proposition was made that he should be colleague with General Le Clerc in the government of the island, and that his officers should retain their rank in the army. With reinforcements coming from France, and with his best generals gained over, Toussaint had no longer hopes of defeating the invaders, though he might send out skirmishers to annoy them. He had too little faith in the promises of General Le Clerc to consent to take an oath of office under him. He therefore replied: "I might remain a brigand in the mountains, and harass you with perpetual warfare, so far as your power to prevent it is concerned. But I disdain fighting for mere bloodshed; and, in obedience to the orders of the First Consul, I yield to you. For myself, I wish to live in retirement; but I accept your favorable terms for the people and the army."

With four hundred armed horsemen he set out for the Cape, to hold the proposed conference with General Le Clerc. On the way, the people, thinking peace was secured without the sacrifice of their freedom, hailed him as their benefactor. Girls strewed flowers in his path, and mothers held up their children to bless him. General Le Clerc received him with a salute of artillery, and made a speech in which he highly complimented his bravery, magnanimity, and good faith, and expressed a hope that, though he chose to live in retirement, he would continue to assist the government of the island by his wise counsels. In the presence of the troops on both sides, he took an oath on the cross to protect the freedom of St. Domingo. With the same solemn formalities, General Toussaint promised that the treaty of peace should be faithfully observed.

The next day, he explained fully to his officers and soldiers what were the terms of the treaty, and impressed upon their minds that such a promise could not be violated without committing the sin of perjury. He thanked them all for the courage and devotedness they had shown under his command, embraced his officers, and bade them an affectionate farewell. They shed tears, and expressed the greatest reluctance to part with him; but he told them that such a course would best conduce to public tranquillity. The soldiers were inconsolable. They followed him, calling out in the saddest tones, "Have you deserted us?" He replied: "No, my children. Do not be uneasy. Your officers are all under arms, and at their posts."

Twelve years had passed since he was working on the Breda estate, and seeing houses and cane-fields on fire in every direction, had said to his wife, "The slaves have risen." Since that time, his life had been one scene of excitement, danger, ceaseless exertion, and overwhelming responsibility. He had been commander-in-chief of the armies of St. Domingo during five years, and governor of the island about one year. Now, with a heart full of anxiety for his people, but cheered by hopes of domestic happiness, he retired, far from the scene of his official splendor, to Ennery, a beautiful valley among the mountains. Surrounded by his family, he busied himself with clearing up the land and cultivating oranges, bananas, and coffee. The people round about often came to him for advice, and he freely assisted his neighbors in making repairs and improvements. Strangers often visited him, and when he rode abroad he was greeted with every demonstration of respect.

General Le Clerc, meanwhile, was attacked by a new and terrible enemy. His troops, unused to the climate, were cut down by yellow fever, as a mower cuts grass. In this situation, had Toussaint excited the blacks against them, they might have been exterminated; but he had sworn to observe the treaty, and he was never known to break his word. The kind-hearted negroes, in many cases, took pity on the suffering French soldiers; they carried them many little comforts, and even took them into their houses, and nursed them tenderly.

Meanwhile, General Le Clerc's difficulties increased. His troops were dying fast under the influence of the hot season; provisions were getting scarce; he wanted to disband the negro troops that had joined him, but they were wide awake and suspicious on the subject of Slavery, and he dared not propose to disarm them. He was so treacherous himself that he could not believe in the sincerity of others. He was always suspecting that Toussaint would again take command of the blacks and attack the remnant of his army while it was enfeebled by disease. Bonaparte also felt that the popularity of Toussaint stood much in the way of his accomplishing the design of restoring Slavery. It was desirable to get him out of the way upon some pretext. The French officers made him the object of a series of petty insults, and wantonly destroyed the fruit on his grounds. By these means they hoped to provoke him to excite an insurrection, that they might have an excuse for arresting him. His friends warned him that these continual insults and depredations foreboded mischief, and that he ought not to submit to them. He replied, "It is a sacred duty to expose life when the freedom of one's country is in peril; but to rouse the people to save one's own life is inglorious."

Finding private remonstrances of no use, he reported to the French head-quarters that he and his neighbors were much annoyed by the conduct of the French troops, and that the people in the valley were made very uneasy by their rude manners and their depredations on property. He received a very polite answer from General Brunet, inviting him to come to his house to confer with him on that and other matters connected with the public tranquillity. The letter closed with these words: "You will not find all the pleasures I would wish to welcome you with, but you will find the frankness of an honorable man, who desires nothing but the happiness of the colony, and your own happiness. If Madame Toussaint, with whom it would give me the greatest pleasure to become acquainted, could accompany you, I should be gratified. If she has occasion for horses, I will send her mine. Never, General, will you find a more sincere friend than myself."