Battle of Plaisance (1802)

On 5 March 1802, not knowing of Maurepas's surrender at Kellola, Toussaint attacked the French troops under general Desfourneaux.

At the start of the attack Toussaint noticed that part of Maurepas' 9th Regiment was fighting on the French side under Lubin Golart. Boiling with anger, Toussaint spurred his horse to meet Golart and cried "Soldiers of the 9th, dare you fire on your general and your brothers?". According to the memoirs of Toussaint's son Isaac "these words had the effect of a thunderclap ; they fell to their knees, and if the European soldiers had not fired on him and advanced, the whole 9th Regiment would have gone over to Toussaint Louverture".^[1]

In his report on 7th March to chief of staff Charles Dugua, Edme Étienne Borne Desfourneaux stated :

Toussaint attacked me on the 5th and brought fierce force to bear on my position, the Morne Bedouret, but he was dislodged and finally the army was victorious right along the line. Toussaint advanced to within ten paces of the detachment from the 9th Black Grenadiers and said to them "How, my children, you fight against your father!". "It is a brigand" cried Placide Lebrun, sub-lieutenant in the grenadiers, "fire!". Toussaint's horse was killed, a soldier of the 30th launched himself at him, this soldier was killed. Toussaint's guards covered him, they were overthrown; but he escaped wounded, it is said, in the shoulder.^[2].

Defeated, Toussaint retired to Marmelade and Bayonnet, occupied positions on Le Morne. In another report to Dugua on 14th March, Desfourneaux stated there had been 267 killed or wounded and a larger number sick.^[2]

• Victor Schœlcher, Vie de Toussaint Louverture, Karthala, 1889 (republished 1982).
• Madison Smartt Bell (translated from English by Pierre Girard), Toussaint Louverture, Arles, Actes Sud, 'Lettres anglo-américaines' collection, 2007, 384 p. (ISBN 978-2-7427-7156-1).