Benoît Batraville
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Benoît Batraville, nicknamed "Ti-Benwa" (1877 – 1920), was a Haitian teacher and resistance fighter against the American occupation, executed by the US Marines.
Benoît Batraville was born in Mirebalais in 1877. He was a descendant of Joseph Benoît Batraville, comrade-in-arms of Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Benoît Batraville would become a nationalist opponent of the American occupation. Unlike Charlemagne Peralte, his superior, Benoît Batraville came from a modest family. However, through his family ties with the "Peraltes", he had access to the highest circles of the ruling elite. After general studies, he became a schoolteacher. Haitian historian Roger Gaillard attributes these characteristics to him: "of average height and musculature, reddish complexion, straight hair, brown and peaceful eyes, always correct in dress and behavior. He does not frequent the betting parlors, nor the gaming rooms, nor the drinking establishments". A practicing vodouisant, like other Caco chiefs, he often wore a red badge symbolizing Ogoun, warrior god of Vodou.[1]
