Charles Bélair
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Bélair | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1778 |
| Died | 15 October 1802 (aged 23–24) |
| Spouse | Sanite Belair |
| Relations | Toussaint Louverture |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Spain France Haiti |
| Branch | Spanish Royal Army French Revolutionary Army Indigenous Army |
| Service years | 1791–1802 |
| Rank | Brigadier general |
| Conflicts | Haitian Revolution |
Charles Bélair (1778 – 15 October 1802)[1] was an aide-de-camp and close lieutenant of Toussaint Louverture during the Haitian Revolution. Bélair began his military career in the service of Spanish royalists under the command of Georges Biassou, later defecting to the French and eventually eventually reaching the rank of Brigadier general and serving as Commandant of l'Arcahaie in the Haitian Revolutionary Army. He was also a nephew of Toussaint Louverture. In 1796, he married Sanite Belair.
Bélair first enters the historical record on December 25, 1791, a few months after the events of August 22, when, along with his commander Biassou, he signed a letter of high political significance addressed to the abee de Lahaye. In the summer of 1794, he abandoned Biassou and the Spanish and followed Toussaint into the service of France. With the organization of the troops into demi-brigades in the spring of 1795, he was integrated into a battalion of the 7th Demi-Brigade, eventually becoming its leader, replacing Desrouleaux. During the War of the South, which he waged without excess of zeal, he remained in this post until the campaign in the East. Promoted to brigadier general in January 1801, he retained command of the port of Arcahaie. With the landing of General Leclerc's expeditionary forces, Bélair remained loyal to Louverture and took a defensive posture. As General Boudet's troops approached Arcahaie in February 1802, Bélair collected the funds from the public treasury as well part of the population, set fire to the city and withdrew to the neighboring mountains of Les Matheux. After the fall of Crête-à-Pierrot at the end of March, Bélair fell back into the interior of the country to the mountains around Cahos. This put Belair in a defensive position immediately adjacent to the Cordon de l'Ouest, Louverture's original stronghold centered around Ennnery. At the time of his submission, on May 6, Toussaint Louverture obtained from Captain General Leclerc pardon for three of his generals: Dessalines, Vernet and Bélair. On May 26, Bélair, now under the command of Lerclerc, was transferred from his post as commander of Arcahaie to Verrettes, where he settled on one of his properties.