Siege of Crête-à-Pierrot
Haitian War of Independence · Crête-à-Pierrot, Saint-Domingue
Summary
Fort Crête-à-Pierrot, held by Haitian insurgents, was besieged by French troops in a prolonged battle. Despite fierce insurgent resistance, the French finally took the fort after several weeks of fighting.
Historical context
Crête-à-Pierrot was an essential strategic position for control of northern Saint-Domingue. The siege illustrates France's difficulty in crushing the rebellion and the tenacity of the insurgents.
Tactics
The French conducted a siege with repeated assaults: Debelle's vanguard was repulsed on 4 March by the garrison's artillery and a cavalry counter-attack; Leclerc's attack (12 March) and Rochambeau's assault on the redoubts (22 March) also failed. The defenders held in trenches and from the ramparts; the final evacuation took place at night by breaking through the encirclement lines.
Consequences
After several repulsed assaults (4, 12, and 22 March 1802), the besieged garrison, starving and commanded by Louis Daure Lamartinière, evacuated the fort on the night of 24 March in a breakout that pierced the French encirclement. The French reoccupied the position, but the insurgents escaped; General Lacroix estimated that a fort held by 1,000 to 1,200 fighters had already cost them more than 1,500 men. The episode strengthened the prestige of Haitian resistance without ending the colonial war.