Genereal Leclerc's Handwritten Letter, on October 10, 1802

At the Headquarters of Le Cap (Au Quartier-général du Cap), 1802. With printed heading "Armee de Saint-Domingue, le General en Chef. Liberté, Égalité.. With a few stains, trace of folding and crease. Overall in fine condition.. With printed heading "Armee de Saint-Domingue, le General en Chef. Liberté, Égalité.". Signed by Leclerc. 1 bifolio, 2 handwritten pages.

Leclerc's orders about the defence of the Bande du Nord [Northern Strip], at Cap-Français (today Cap-Haïtien).

Leclerc gives detailed instructions about the manpower and firepower, their numbers and the various weapons, their carriers (mostly schooners) and their positions. He shapes up the strategy for the upcoming sieges around the Baie du Grand Port Français, mentions the regiments of 3e Légère (3rd Light Infantry) and the 74e Ligne (74nd Line Infantry). Leclerc refers among others to Jean Baptiste Brunet (1763-1824) the general of division who is responsible of the arrest of Toussaint Louverture on 22 May 1802.

Charles Leclerc (1772-1802) was a French Army general, Napoleon Bonaparte's brother-in-law. After proving his abilities in Napoleon's campaign in the Orient and in Germany in the Army of the Rhine, he was appointed to Captain General of the Saint-Domingue expedition, the attempt to regain French control of the island and to restore slavery, that has been abolished during the Haiti Revolution. After Leclerc's initial success, the expedition was ended with a French defeat in November 1803, and the successful slave revolt led Haiti to become the first independent black republic. Leclerc died in yellow fever in 1802.

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