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Battle during the Banana Wars
The
Battle of Port-au-Prince
took place on either the 6 or 7 October 1919
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
when Haitian
rebels
, known as
Cacos
, attacked the
capital of Haiti
during the
Second Caco War
and the
American occupation of Haiti
.
The assault began at 4:00 a.m., with between 200
[3]
and 300
[1]
Cacos, armed with "
swords
,
machetes
, and
pikes
"
[3]
and commanded by
Charlemagne Massena Peralte
, entering the city from the North, only to be met by fearsome
rifle
and
machine gun
fire from the
American Marines
and Haitian
gendarmes
garrisoning the city. The latter were ready for the attack, since Peralte had "sent an advance warning to the
British
embassy
." The defenders counterattacked and, within two minutes, the Caco
raid
disintegrated.
[1]
On 8 October,
Lieutenant
Kemp C. Christian, leading 12 Haitian gendarmes, captured Peralte's base camp,
[3]
killing 30 Caco rebels and capturing 20
horses
, some rifles and swords, and a
field gun
(Peralte's only one).
[1]
The rebel leader managed to escape.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Musicant, Ivan (August 1990).
The Banana Wars: A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin America from the Spanish?American War to the Invasion of Panama
. New York City: Macmillan Publishing Company. p.
215
.
- ^
a
b
Boot, Max (May 27, 2003).
The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power
. New York City: Basic Books. pp. 172?173.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Beede, Benjamin R. (May 1, 1994).
The War of 1898 and U.S. Interventions, 1898?1934: An Encyclopedia
. New York City: Routledge. p. 435.
- ^
a
b
Nofi, Albert A. (September 22, 1997).
Marine Corps Book of Lists
. Boston: Da Capo Press. p. 112.
- ^
a
b
Strecker, Mark (February 28, 2011).
Smedley D. Butler, USMC: A Biography
. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 80.