ately returned, the insurgents having accepted the fight forced on them. The gunners of the Bulldog quickly sank the Providence; but the shot of the land battery damaged one of the boilers of the English man-of-war, which, during the fight, had grounded on a reef. Captain Wake, seeing that it was impossible to save his ship, blew her up that night at about 9 o'clock, going with the wounded and the members of his crew on board the De Soto.
Following up this incident the British Chargé d'Affaires arrived in the harbor of Cap-Haitien on board a man-of-war. He failed to obtain the satisfaction he asked for; therefore on the 9th of November the frigate Galatea and other British men-of-war bombarded Cap-Haitien.[1]
Availing themselves of the excitement reigning in the ranks of the insurgents by this aggression of a great Power, the government troops attacked and stormed the town. The insurrection was thus stamped out. But Salnave and his principal allies had had time to fly for refuge on board the De Soto.
Great Britain's action produced a disastrous effect. The Haitians as a rule always look askance on the interference of foreigners in their affairs. The balls of the English cannon had, as it were, deeply wounded the national pride. They caused all the good done by Geffrard to be forgotten; he completely lost his popularity, which not even the visit paid him in January, 1866, by Mr. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States, could bring back to him. The favorable impression produced by this courtesy was lost sight of, owing to the events which occurred one after the other at Gonaives and Saint-Marc. And to crown the agitation of the year 1866, at four o'clock on the morning of September 12 the arsenal of Port-au-Prince exploded; many lives were lost and great damage was done to property.
The President became thoroughly disheartened by all
- ↑ Concerning this incident, refer to Mr. Peck's letter to Mr. Seward, December 11, 1865. (Papers relating to Foreign Affairs, 1867, part II.)
