01/02/2023
Marie-Jeanne Lamartinière (She who was afraid of nothing): And the battle of Fort de la Crête at Pierrot.
This expression in Haitian Creole ''li tankou yon Marijàn'' (''She is like a Marie-Jeanne'', in French), designates a courageous woman (yon fanm vayan: in Creole). She shows us how much this woman's courage was recognized and appreciated in Haitian society at the time.
Marie-Jeanne Lamartinière was a mulatto girl. She had married Brigade Commander Louis Daure Lamartinière, who commanded the garrison at Fort de la Crête in Pierrot. Marie-Jeanne was both a washerwoman, a peddler, a soldier among her brothers in arms and her husband's aide-de-camp.
On March 4, 1802, the French vanguard of 2,000 men commanded by General Debelle reached Fort de la Crête at Pierrot. He immediately went on the attack, although being then only 300, Dessalines' men present in the fort threw themselves into the trenches and bombarded the French with their artillery. 400 French are killed and General Debelle is seriously wounded.
On March 12, a new assault led by Captain General Leclerc on the fort also failed, the brigade lost 480 men. A 3rd General known as Dugua also lost over 300 of his men trying to besiege the fort. The three generals had also been wounded, Leclerc had been shot in the crotch, Dugua had been mortally wounded by two bullets and General Debelle had been wounded in the heel.
Another general named Lacroix remained at that time the only valid general. He then decides to carry out reconnaissance missions and gather other soldiers before carrying out a new major attack on the Crête à Pierrot, however his troops are constantly harassed by the insurgents, including Marie-Jeanne holding a rifle and screaming to incite his comrades-in-arms to attack and resist.
On March 22, another vain attempt by Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Rochambeau against the fort, defended with bravery by 200 black men commanded by Lamartinière, and among whom, Marie-Jeanne who impressed the French infantrymen, by her courage to deploy high the ramparts of the fort with his gun, failed again and cost the French 300 men.
"Dressed in a Mamluk-style costume, Marie-Jeanne wore a rifle slung over her shoulder and a cutlass attached to a steel belt. A sort of cap imprisoned her opulent hair whose rebellious locks overflowed from the rain of projectiles, Marie-Jeanne Jeanne went from one end of the ramparts to the other, sometimes distributing cartridges, sometimes helping to load the guns. And when the action intensified, she bravely rushed to the front rank of the soldiers to fight.
The more the French army increased its attacks, the stronger the resistance. Motivation was high. Dessalines had said that he would keep only the brave and no one had moved.
For 18 days, general after general, they did not reach the fort. The French lost the battle wondering who this woman was.
