Battle of Port-au-Prince (1919) 1919
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 7 October 1919 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1919 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Interwar (1919–1938) | derived from year |
| Location | Haiti | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | United States occupation of Haiti | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 18.5330, -72.3330 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Port-au-Prince took place on either the 6 or 7 October 1919 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 and 300 Cacos, armed with "swords, machetes, and pikes" and commanded by Charlemagne Masséna Péralte, 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 Péralte had "sent an advance warning to the British embassy." The defenders counterattacked and, within two minutes, the Caco raid disintegrated.
On 8 October, Lieutenant Kemp C. Christian, leading 12 Haitian gendarmes, captured Péralte's base camp, killing 30 Caco rebels and capturing 20 horses, some rifles and swords, and a field gun (Péralte's only one). The rebel leader managed to escape.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Port-au-Prince (1919) (revision 1379311118), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Port-au-Prince (1920) 1920 · 0 km
- Siege of Port-au-Prince (1793) 1793 · 1 km
- Battle of Port-Républicain 1794 · 1 km
- Siege of Port-au-Prince (1803) 1803 · 1 km
- Battle of Croix-des-Bouquets 1792 · 12 km
- Battle of the Acul 1794 · 32 km
Other battles of the United States occupation of Haiti
All 3 battles of the United States occupation of Haiti →
Browse more: battles in Haiti · North America · Interwar battles