Louverture and Rigaud’s rivalry escalated into open war in mid-1799.

Evidence

“My apprehensions of an immediate rupture between the two rival chiefs of this colony have been realized,” Edward Stevens wrote in late June 1799. On June 18, 4,000 of Rigaud’s troops entered the towns of Petitand Grand-Goâve, routing the smaller forces under the command of Louverture’s officer Laplume. This defeat was a kind of revenge: in 1795 Laplume had brought several thousand troops under Louverture’s command rather than submit to the authority of Rigaud. It was also a direct challenge to Louverture, who had insisted on the transfer the towns to his command a few months earlier. Rigaud’s bold attack earned him an important ally: the powerful free-colored officer Alexandre Pétion defected to Rigaud’s side, swelling the ranks of his army. — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 822

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to earlier chapter treatments of the free-colored/south faction under Rigaud versus Louverture’s northern base.