The Battle of Ravine-à-Couleuvres ( Haitian Creole: ''Batay Ravin Koulèv''), fought on 23 February 1802, was a major battle of the

Saint-Domingue expedition The Saint-Domingue expedition was a French military expedition sent by Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul, under his brother-in-law Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc in an attempt to regain French control of the Caribbean colony of Saint-Domin ...

during the Haitian Revolution. A French division under General Donatien de Rochambeau was advancing down a ravine (the Ravine-à-Couleuvres), towards Lacroix, Artibonite, where they attacked the army of

Toussaint Louverture François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (; also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda; 20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803) was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. During his life, Louverture ...

. Louverture's forces consisted of 1,500 elite grenadiers, 1,000 grenadiers in different Demi-brigades, 400 dragoons. Louverture's forces resisted the attack strongly, but had to retreat across the Petite-Rivière after suffering 800 deaths. In a statement made at the

Fort de Joux The Fort de Joux or Château de Joux is a castle, later transformed into a fort, located in La Cluse-et-Mijoux in the Doubs department in the Jura mountains of France. It commands the mountain pass ''Cluse de Pontarlier''. History The Ch� ...

, Louverture claimed that his forces consisted of 300 grenadiers and 60 cavalry, although other sources indicate that his forces contained over 3,000 regular infantry troops. However, it is almost certain that many of his forces - up to 2,000 men - were agricultural workers who joined the rebel forces. Louverture wrote that the French forces contained over 4,000 infantry soldiers, but according to the novelist and historian Madison Smartt Bell, Rochambeau probably landed at

Fort-Liberté Fort-Liberté ( ht, Fòlibète) is a commune and administrative capital of the Nord-Est department of Haiti. It is close to the border of the Dominican Republic and is one of the oldest cities in the country. Haiti's independence was proclaimed ...

with 1,800 men, but not all of these would have marched on

Gonaïves Gonaïves (; ht, Gonayiv, ) is a List of communes of Haiti, commune in northern Haiti, and the capital of the Artibonite (department), Artibonite Departments of Haiti, department of Haiti. It has a population of about 300,000 people, but current ...

. Prior to the battle on 22 February 1802, the French occupied the heights of Morne Barade and were attacked by rebel troops; the battle raged throughout the night and the French forces successfully resisted the attack. The following morning, the Haitian forces advanced out of the Ravine-à-Couleuvres as the French were travelling down it towards Lacroix, while Louverture rallied his cavalry. According to Bell, the losses of Louverture's army were minor.

References

External links

Ravine-à-Couleuvres
The Louverture Project. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ravine-a-Couleuvres, Battle of Conflicts in 1802 Battles involving France Haitian Revolution 1802 in the French colonial empire 1802 in the Caribbean 1802 in Haiti February 1802 events