Battle Of Fort Rivière
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The Battle of Fort Rivière was the decisive battle of the First Caco War during
United States occupation of Haiti The United States occupation of Haiti began on July 28, 1915, when 330 United States Marine Corps, US Marines landed at Port-au-Prince, Republic of Haiti (1859–1957), Haiti, after the Citibank, National City Bank of New York convinced the ...
in 1915. A combined force of
United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...
and
sailors A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...
personnel defeated Cacos rebels at Fort Rivière, ending the First Caco War.


Background

In 1915, United States forces landed in Haiti during a period of political instability. Cacos insurgents, quasi-military mountain tribes who served as
mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...
for the highest bidder, routinely attacked political targets, as well as ordinary Haitians, to sustain themselves. By October, United States Marines had trapped the Cacos in the mountains of northeastern Haiti, and moved in to eradicate them. On 25 October, Marines from the 15th Company, 2nd Marine Regiment, under the command of Major
Smedley Butler Smedley Darlington Butler (July 30, 1881June 21, 1940) was a United States Marine Corps officer and writer. During his 34-year military career, he fought in the Philippine–American War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Mexican Revolution, World War I, ...
, had dealt the Cacos a significant blow at the Battle of Fort Dipitié, and shortly thereafter took its parent Fort Capois with heavy Cacos casualties. On 8 November, Butler's force captured Forts Selon and Berthol without resistance, leaving Fort Rivière as the final Cacos stronghold. Fort Rivière had been built by the French in the latter 1700s out of brick and stone atop
Montagne Noire The Montagne Noire (; , known as the 'Black Mountain' in English) is a mountain range in central southern France. It is located at the southwestern end of the Massif Central at the juncture of the Tarn, Hérault and Aude departments. Its highe ...
, at an elevation of , approximately south of
Cap-Haïtien Cap-Haïtien (; ; "Haitian Cape") is a List of communes of Haiti, commune of about 400,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the Departments of Haiti, department of Nord (Haitian department), Nord. Previously named ''Cap‑Franà ...
. The fort, measuring approximately square with walls, was in a state of disrepair, but due to the harsh terrain, Marine strategists considered the fort impregnable unless a whole
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...
with artillery was sent to attack. However, Major Butler convinced his commanding officer, Colonel
Eli K. Cole Eli Kelley Cole (September 1, 1867 – July 4, 1929) was the first assistant commandant of the Marine Corps from 1911 to 1915. He also briefly commanded the 41st Infantry Division at the end of World War I. Cole was awarded the Navy Cross for his ...
, that he could take the fort with 100 men, and assembled a
task force A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...
from 5th, 13th, and 23rd Marine companies, as well as from the Marines and sailors aboard the .


Battle

At dusk on 16 November, Butler's force began its ascent of the mountain toward the fort. At daybreak on 17 November, Butler deployed both companies from the ''Connecticut'' on the south wall: the Marines, under the command of Captain Frederick A. Barker, as well as the bluejackets, under the command of Lieutenant (junior grade) Scott D. McCaughey, whose force also included a machine gun detachment from the 23rd Marine company. Captain Chandler Campbell led the 13th Company's attack on the east wall and Butler led Captain William W. Low's 5th Company against the west wall. A detachment of McCaughey's ''Connecticut'' sailors also covered the north wall, blocking the trail leading north. The attack commenced at 07:30 and the Marines immediately began taking fire—Butler described it as "heavy, but inaccurate"—with scant cover. Butler's force located a partially sealed drain wide, tall, and deep in the fort's wall, only large enough for one man to pass through at a time, which served as a Cacos entrance. Sergeant
Ross Lindsey Iams Ross Lindsey Iams (April 5, 1881 – March 25, 1952) was a United States Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during the Battle of Fort Rivière in Haiti on November 17, 1915. Iams served for over 30 years in the Marine Corps, r ...
and Private Samuel Gross were the first to crawl through the tunnel, followed by Butler with his .45 caliber pistol. Despite Cacos fire into the tunnel, the trio of Marines emerged unscathed, and immediately began firing on the 50 surprised Cacos in the fort—Butler described them as "half naked madmen, howling and leaping"—and they were joined shortly by the rest of the 5th Company streaming through the drain. Private Gross dispatched a massive Cacos with his rifle just moments before he would have struck a devastating blow to Butler's head with a club. As panic overtook the Cacos, Butler wrote that they "threw away their loaded guns and grabbed swords and clubs, rocks and bricks, which were no match for bullets and bayonets." After ten minutes of intense close quarters combat, the Marines had killed the entire Cacos garrison, including their commander, Josaphat Jean-Joseph, a former Haitian cabinet minister. Those Cacos who had escaped the fort by jumping over its
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...
s were cut down by the force covering the south wall.


Aftermath

The American force had won an "astounding little victory" and had suffered no casualties—one man lost two teeth to a thrown rock—despite a sharp conflict. Butler wrote that if the defenders "had only realized the advantage of their position, they could have shot us like rats as we crawled, one by one, out of the drain." Having delivered a massive blow to the Cacos themselves, the Americans leveled Fort Rivière with dynamite and destroyed 60 dwellings outside the fort, thus ending the First Caco War. Butler wrote that the returning Americans were greeted by Haitians roadside, who were grateful for "ridding them of the Caco terror" that had plagued the countryside. Armed resistance to the American occupation did not end, however, as
Second Caco War The Gendarmerie of Haiti (), also known as the Haitian Constabulary, was a Haitian gendarmerie raised during the United States occupation of Haiti. Established in 1915 under U.S. military guidance, the gendarmerie was operational from 1916 until 1 ...
—much bloodier than the first—erupted in 1918. For their heroism during the Battle of Fort Rivière, Major Butler, Sergeant Iams, and Private Gross all received the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
; the award was Butler's second, having received the first the prior year during the
Battle of Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in east ...
.


See also

*
Banana Wars The Banana Wars were a series of conflicts that consisted of military occupation, police action, and Interventionism (politics), intervention by the United States in Central America and the Caribbean between the end of the Spanish–American W ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Riviere Republic of Haiti (1859–1957) Fort Rivière November 1915 in North America 1915 in Haiti Conflicts in 1915