Charlemagne Peralte Inspired a New Revolution in Haiti

Charlemagne Masséna Peralte was born in a city called Hinche. He was born to a family which had previously migrated from an area which currently falls within the borders of Dominican Republic. Peralte is respected both in Haiti and Dominican Republic. On his birth certificate, his name is registered as François Borgia Charlemagne Peralte.

Peralte, in July 1915, was a military chief Léogane city when the US force started invading Haiti. He refused to surrender to the foreign troops without putting up a fight and hence, he resigned from his post and returned to his birth city of Hinche. US forces arrested him in 1917 for assaulting an US Officer's home who was in charge of the occupation troop. After his capture, he was sentenced to forced labor for a period of 5 years but he escaped and organized a guerrilla troop with the nationalist rebels. The troop was called Cacos.

The Cacos guerrillas turned out to be very strong adversaries and the United States was forced to upgrade its US Marine Contingent. The US also had to use air support to counter the guerrillas. Peralte was betrayed by Jean-Baptiste Conzé who helped Sergeant Herman H. Hanneken and Corporal Willian Button of the US forces to get into the rebel camps. The two US soldiers shot Peralte in heart at a close range and fled with his body and later photographed Peralte's body tied up to a door and distributed it among the Haitians to demoralize them. Instead, Peralte became a Martyr. Peralte died at the age of 33 on 1 November 1919.

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Read more: US Military, Hinche, History, Leogane, Caco, US Occupation of Haiti, Charlemagne Peralte, Nationalist, Heroe, Rebel, Jean-Baptiste Conzé, US Marines, guerrilla, Herman H. Hanneken, Willian Button, Newsletter Articles, History

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