Leclerc, Charles

Leclerc began his military career during the French Revolution , joining in 1790 as a volunteer in the 2nd battalion of the Upper Seine department . For three years, he scored from an ordinary volunteer to the chief of staff of the Western Division. During the siege of Toulon in 1793, became close to the young Napoleon Bonaparte . Since April 19, 1794 - Adjutant of the brigade in the Ardennes army.

In 1797 he married Napoleon's sister, Pauline Bonaparte . May 6, 1797 promoted to brigadier generals . From November 14, 1797 - Chief of the General Staff of the Italian Army, from October 20, 1798 - the Army of England.

He accompanied the future emperor of France on the Egyptian expedition , and then took an active part in the 18 Brumaire coup . In 1799, he crushed the uprising in Lyon .

Since March 15, 1800 - the commander of the 7th division of the Rhine army. April 1 took command of the 2nd division of the reserve corps of the Rhine Army. In the same 1800, he successfully fought against Austria , distinguishing himself in the battle of Hohenlinden . Since January 15, 1801 - commander of the combined division in Lyon.

In 1801, Napoleon appointed him commander of an expedition whose purpose was to regain control of France over his colony of San Domingo . Here, during the uprising, a constitution was adopted that declared the leader of the Tussen-Luverture uprising a life president . Although Toussin-Louverture swore allegiance to the French nation , Napoleon was afraid to lose control of the colony.

French troops, consisting of a large number of warships and 40 thousand soldiers, won a number of victories over the rebels. In connection with a change in the situation, a number of senior officers of the rebel army, whom Leclerc promised to keep their ranks in the French army, ran to him. Toussin-Louverture was forced to start negotiations, at which he promised to retire.

Napoleon Leclercu's secret instructions provided for the arrest of Tussen-Louverture. Leclerc arrested Toussin-Louverture during negotiations and sent to France, where he died while imprisoned in the castle of Fort de Joux, in the department of Du , in 1803 . The fear of the Louverture in San Domingo was very high, and his harsh rule created him many enemies.

Skillfully using the ambitions of the young rivals of Louverture, Leclerc was close to disarming Creole officers. At this time, news came from Guadeloupe that the French expeditionary forces sent there restored slavery there. This, according to Louverture, was the goal of the French troops, and it was in this that he tried to convince his supporters.

Slavery was abolished in San Domingo from the end of 1793 . Leclerc publicly reiterated Napoleon's promise that "all the inhabitants of San Domingo are French" and are forever free. The prospect of restoring slavery in San Domingo generated a wave of indignation that buried the French hopes of regaining control of the colony. Creole rebels again began to fight against the French troops, which were also weakened by the yellow fever epidemic, which claimed the lives of 25 thousand French soldiers. Leclerc's reports to France said: “Since terror is the only tool I can use, I will use it” and “we must destroy all blacks living in the mountains, men and women, leaving only children under the age of twelve. We must destroy half of the blacks living on the plains ... "

Leclerc died of yellow fever in November 1802 . After his death, General Roshambault took command, whose cruel actions led to the fact that most of the officers who betrayed Tussen-Louverture again joined the rebels, among them were Jean-Jacques Dessalin , Alexander Petion and Henri Christoph .

On November 18, 1803, Dessalin finally defeated the troops of Roshambo, and on January 1, 1804, the independence of San Domingo, which is now called the Republic of Haiti , was declared.

• Daniel M. Secret Paths of the Death Carriers. - M .: Progress, 1990 .-- 344 p.
• Zalessky K. A. Napoleonic Wars 1799-1815. - M .: Astrel, 1987 .-- 832 p.