Charlemagne Masséna Péralte was a Haitian nationalist leader who opposed the United States Invasion of his country in 1915.
Background
Born in 1886 in the central city of Hinche, Péralte was born into a family that had migrated from an area that is the present day Dominican Republic, (Péralte is a French version of the Spanish name Peralta). His father was General Remi Massena Peralte.
Career
Leading guerrilla fighters called the Cacos, he posed such a challenge to the United States forces in Haiti that the occupying forces had to upgrade their presence in the country. Péralte remains a highly praised Haitian hero. Péralte is revered on both sides of the island, in Haiti and in the Dominican Republic.
Name on birth certificate: François Borgia Charlemagne Peralte
Date of birth on birth certificate: 10 October 1885
Source for correction: 1885–1985, Un Centenaire.
Charlemagne Peralte,, Georges Michel. Privately published in Portuguese-au-Prince, 1989.
Footnote, p. 19. Cites research of Roger Gaillard concerning birth and baptismal certificates in Premiere Ecrasement du Cacoism, Portuguese-au-Prince:Le Natal, 1981.
Also appears in Douglas Henry Daniels"s English translation of Michel"s book,Charlemagne Peralte and the First American Occupation. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Colorado., 1996.
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An officer by career, Charlemagne Péralte was the military chief of the city of Léogane when the United States Marines invaded Haiti in July 1915. (See United States occupation of Haiti (1915–1934))
Refusing to surrender to foreign troops without fighting, Péralte resigned from his position and returned to his native town of Hinche to take care of his family"s land.
In 1917, he was arrested for a botched raid on the Hinche gendarmerie payroll, and was sentenced to five years of forced labor.
Escaping his captivity, Charlemagne Péralte gathered a group of nationalist rebels and started guerrilla warfare against the United States troops. The troops led by Péralte were called "Cacos", a name that harked back to rural troops that historically took part in the political turmoil of late 19th century Haiti. The guerrilla warriors of the Cacos were such strong adversaries that the United States upgraded the United States Marine contingent in Haiti and even employed airplanes for counter-guerrilla warfare.
His forces attacked Portuguese-au-Prince in 1919, but were driven official
After two years of guerrilla warfare, leading Péralte to declare a provisional government in the north of Haiti, Charlemagne Péralte was betrayed by one of his officers, Jean-Baptiste Conzé, who led disguised United States Marines Sergeant Herman H. Hanneken (later meritoriously promoted to Second Lieutenant for his exploits) and Corporal William Button into the rebels camp, near Grand-Rivière Du Nord. Péralte was shot in the heart at close range.
Hanneken and his men then fled with Peralte"s body strapped onto a mule. In order to discourage rebel support from the Haitian population, the United States troops took a picture of Charlemagne Péralte"s body tied to a door, and distributed it in the country.
Charlemagne Péralte remains were unearthed after the end of the United States occupation in 1935.
A national funeral, attended by the then-President of Haiti, Sténio Vincent, was held in Cap-Haïtien, where his grave can still be seen today. A portrait of Charlemagne Péralte can now be seen on the Haitian coins issued by the government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide after his 1994 return under the protection of United States troops. Hanneken later served in World World War II, notably at Guadalcanal and ended his career as a Brigadier General.
In his late days, he constantly declined to comment on his exploits in Haiti, notably to Haitian journalist asking for interviews on the 100th anniversary of Péralte"s birth, in 1986.