Due to peculiar circumstances then prevailing in Haiti whatever information there exists about old-time Haitian armed forces prior to their disbandment in 1915, is of fragmentary nature and at times, questionable and contradictory. Their origin harks back to 1794 when Toussaint L'Ouverture organised his horde of plantation slaves and other assorted volunteers into a local French Colonial Army of 10 Demi-Brigades (also referred to as Regiments) of 1,600 infantrymen in each and two Regiments of Cavalry, of an unknown strength. It is probable that this force included a Corps mentioned as the Negro Fifth and Ninth Regiments, a 1,500 strong Regiment of Henry Christophe, the all Negro 7th Colonial Brigade and the 8th Colonial Regiment. Sometime during this period an all Mulatto Corps of Equality under General Montbrun and a Honour Guard commanded by Dessalines existed too. Toussaint L'Ouverture's bodyguard of Dragoons, or rather Cuirassiers, possibly identical with the last mentioned Honour Guard, appeared in 1798, to be followed soon thereafter by 2 Regiments of Guard, these of 1,000 all ranks in each, of infantry and cavalry respectively, some of whose personnel included a German band, were whites. This Guard is reputed as having been clad in sky-blue uniforms. Finally 1,500 French infantry and 400 dragoons were supposed to have existed apart from the other local troops in 1802, to be followed by Polish and German deserters from General Leclerc's French Expeditionary Corps. Some of these troops manned barges that comprised the embryonic navy. The Haitian Army reached its highest numbers during the rule of Henry Christophe, when its regulars amounted to 42,250 all ranks and the Militias numbered 68,095 effective men. With his downfall the number of the former went down to about 16,000, while the latter were entirely abolished. Some Europeans instructed the Artillery while 6 galliots with a naval force of 500 all ranks comprised the Navy. One might safely assume that with the passing of time the number of military personnel gradually diminished through one factor or another, and that the Army totals of 1,826 for 1867 more or less correspond with the truth. A French source dating from the 1890's informs the reader that the Haitian Army of that time was being complemented partially through conscription, with seven years service, partially through voluntary enlistment's for a four year period, while another, less formal, but more truthful source of these days, simply states that because of abominable service conditions, a press gang method was resorted to. The land forces comprised both of the Presidential Guard and the Army proper, with a total of 6,828 all ranks, of these the former counted no less than 10 General Officers, an Artillery Battalion of 100 gunners, an Infantry Regiment of 300 all ranks, a Cavalry Squadron of 100 troopers and a Battalion of 150 Chasseurs, while the latter included 4 Battalions of Artillery with 1,000 personnel, 6 Regiments of Infantry with a total of 3,200 and 1,978 Gendarmes of all ranks, organised into 46 Companies. A set of unpublished sketches of Haitian military figures shows them wearing both French July Monarchy and 2nd Empire apparel, some of it in parlous condition. A visitor to Haiti sometime prior to 1900 decries the Army as a ragged, outstarved rabble, living by theft, scrounging, begging and performing all kinds of odd jobs, while off duty, in order to keep alive. On a parade he witnessed some 2,000 troops including the Palace Band dressed in a mixture of red, blue and gold, a number of 250 all ranks strong Regiments of Infantry dressed either in light blue jackets with red trousers and red & blue French Army caps, or in blue jackets and red tasselled caps, while other foot contingents wore pink and green with yellow garnitures, all of these furnished with black leather accoutrements and a red blanket. A number of mounted General Officers, he puts their total at 60, were dressed in pink, green or blue uniforms, two Bodyguard Cavalry Regiments of about 200 troopers in each, one unit wearing brass helmets, the other dressed in blue and termed Mounted Chasseurs, and as a "supporting weapon" a single Artillery Battery of 5 guns and 1 Nordenfeldt mechanical machine gun, each of these pieces being drawn by a single mule. Photos illustrating this report suggest individual use of outmoded uniform pieces including bicornes, frock coats, bearskins and busbies, with widespread use of white linen civilian garb. According to the same report, small-arms in use included makes of muzzle-loaders, or single-shot breechloaders with rusty bayonets and swords. The Haitian Navy of the day presented, despite of its largely ageing craft, a somewhat more serious picture, for its ships including the gunboats: "22 DECEMBRE" of 900 ft., built in 1860 and armed with four 4.7 in. [40 pounder] Armstrong guns, the "1804" of 600 ft., built in 1875 and sporting six 4 in. Armstrong breech-loaders and one muzzle loader, the "SAINT MICHAEL" OF 850 FT., built 1875, carrying one 11 in. muzzle-loader and eight 4 in. Armstrong's. The "TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE" of 500 ft., built in 1886 and armed with one 6.3 in., [30 pounder] Canet breech-loader and two 4.7 in., Canet quick-firers, plus the fairly recent (1893) "CAPOIS LA MORT" and "ALEXANDER Petion", each of 256 ft., and equipped with a 3.9 in. Canet and four Hotchkiss one pounder quick-firers. The iron Corvette "DESSALINES" of 1,200 ft. built in 1883 and carrying apart from a 3.9 Canet quick-firer, two Krupps of the same calibre and two 4.7 in. [30 pounder] Parrot guns, and finally its newest craft (1895) the gun-vessel "CRETE A PIEROT" of 950 ft. equipped with one 6.3 in., one 4.7 in., and four 3.9 in., Canets, This latter ship was eventually sunk in 1902 by the German Gunboat "Panther" and most of the remaining craft were discarded after 1912. Following the U.S. Marine landing in the wake of the 1915 Haitian Revolution, both the Army and the non-existent Navy were disbanded. Illustrations Figure 1. This shows a Grenadier of the Guard, circa. 1800, sorry no details on the colours of the uniform, but the turn-back device looks like a French hunting horn and not a grenade as per the units title would suggest. Also note the shoulder strap with its 5 points at the end, you will find the original picture reproduced in René Chartrand's Osprey M.A.A. book No.211, "Napoleons Overseas Army". The plates 2-11 are taken from photographs dated 1864 and initially drawn by Knötel, the elder, alas no colour instructions have been found for them, just some of their unit titles remain, they are: Fig. 2. Dragoon of the Guard Fig. 3. Type of shako Fig. 4. Officer of Infantry Fig. 5. Infantry Private Fig. 6. Infantry Private Fig. 7. Chasseur of the Guard Fig. 8. Captain of Engineers Fig. 9. Lieutenant of Artillery Fig. 10. Infantry of the Line, Private Fig. 11. Sapper Sources: "This Guilded African Toussaint L'Ouverture", by W. Parkinson, pub. by Quartet Books, London and New York, 1978. "The Haitian Revolution 1789-1804", by O. Thomas, pub. University of Tennessee Press, 1973 "Citizen Toussaint", by R. Korngold, pub. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London, 1945. "From Dessalines to Duvalier; Race, Colour and National Independence in Haiti", by D. Nicholls, pub. Cambridge University Press, 1979. "Where Black Rules White; A Journey Across and About Hayti", by R. Hasketh, pub Irish University, a reprint of a contemporary account. [sorry no dates given. T.D.H.] "Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905", pub. by Conway Maritime Press, London, 1979. Le Grande Encyclopedie / Inventaire Raisonne des Sciences, de Lettres et des Arts," Tome 19, pub. H. Lamirault & Co., Paris 1895. "Allgemeine Encyklopadie der Wissenschaften und Kunste", pub. Johann Friedrich Gleditsch, Leipzig, 1828. 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