Crête-à-Pierrot was a gunboat in the Haitian Navy named after the 1802 Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot in the Haitian Revolution (1791 – 1804). The boat was destroyed by Admiral Hammerton Killick in 1902 to prevent it falling into the hands of a German warship.
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Haiti | |
| Name | Crête-à-Pierrot |
| Namesake | Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot |
| Builder | Earle's Shipbuilding & Engineering Co, Hull (Yard 396) |
| Launched | 7 November 1895 |
| Commissioned | 1896 |
| Out of service | 1902 |
| Fate | Destroyed to prevent capture |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Gunboat |
| Displacement | 950 tons |
| Length | 209 ft (64 m) |
| Installed power | Triple expansion steam engines |
| Propulsion | 1 × propeller |
| Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h) |
| Complement | 175 |
| Armament |
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Description
editThe ship displaced 950 tons. It was powered by a triple expansion steam engine driving a single screw propeller, giving a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h). Armament comprised a 16 cm, 12 cm and four 10 cm guns, four Nordenfelt machine guns and two Maxim machine guns.[1][2]
Commission
editThe Haitian Government commissioned an armed cruiser to be designed by Sir E J Reed and built by Earle's Shipbuilding & Engineering Co at Hull, Yorkshire, England.[1][2][3] The ship was launched as Crête-à-Pierrot, named for the revolutionary battle of Crête-à-Pierrot, on 7 November 1895.[2] After arming in France, it was added to the Haitian Navy in 1896 and considered the Navy's crown jewel, the best of the four ships it possessed at the time.[3]
Crête-à-Pierrot's first commander was Captain Gilmour, from Scotland, who served under contract to Haiti.[3]
Destruction
edit
In 1902 Haiti was enveloped in a civil war over who would become president after the sudden resignation of Tirésias Simon Sam. Crête-à-Pierrot was controlled by Admiral Hammerton Killick and supporters of Anténor Firmin and was used to blockade ports where Pierre Nord Alexis was gathering troops.[4] There was a plan to use Crête-à-Pierrot to transport Firmin to Port-au-Prince while Jean Jumeau marched on Port-au-Prince by land.[5]
In September 1902, Crête-à-Pierrot seized a German ammunition ship, Markomannia en route to provide ammunition to Alexis' forces.[5] Alexis asked Germany for help subduing a pirate ship.[4] In response, Germany sent the gunboat SMS Panther to find and capture Crête-à-Pierrot.[5]
On 6 September, Crête-à-Pierrot was in port at Gonaïves, with Killick and most of the crew on Shore leave when Panther appeared.[6] Killick rushed aboard and ordered his crew to abandon ship.[6] When all but four crew members had evacuated the ship[5] Killick, inspired by the tale of Captain LaPorte, wrapped himself in a Haitian flag, fired the aft magazine, and blew up the ship rather than let the Germans take her.[6][7] Killick and the remaining four crew members went down with the ship.[6]
An hour later, Panther fired thirty shots at Crête-à-Pierrot to finish it off, then sailed away.[7] The ship's rifles and machine guns were salvaged, along with the bodies of the crew that remained on board.[7]
Gallery
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SMS Panther, the German ship sent to capture Crête-à-Pierrot. -
Admiral Hammerton Killick, who destroyed the ship rather than let the Germans have her. -
Pierre Nord Alexis, the 19th President of Haiti. -
Anténor Firmin. The ship was destroyed in civil war over who would become the 19th President of Haiti. -
Haitian gunboat Crête-à-Pierrot on 6 September 1902 at the Port of Gonaives shortly before the sinking by SMS Panther. -
The Haitian gunboat Crete-à-Pierrot sinking after bombardment by SMS Panther in the port of Gonaives 6 September 1902. -
Wreck of the Haitian gunboat Crete-à-Pierrot in the port of Gonaives on 6 September 1902.
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References
edit- ^ a b "The Sinking of a Haitian Gunboat". The Times. No. 36868. London. 9 September 1902. col A, p. 3.
- ^ a b c Neal, William George, ed. (1 December 1895). "Armed Cruiser for the Haytian Government". The Marine Engineer. XXII: 355. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ a b c Hesketh-Prichard, Hesketh Vernon (15 October 2012). Where Black Rules White: A Journey Through and About Hayti. Wermod and Wermod Publishing Group. pp. 77–84. ISBN 9780956183583.
- ^ a b Dubois, Laurent (3 January 2012). Haiti: The Aftershocks of History. Macmillan. ISBN 9780805095623.
- ^ a b c d Smith, Matthew (20 October 2014). Liberty, Fraternity, Exile: Haiti and Jamaica after Emancipation. UNC Press Books. ISBN 9781469617985.
- ^ a b c d Haiti: A Slave Revolution: 200 years after 1804. International Action Center. September 2004. ISBN 978-0974752105. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ^ a b c "Killick Went Down with His Warship" (PDF). The New York Times. 11 September 1902. Retrieved 3 February 2015.