Földvári Books

Interesting Letter from a Saint-Domingue-Refugee in Charlestown to France

[Riviére]; [Rimbert]

[Charlestown, South Caroline.] Charles-Town (Etats-Unis d’amerique), le 4 Mai 1804.

Charlestown: From Mr. Riviére to “Monsieur Rimert, Employé dans les bureaux du Préfet Maritime à Brest”. Text in French. Arrived through Bordeaux, with the town’s backstamp on the delivery address (32 Bordeaux), , May 4, 1804. Handwritten pre-postal letter in ink. 3 pages on bifolium. Torn at the wax seal and at a folding, with no effect on the text. Paper tanned at the foldings. Otherwise in fine condition.

Scarce pre-postal letter from Charlestown (USA) to Brest (France) by a Saint-Domingue-refugee, dated in 1804.

Written to Mr. Rimbert in Brest, at the “bureaux du Préfet Maritime”, by Mr. Riviére in Charlestown, South Caroline, who - according to his account - was taken from Saint-Domingue as a prisoner on parole to Jamaica, after Rochambeau’s surrender to Dessalines in November 1803. Shortly, he could leave Jamaica via Havana to Charlestown; the journey took him almost 80 days. Riviére informs Rimbert about meeting his uncle, Mr. Verrier, and his children in Jamaica, and Havana, reminds him of their old friendship, and ask his help to forward his carrier in the marine administration, in case he decides to go back to France.

During the French Revolutionary uprisings, thousands of French refugees from the West Indies arrived in the United States. Due to the conflicts of the Haitian Revolution (1790–1804) nearly 20,000, mostly white planters, gens de couleur, and slaves, fled the French colony of Saint Domingue to seek asylum mainly in American port cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, and Charleston. The present letter adds a personal touch to this episode of history.

Price: €2,000.00