Historical Background
In 1915, Haiti, a small country in the Caribbean, was in a state of political upheaval. On 28 July 1915, two companies of United States Marines and three United States Navy sailors landed in Haiti — beginning what would become a nineteen year occupation of Haiti by the U.S. Marines.
The Marines and sailors under Admiral William B. Caperton rapidly reestablished an interim government. Police, customs, schools and hospitals were all placed under the purview of the Marines and Naval personnel assigned to the occupation.
The Marines established a law enforcing constabulary, officered by Marine non-commissioned officers who were granted Haitian commissions as officers and leaders of native troops. This group, called the Gendarmerie d'Haiti, was tasked with enforcing all laws of the country and provided a quasi-military force. They were backed by the Krag-Jørgensen rifles of the 1st Marine Brigade with 88 officers and 1,941 men garrisoning ten towns.
The establishment of an interim government and law enforcement presence did not settle a group of rebels called the Cacos. On the northern end of the country, skirmishing continued in the villages and jungled mountains. In October 1915, after a brief ceasefire, the Cacos began again their assault on government held towns and U.S. forces. It was during this same period that Gunnery Sergeant Daniel Daly and Captain, Smedley Butler, two Marines who had received one Medal of Honor each for separate actions, were awarded their second Medals of Honor.
In the dark of the night on 17 November 1915, Butler, leading a strong force of Marines and sailors, surrounded the last stronghold of the Cacos, Fort Riviere, on a mountain to the south of Grand Riviere du Nord. At 07:30 a.m., Butler gave a signal via whistle and all the Marines attacked. The surprise was total and the Cacos were taken in confusion. Crawling through a tunnel, Butler and his men were involved in bloody hand-to-hand fighting. In 15 minutes, more than 50 Cacos were killed. Coordinates: 19°29′00″N 72°11′00″W / 19.4833333°N 72.1833333°W / 19.4833333; -72.1833333
Read more about this topic: Fort Riviere
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