Bust of Delgrès

Monument - Saint-François

This bust, located at Bragelogne, was inaugurated in November 2013 in honor of Louis Delgrès, one the most prestigious figures in Guadeloupe history. Delgrès, a “free person of color,” served in the French Republican Army in Martinique and was made captain in 1793. When Martinique was seized by the British, he was imprisoned. Upon his release, he joined the Antilles Battalion, fighting on Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent islands. Promoted to Battalion Chief (commander) in 1799, Delgrès embarked for Guadeloupe as aide-de-camp to French General Lacrosse, but when the officers of color, backed by the population of Guadeloupe, rebelled against Lacrosse, Delgrès joined them. In 1802, Delgrès, now a colonel, received the command of the district of Basse-Terre. In May of that year, he fought to repel the troops of General Richepanse, who had come for the purpose of reinstituting slavery. After fierce combat, Delgrès abandoned Fort Saint Charles and took refuge with his men at the d’Anglemont Plantation on the Matouba heights. When Richepanse ordered an assault on the plantation on May 28, Delgrès and his men chose to ignite their gunpowder stores and sacrifice themselves in death rather than accept the loss of their freedom.