Hammerton Killick
Hammerton Killick (April 18, 1856 – September 6, 1902) was an admiral in the
Hammerton Killick | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Admiral Hammerton Killick |
Born | April 18, 1856 |
Died | September 6, 1902 Gonaïves | (aged 46)
Service/ | Navy |
Rank | Admiral |
Early life
Killick was an "Anglo-Haitian mulatto."[3] His father was of either Scottish[4] or Irish[5] descent.
Military service
As the Admiral of this poorly equipped, underfunded force a significant amount of Killick's resources went to trying to acquire more ships. In January 1894 an American
In 1896 Haiti was able to add a brand new ship to its fleet, the
In July 1898, Admiral Killick caused some anxiety in the international community when he went missing for nineteen days.[13]
Rebellion and death
In May 1902, Haitian President
Admiral Killick declared his support for Firmin very early on,
Firmin campaigned to be elected deputy of both his hometown Cap-Haïtien, and Gonaïves.[15] He was elected deputy for Gonaïves, but on June 28 fighting broke out in Cap-Haïtien between his supporters and troops controlled by Alexis, who had been sent there to supervise the elections.[15][18] After the fighting broke out Firmin embarked on the Crête-à-Pierrot and sailed to Gonaïves.[15] There he continued to protest against the way the elections were being conducted.[15]
Killick, meanwhile, proceeded to bombard Cap-Haïtien with both ships.[3] When he left Cap-Haïtien he accidentally ran the Toussaint Louverture aground on a reef,[3][4] but through the rest of the summer Killick and the Crête-à-Pierrot transported soldiers for the Firminist cause, attacked coastal towns, and isolated and slowly demobilized Alexis' forces.[4][19] Meanwhile, Jean Jumeau marched on Port-au-Prince by land.[5]
Due to his role in the conflict between Firmin and Alexis, Killick was decommissioned by July 12.[20]
Although the disrupted, disputed elections were still on-going in July,[20] by July 26, Firmin had been declared president by inhabitants of Artibonite and several other regions of Haiti, Jumeau's land forces were reported to be within one day's march of Port-au-Prince, and the Crête-à-Pierrot was in the harbor at Port-au-Prince.[21]
Eventually, Killick attempted to establish a blockade of the harbor at Cap-Haïtien.[4]
On September 2, 1902,
On September 6, the Crête-à-Pierrot was in port at Gonaïves, with Killick and most of the crew on shore leave when the Panther appeared.[1] Killick rushed on-board and ordered his crew to abandon ship.[1] 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, along with the arms that were supplied by German merchants,[22] rather than let the Germans take her.[1][23] Killick and the remaining four crew members went down with the ship.[1]
An hour later, the Panther fired thirty shots at the Crête-à-Pierrot to finish it off, then sailed away.[23] The ship's rifles and machine guns were salvaged.[23] Killick's body was recovered and buried that same day.[23]
Killick's sacrifice was seen as the ultimate act of patriotism, yet Firmin's struggling revolution was doomed to failure by the loss of the Crête-à-Pierrot and the support of Haiti's navy.[19] Within a month Firmin went into exile in Saint Thomas, Barbados, where he died in 1911.[19]
Gallery
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Killick's ship, the Crête-à-Pierrot.
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SMS Panther, a German ship sent to capture the Crête-à-Pierrot.
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Pierre Nord Alexis, the 19th President of Haiti.
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Anténor Firmin. Killick died supporting Firmin instead of Alexis in the civil war over who would become the 19th President of Haiti.
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In 1943 Killick was honored with a postage stamp depicting his death.
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Haitian gunboat Crête-à-Pierrot on September 6, 1902, at the Port of Gonaives shortly before the sinking by SMS Panther.
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The Haitian gunboat Crete-à-Pierrot sinking after bombardment by SMS Panther in the port of Gonaives September 6, 1902.
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Wreck of the Haitian gunboat Crete-à-Pierrot in the port of Gonaives on September 6, 1902.
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0974752105. Archived from the originalon May 13, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
- ^ "Haiti stamp for defier of Germans". New York Times. September 26, 1943. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 9781841624150.
- ^ a b c d e World Today. Current Encyclopedia Company. 1902. p. 1802.
- ^ ISBN 9781469617985.
- ^ ISBN 9780956183583.
- ^ a b Prence, Katherine (August 3, 1902). "ON THE EVE OF REVOLUTION; The Preliminary Fighting in the Streets of Port-au-Prince – Fusillades of Musketry from Soldiers of Contending Parties – Cabinet Minister Who Attends a Voodoo Church – Admiral Killick Runs Off with the Navy – How He Defied the Authorities" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- ^ a b c d "THE STORY OF THE NATALIE.; Triumph of Haitian Diplomacy Over the Revolutionary Cause" (PDF). New York Times. March 14, 1894. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- ^ a b "Natalie Captured and Crew Shot" (PDF). New York Times. March 11, 1894. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- ^ a b "Yacht Natalie's Captain Here" (PDF). New York Times. March 13, 1894. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- ^ "The Natalie Mystery". Los Angeles Herald. Vol. 47, no. 157. March 27, 1984. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
- ^ Officer, Lawrence. "Dollar-Pound Exchange Rate From 1791". Measuring Worth. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
- ^ "Admiral Killick Returns" (PDF). New York Times. July 3, 1898. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 9780805095623.
- ^ a b c d e f g Léger, Jacques Nicolas (1907). Haiti: Her History and Her Detractors. New York and Washington: Neale Publishing Company. pp. 252–253. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Article 6 – Untitled" (PDF). New York Times. May 16, 1902.
- ^ a b "Battle in Haiti Expected" (PDF). New York Times. May 15, 1902. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
- ^ "More Trouble in Haiti: Fighting in the Streets of Cape Hatien Last Evening". Indianapolis Journal. June 29, 1902. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- ^ a b c Clough, Joseph. "The Firminist War". Haiti An Island Luminous. Digital Library of the Caribbean. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- ^ a b "SITUATION IN HAITI.; Admiral Loses His Commission for Disobeying the New Government" (PDF). New York Times. July 13, 1902. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
- ^ "THE REVOLUTION IN HAITI.; Provisional Government Declares Firmin an Outlaw – Great Excitement at Port-au-Prince" (PDF). New York Times. July 27, 1902. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- ISBN 9780813522401.
- ^ a b c d "Killick Went Down with His Warship" (PDF). New York Times. September 11, 1902. Retrieved February 3, 2015.