The Foreign Service Journal, February 2009

as I am credibly informed, by rum, and elated by consciousness of armed power, were pursuing their fellow countrymen with red-handed vio- lence. To have closed my door upon the men pursued would have been for me to deny them their last chance of escape from being brutally put to death before my eyes.” The Standoff Continues It was not simply a matter of hu- manity that led Bassett to throw the protective cloak over his asylees. He was also keenly aware that to give even one inch in this staring match would invite a rampaging mob to overrun his home and all the con- sulates under the American flag throughout Haiti. Throughout the standoff, Bassett’s home remained surrounded by more than a thousand soldiers. The nightly rhythm of loud taunts and screams, the beating of metal objects and the general air of danger kept his family huddled inside trying to gain a few hours of restless sleep. Bassett first raised the idea of sending a U.S. warship to Haiti in a May 8, 1875, despatch. He argued that a show of force would exert “a wholesome influence” and strength- en “our own moral force” in resolving the matter. Bassett’s performance during his eight years in Port-au-Prince places him in the annals of great American diplomats. F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 33