The Foreign Service Journal, February 2009

As the conflict dragged on for weeks, with both Bassett and Domin- gue digging in their heels, Washington remained paralyzed. The diplomat continued to plead for a warship through the summer. But Fish’s pique at his minister and his continued dithering discussions with Haitian Ambassador Preston, who lobbied hard against sending a ship, left the sit- uation in a quagmire. As weeks became months, Haitian authorities continued to turn up the pressure. Domingue issued a decree ordering any citizen to shoot Canal down on sight. Then he arranged for hasty military tribunals to try the gen- eral for treason. Bassett took note of these efforts as a means to sway Hamilton Fish into ordering Canal’s release. Calling the trials a “farce,” Bassett begged his superior “to con- cede to this government nothing what- ever further than what is already conceded.” In spite of the displeasure it caused in both capitals, Bassett’s heroic stance had won him support- ers among the Haitian people. The whole affair had turned popular opin- ion in favor of the United States and made Canal a folk hero. “The pre- vailing sentiment is unmistakably in favor of [Canal], and in our favor, be- cause we have firmly protected him against violence,” Bassett wrote. No doubt part of that support for both men was because of the brutality with which the regime continued to act against any and all presumed oppo- nents. Still, political arrests and killings continued, and Bassett con- cluded, “the awful fact stares me in the face that we are all under a reign of terror.” By summer’s end, it looked like even Sec. Fish had finally had enough. Perhaps a more visible threat, he con- cluded, would cause the Domingue regime to crack. “It has been deter- mined to apply to the Navy Depart- ment to order a man-of-war to Port-au-Prince with a view to your protection from insult,” Fish wrote to Bassett. “That the embarrassing ques- tion adverted to may be satisfactorily adjusted before she arrives, is much to be desired.” In fact, just as the ship was prepar- ing to leave, Amb. Preston rushed in to tell Fish that Domingue was ready to capitulate. Bassett could escort Canal safely out, if only the warship would turn back and not enter Haitian waters. Fish agreed and instructed Bassett that a deal had been set. Though Bassett had made that same request repeatedly for months, he took it as a welcome relief when he re- ceived the news. Finally, just after midnight on Oct. 5, 1875, after five months as a refugee inside the Bassett home, Canal em- braced him. The general then boarded an American-flagged ship, which set sail for Jamaica and his safety. The next day the American diplomat informed the State Depart- ment that the crisis had finally pass- ed: “Refugees [were] amicably em- barked and soldiers withdrawn from around my premises yesterday.” By demanding humane treatment for an honorable Haitian citizen, Bas- sett served not only the best interests of the United States, but also those of the people of Haiti. After Haiti At the end of the Grant adminis- tration in 1877, Bassett submitted his resignation as was the custom. In spite of any lingering resentment that may have existed in Washington because of his defiant stance, it was impossible for the department not to recognize Bassett’s work. Acting Secretary of State F.W. Se- ward wrote to Bassett, thanking him for his years of service: “I cannot allow this opportunity to pass without expressing to you the ap- 34 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 9 Inset: “Ebenezer D. Bassett, Colored Minister to Hayti.” from Harper’s Weekly , May 1, 1869. Right: an undated photo, Temple University Library.