Dessalines, however, felt that it lacked the “heat and energy” required for the occasion. A young officer of color named Louis Félix Boisrond- Tonnerre declared: “In order to draw up our act of independence, we need the skin of a white to serve as a parchment, his skull as an inkwell, his blood for ink, and a bayonet for a pen.” Dessalines concurred, and put the task of writing a new version of the declaration of independence in Boisrond- Tonnerre’s hands. The latter stayed up all night writing the proclamation for the next day’s ceremony. The more moderate one it replaced was lost, leaving behind only the trace of its rejection.

Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ …, loc. 437