The battle took place at the Crête-à-Pierrot fort ("Little Peter's Crest;" in Haitian Creole Lakrèt-a-Pyewo), east of Saint-Marc on the valley of the Artibonite River.

The French colonial army, consisting of 2,000 men led by General Charles Leclerc, blockaded the fort, which was defended by Jean-Jacques Dessalines's Haitian rebels.

[1] Alexandre Pétion, a mixed-race Haitian general, had played an important role when he deployed his cannon on a hill overlooking the fort.

Following the battle, Dessalines temporarily swore allegiance to France and joined his forces with Leclerc's, leading Toussaint Louverture, the Haitian leader, to agree to surrender.

Though a defeat for the Haitians, the battle demonstrated their fighting qualities and showed that they could cause significant casualties to regular European forces.