A French division under General Donatien de Rochambeau was advancing down a ravine (the Ravine-à-Couleuvres), towards Lacroix, Artibonite, where they attacked the army of Toussaint Louverture.

Louverture's forces resisted the attack strongly, but had to retreat across the Petite-Rivière after suffering 800 deaths.

Louverture wrote that the French forces contained over 4,000 infantry soldiers, but according to the novelist and historian Madison Smartt Bell, Rochambeau probably landed at Fort-Liberté with 1,800 men, but not all of these would have marched on Gonaïves.

[1] Prior to the battle on 22 February 1802, the French occupied the heights of Morne Barade and were attacked by rebel troops; the battle raged throughout the night and the French forces successfully resisted the attack.

The following morning, the Haitian forces advanced out of the Ravine-à-Couleuvres as the French were travelling down it towards Lacroix, while Louverture rallied his cavalry.