Among those exiled were three former officers in the Haitian Army: Captain Alix "Sonson" Pasquet, Lt. Phillipe "Fito" Dominique, and Lt. Henri "Riquet" Perpignan.

The Americans – Arthur Payne, Dany Jones, Levant Kersten, Robert F. Hickey, and Joe D. Walker[3] – were intrigued by the promise of adventure and a possibly very lucrative outcome.

[1] Pasquet's plan was to land near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, seize the Casernes Dessalines (an army barracks near the National Palace), and from there summon old friends in military units he had served with.

[4] Pasquet was disappointed to learn that there was no enthusiasm among the soldiers for a rising against Duvalier, and that most of the arms usually stored at Casernes Dessalines had recently been transferred to the National Palace.

Rather than lead an immediate assault on the palace, he entered the commandant's office and began making phone calls to friends in the army – none of whom, to his growing consternation, showed any interest in joining him.

[4] The gunfire – and Pasquet's phone calls – had alerted Duvalier that trouble was afoot at the barracks, but initially he had no idea of the scope of the uprising, and reportedly prepared his family for evacuation to the Liberian embassy.

[4] In a story of uncertain veracity which was later widely reported, one of the plotters (usually identified as Perpignan) was so eager to enjoy his favorite blend of local tobacco that he gave some money to a mulatto soldier and sent him to a nearby store to buy a packet of "Splendide" cigarettes.

The soldier – reportedly Duvalier's personal driver – immediately ran to the National Palace, where he informed the Presidential Guard that the rebels were only eight in number, one of them wounded.

[1] While Pasquet frantically called around for help, President Duvalier donned uniform, helmet, and pistol-belt[3] and began rallying his supporters; meanwhile, several Army officers had already begun surrounding and sealing off the Casernes Dessalines, placing heavy machine guns at key positions around the facility.

[1] At daybreak on 29 July the Haitian army's counterattack began, with Pasquet reportedly killed by a grenade blast while still using the phone in the commandant's office.