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King Christophe of Haiti rises from the ashes in Sonoma
George McKale
Just last week I was headed to an outdoor meeting in West Marin, to the home of a long-time artifact collector who shall remain anonymous. As we sat around a table filled with Miwok “charmstones” and small “paint” mortars, I was inundated with the sweet smell from the late fall sun heating the damp soils beneath large oak trees. Like a hot cup of cocoa, my surroundings filled me with a sense of calm. We shared stories about the past and the possible function of the items that were resting silently upon the table.
At the end of our get-together, she handed me a small button, wishing to donate the item to the citizens of Sonoma. I was told the button came from Sonoma, found somewhere near the barracks. I was excited, as while I had heard of the buttons, I had never seen one. Inscribed on the top of the button were the French words “Je Renais de Mes Cendres” which translates to “I Am Reborn from my Ashes.” In the center of the button was a beautifully etched phoenix rising from the ashes.
The story of the phoenix button begins in 1807 when Henry Christophe became the King of Haiti. Prior to Christophe’s rise to power, the Haitian people had been at war against the English, Spanish and French in 1802. France sent 225 ships loaded with 60,000 soldiers destined to put down the uprisings of Haitian slaves. The Haitians, while outnumbered were not out-willed and eventually defeated the French army. Christophe was the reigning king until 1820. His coat of arms included the phoenix and all of his troops were outfitted with uniforms, which included buttons and buckles with the phoenix design.
The button’s history, particularly regarding its distribution throughout America, is murky. King Christophe committed suicide in 1820, on the verge of being on the losing end of a coup. After his death the button maker, possibly “Bushby London,” sold undelivered buttons to a trading company bound for the West Coast of the United States. Nathaniel Wyeth, an American entrepreneur, most likely purchased the buttons in England, eventually setting up a trading post on Sauvies Island near Portland, Oregon. Because a button was found in Hawaii, it is believed one of the ships stopped there before heading east to Sauvies Island.
Once the buttons ended up in Wyeth’s trading post, they were traded to Indians for furs and salmon. The buttons have been found from Alaska to Southern California, and virtually at every mission in Alta and Baja California. Several have been recovered from Sonoma. Ten buttons have been found east of the Rockies, three coming from the state of Virginia. There are numbers at the bottom of each button denoting the regiment number of Christophe’s militia. They are numbered 1-30, though numbers 11-13, 15-19 and 21-24 were skipped. Speculation has it these numbers were omitted to fool enemies into thinking the army was larger than it really was. The button slipped into my hand was a 30.
It was time to go home. I gazed at the artifacts resting on the table and at the one I would be taking with me. These little treasures are only silent if we let them. More research on the history of these amazing little buttons is in order. After all, they made their way to our mission in the 1820s, have been reportedly found in at least one Indian site just south of town and while restoring the Castenada Adobe on Spain Street. Next week I will stroll over to our Depot Museum to discuss a donation so all who pass through the museum doors might glimpse this unusual button and delve into its peculiar history. It is a great example of an artifact which can be appreciated for its artistic beauty yet has a history which speaks volumes.
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