In September the French troops in northwest Saint Domingue were being closely pressed by the rebel slaves under General Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Captain Walker, off the Mole St. Nicholas, persuaded the General not to put the garrison of Saint-Marc to death but to march them to the Mole in safety where "Vanguard" would take possession of the shipping in the bay. The 850 men of the garrison, all very emaciated, were successfully evacuated, and the brig , pierced for 12 guns but only mounting 6, the brig "Trois Amis", transport, and the schooner "Mary Sally" with 40 or 50 barrels of powder were brought out. The British took "Papillon" into service under her existing name. Then on 5 September "Vanguard" captured the French navy's schooner "Courier de Nantes", of two guns and four swivel guns. She had a crew of 15 men under the command of an "enseigne de vaisseau", and was carrying 30 barrels of flour to Saint-Marc.