Sercey composes a report to Jean Dalbarade (1743-1819, Minister of the Navy and Colonies 1793-1795) detailing the events before, during, and after the battle at Cap Français on 20-23 June 1793. Sercey aims to exonerate himself for the delay in leaving the harbor despite growing danger and diminishing supplies, and for the disastrous state of the ships once they did leave. Instead he stresses throughout that the civil commissioners of the city (Léger Félicité Sonthonax (1763-1818) and Étienne Polverel (1742-1795)) refused him permission to fulfill his mission of escorting merchant ships out of the harbor, and he was bound by the law to obey their orders. The report covers events from February to August 1793.