 After Louverture created a separatist constitution and proclaimed himself governor-general for life, Napoléon Bonaparte in 1802 sent an expedition of 20,000 soldiers and as many sailors under the command of his brother-in-law, Charles Leclerc, to reassert French control.The French achieved some victories, but within a few months most of their army had died from yellow fever.Ultimately more than 50,000 French troops died in an attempt to retake the colony, including 18 generals.