mass ganging, Richmond, VA– 35

Lorna August 30, 1800

–30-40 Baker, Leonard. John Marshall: A Life in Law. 1974, p. 180.

— 35 Associated Press. “Gov. ‘Pardons’ Gabriel’s Rebellion Slave,” August 31, 2007.

— 27 Wikipedia. “Gabriel Prosser.”

Narrative Information

Associated Press, 2007: “Gabriel Prosser, who was hanged for leading a failed slave revolt in 1800, has won a symbolic gubernatorial pardon.

“Prosser and 34 supporters were executed in Richmond on Aug. 30, 1800, after two slaves revealed the planned uprising in Richmond, known as Gabriel’s Rebellion.

“In an informal pardon, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Prosser was motivated by “his devotion to the ideals of the American Revolution – It was worth risking death to secure liberty.” “Gabriel’s cause — the end of slavery and the furtherance of equality of all people — has prevailed in the light of history,” Kaine wrote to the Virginia chapter of the NAACP, which sought the pardon. “It is important to acknowledge that history favorably regards Gabriel’s cause while consigning legions who sought to keep him and others in chains to be forgotten.”

“Prosser promoted an uprising by thousands of slaves 31 years before the better-known Nat Turner insurrection in Southampton County.

“Gabriel’s Rebellion was snuffed out by Gov. James Monroe, the future president, who was tipped off by a slaveholder. Prosser and his followers were hanged….” (AP. “Gov. ‘Pardons’ Gabriel’s Rebellion Slave,” Aug 31, 2007.)

Baker: “The same kind of catastrophe [1791 slave revolt, French Santo Domingo] nearly happened in Richmond one hot night at the end of August 1n 1800. The details are not exact, having been mutilated somewhat by hyperbole over the years. But apparently a slave calling himself General Gabriel did organize an insurrection and plan an attack on the city of Richmond. His purpose was to take the town and then rouse the other blacks in the state to revolt. How many slaves were actually with him at the beginning is a matter of dispute, with estimates ranging anywhere from fifty to five thousand. But undoubtedly there was a sufficient number of blacks armed with scythes, swards, guns, and whatever other weapons they could gather to threaten the city. The city was saved from attack only because a torrential downpour made all roads and bridges impassable and because at least one and possibly two slaves alerted the whites to the plot. The city quickly armed itself, and the insurrection ended before it had really begun. The accounts say that thirty or forty slaves were hanged for their roles in the revolt, including Gabriel.” (Baker, Leonard. John Marshall: A Life in Law. 1974, p. 180.)[1]

Wikipedia: “Gabriel (1776–October 10, 1800), today commonly if incorrectly known as Gabriel Prosser, was a literate enslaved blacksmith who planned and led a large slave rebellion in the Richmond area in the summer of 1800. Governor James Monroe and the state militia suppressed the rebellion. Gabriel and 26 other enslaved people who participated were hanged. In reaction, the Virginia and other legislatures passed restrictions on free blacks, as well as the education, movement and hiring out of the enslaved.

“In 2002 the City of Richmond passed a resolution in honor of Gabriel on the 202nd anniversary of the rebellion.” (Wikipedia. “Gabriel Prosser.”)

Sources

Associated Press. “Gov. ‘Pardons’ Gabriel’s Rebellion Slave.” 8-31-2007. Accessed at: http://www.bookrags.com/news/gov-pardons-gabriels-rebellion-moc/

Baker, Leonard. John Marshall: A Life in Law. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. 1974.

Wikipedia. “Gabriel Prosser.” 8-20-2009 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Prosser

[1] Cites: Stanard, Mary Newton. Richmond: Its People and Its Story (Philadelphia, 1923) pp. 82-85; W. Asbury Christian, Richmond — Her Past and Present (Richmond, 1912), pp. 52-53; and Winthrop D. Jordan. White Over Black (Chapel Hill, ND, 1968), p. 393.