Gabriel Prosser

“ The sky flushed as they put him in the cart,

and suddenly Gabriel thought of others, the ones who were

to follow him, the ones who waited in their cells because of

his leadership, these and others, others, and still others, a

world of others who were to follow”( Gabriel’s Rebellion).

Gabriel Prosser was a slave leader who in 1800 proposed a

plan to liberate slaves. Gabriel drew up a plan to free his

fellow slaves in Richmond, Virginia and the surrounding

countryside. Gabriel was a blacksmith, working in

Brookfield and in Richmond, who had learned to read and

write. He was inspired by the declarations of freedom during

the Revolutionary War. During the late spring and early

summer of 1800 he made a plan of revolt and had hundreds

of followers to back him up, including his two brothers,

Martin and Solomon. His plan called for a band of armed

slaves, mainly black and white laborers and artisans, to enter

Richmond, Virginia and burn down the business district, take

the governor as hostage and seize whatever arms they could.

Then the black slaves would win there freedom. However,

on August 13, 1800, the day planned for the revolt, an

unusually violent storm broke out, washing out bridges and

roads and stopping all travel. They could not reach

Richmond. Also, slaves Tom and Pharoah informed there

master. He brought the news to the governor, James

Monroe, who had a guard placed at every marked spot for

attack, called out state militia, and ordered a series of

arrests. By September fifteenth, ten people included in the

open revolt were hanged. Gabriel was captured on

September twenty fourth and hanged on October seventh,

his execution having been delayed twice in hopes that he

would make a confession. In all thirty six people were caught

and hanged. Many other uprisings followed this one.

Although, the carefully planned uprising never took place it

left fear in the hearts of whites and pride in the hearts of

blacks. As a result of Gabriel’s uprising whites who had

previously spoken on behalf of the slaves found themselves

silenced in the Upper South. White Southerners who

favored the colonization of blacks, sending them to Africa,

received more widespread support. The plot revealed the

risks that blacks were prepared to take to have their