Gabriel's Rebellion was a planned slave rebellion in the Richmond, Virginia, area in the summer of 1800. Information regarding the revolt was leaked before its execution, and Gabriel, an enslaved blacksmith who planned the event, and twenty-five of his followers were hanged.
Gabriel's planned uprising was notable not because of its results—the rebellion was quelled before it could begin—but because of its potential for mass chaos and widespread violence.
Afterward, Virginia and other state legislatures passed restrictions on free blacks, as well as prohibiting the education, assembly, and hiring of enslaved people, to restrict their ability and chances to plan similar rebellions.
Gabriel (c. 1776 – October 10, 1800), referred to by some as Gabriel Prosser (though no historical records refer to him by that surname, the surname of his enslaver), was a man of African descent born into slavery in 1776 at Brookfield, a large tobacco plantation in Henrico County, Virginia. He and his two brothers, Solomon and Martin, were enslaved by Thomas Prosser, the owner of Brookfield. Gabriel was also literate. He was one of the rare 5% of enslaved people of the colonial era who were able to read and write.
Gabriel was trained as a blacksmith and a carpenter. His brother Solomon, and perhaps his father, were also blacksmiths. Gabriel, "hired out" by his enslaver to work in Richmond foundries, was able to keep a portion of the wages that he earned. The bulk of it went to Thomas Prosser. Gabriel traveled freely throughout Richmond and Henrico County to work for plantation and business owners.
Gabriel was married to Nanny (or Nan), an enslaved woman. They were not known to most historians as having had any children. Gabriel was described in newspaper articles as having stood "six feet two or three inches high." His long and "bony face, well made," was marred by losing his two front teeth and "two or three scars on his head." White people as well as black people regarded the literate young man as "a fellow of great courage and intellect above his rank in life."
In 1799, Gabriel, his brother Soloman, and a man named Jupiter tried to steal a pig from Absalom Johnson. Gabriel got into a scuffle with Johnson, and he bit off part of Johnson's ear. Jupiter was charged with stealing a hog, which was a misdemeanor, and Soloman was not charged. It was a capital offense for an enslaved person to assault a white person. He could have been hanged for the assault. Because he was a valuable bondsman for Prosser, the judge sentenced him to jail for one month and had his thumb branded. Gabriel was released from jail when enslaver Prosser paid a bond for his release, and he promised a year of good behavior. Richmond history professor and slave law expert Philip J. Schwarz states that it showed Gabriel's intention "to consciously challenge the system of slave control."
Historian Douglas R. Egerton, author of Gabriel's Rebellion, states: "He was physically big, he was literate, he's a fighter, he's a skilled artisan. For all these reasons, he was a natural leader."
In Richmond, there were slightly more blacks than whites, with a total population of 5,700 in 1800. Richmond promoted slavery, with a community whipping post where enslavers had punishment meted out in a public square. Enslaved men loaded and moved flatboats of tobacco and other cargo. Throughout the state in 1800, 39.2% of the total population were enslaved; they were concentrated on plantations in the Tidewater region and west of Richmond.
Gabriel, living in Virginia in the late eighteenth century, was influenced by the prevailing themes of liberty expounded by the supporters of the American Revolution. During his lifetime, the number of free people of color had grown markedly in the Upper South. Many enslaved people were manumitted thanks in part to the efforts of Methodist and Quaker abolitionists. Their number was augmented by free gens de couleur refugees from the Haitian Revolution, many of whom had been enslavers themselves. Some Virginia enslavers were nervous about the sharp increase in the number of free blacks in the slave state.
Some historians assert that Gabriel became the leader of the planned rebellion because he was highly intelligent, literate, and a blacksmith. Enslaved and free African-American men in Virginia taught their metalwork skills to their sons.
During the spring and summer of 1800, Gabriel began planning a revolt to end slavery in Virginia. Plans were made with enslaved people over ten counties and the cities of Richmond, Norfolk, and Petersburg, Virginia.
He, his brothers, and other blacksmiths turned scythe blades into as many as twelve dozen swords. Musket balls and 50 spears were created. They intended to steal muskets from a tavern. Hundreds of enslaved people from central Virginia expected to march into Richmond and take control of the Virginia State Armory and the Virginia State Capitol. The plan was to hold Virginia's Governor James Monroe hostage so that they could negotiate for their freedom.
But on August 30, 1800, the planned day of the attack, heavy rain flooded the streets of Richmond and the creeks in central Virginia. In addition, two enslaved people told their enslaver, Mosby Sheppard, about the plans. Sheppard warned Governor Monroe, who called out the state militia. They patrolled the area and began picking up conspirators. Gabriel escaped downriver to Norfolk, but he was spotted and betrayed there by another enslaved person named Will "Billy" King. More than 70 enslaved men were arrested by law enforcement for conspiracy and insurrection.
Gabriel was returned to Richmond for questioning, but he did not submit. The trial was heard by five justices in courts of oyer and terminer, rather than a jury. A recruit, Ben Woolfolk, testified that Gabriel intended on writing the words 'death or liberty' on a silk flag, referring to Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech of 1775. One of the enslaved men reportedly said, "I have nothing more to offer than what General Washington would have had to offer, had he been taken by the British and put to trial."
Gabriel, his two brothers, and 23 other enslaved people were hanged.
One individual committed suicide before his arraignment. Eight enslaved men were moved or sold outside Virginia. Thirteen were found guilty but were pardoned by the governor. Twenty-five were acquitted. Two men received their freedom for informing their enslavers of the plot.
The site of Gabriel's execution and burial for several recent years, (since the rediscovery of the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground in the 1990s) was mistakenly believed to have been at the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground, historically known on the Richard Young 1809/1810 Plan of the city of Richmond as the Burial Ground for Negroes. His execution was advertised in 1800 as occurring at the usual place; however, until 1806, the "usual place" was not yet the location of the Burial Ground for Negroes in Shockoe Bottom.