Gabriel’s Conspiracy was a plan for a massive slave rebellion in Virginia during the summer of 1800. The revolt’s leader, Gabriel, was a slave and blacksmith on a tobacco plantation near Richmond who was often hired out to businesses in Richmond, where he recruited others to his plan. Gabriel was strongly influenced by the ideals of liberty advocated by participants in the American and Haitian Revolutions. When some of the slaves involved confessed the plan to their masters before the revolt began, Governor James Monroe ordered the state militia to round up the leaders of the conspiracy. Gabriel’s brother Solomon was caught in the initial patrols and gave his confession, excerpted here, while several leaders were still at large. Gabriel was caught several weeks later, and Gabriel, Solomon, and twenty-five other slaves were executed for the conspiracy.

My brother Gabriel was the person who influenced me to join him and others in order that (as he said) we might conquer the white people and possess ourselves of their property. I enquired how we were to effect it. He said by falling upon them (the whites) in the dead of night, at which time they would be unguarded and unsuspicious. I then enquired who was at the head of the plan. He said Jack, alias Jack Bowler. I asked him if Jack Bowler knew anything about carrying on war. He replied he did not. I then enquired who he was going to employ. He said a man from Caroline who was at the siege of Yorktown, and who was to meet him (Gabriel) at the Brook and proceed on to Richmond, take, and then fortify it. This man from Caroline was to be commander and manager the first day, and then, after exercising the soldiers, the command was to be resigned to Gabriel. If Richmond was taken without the loss of many men they were to continue there some time, but if they sustained any considerable loss they were to bend their course for Hanover Town or York, they were not decided to which, and continue at that place as long as they found they were able to defend it, but in the event of a defeat or loss at those places they were to endeavor to form a junction with some negroes which, they had understood from Mr. Gregory’s overseer, were in rebellion in some quarter of the country. This information which they had gotten from the overseer, made Gabriel anxious, upon which he applied to me to make scythe-swords, which I did to the number of twelve. Every Sunday he came to Richmond to provide ammunition and to find where the military stores were deposited. Gabriel informed me, in case of success, that they intended to subdue the whole of the country where slavery was permitted, but no further.

The first places Gabriel intended to attack in Richmond were, the Capitol, the Magazine, the Penitentiary, the Governor’s house and his person. The inhabitants were to be massacred, save those who begged for quarter and agreed to serve as soldiers with them. The reason why the insurrection was to be made at this particular time was, the discharge of the number of soldiers, one or two months ago, which induced Gabriel to believe the plan would be more easily executed.

Source: H. W. Flournoy, ed., Calendar of Virginia State Papers and Other Manuscripts from January 1, 1799, to December 31, 1807 (Richmond, 1890), 9:147.