Monument detailing the events of the rebellion.

Monument detailing the events of the rebellion.

SOUTH CAROLINA — On September 9, 1739, in the British Colony of South Carolina, a band of 22 slaves marched south towards Florida, chanting and waving banners proclaiming “liberty.” As the band moved south, burning pantations and killing the owners, they recruited more slaves, forcibly for some, reaching a number of around 100 by the time they reached Edisto River.

Although the cause for the rebellion is unclear, the most likely reason was due to the Security Act, a law based from the fear of insurrection. The act made it so that all white men were required, by law, to carry firearms to church on Sunday or be subjected to a fine. Spain, offering refuge to escaped slaves, pushed rebels and runaways to escape, as well as push back against the system that oppressed them, which scared white people into passing the act.

Beginning their trek near the Stono River, led by an Angolan named Jemmy, men and women marched towards Spanish owned Florida. Being at war with Brian, the Spanish sought any reason they could to cause unrest within English-owned colonies. Offering refuge to runaway slaves was an effective way to cause unrest.

Jemmy led his group to Hutchinson’s Store, where they obtained weapons and killed the two shopkeepers before moving south. As they traveled, they burned six plantations and killed between 23 to 28 whites and plantation owners. They recruited slaves, either by force or taking up volunteers, from the plantations they passed through. It wasn’t long before word got out and Lieutenant Governor William Bull eluded the group and rallied a militia of 20 to 100 men to chase after the group of escapees.

Around 4:00 p.m., the militia caught up with Jemmy and his rebels at the Edisto River, where shots were fired. During the confrontation, 23 whites and 47 escapees were killed. Those that escaped the scrimmage at the Edisto River fought again, a week later, 30 miles away from the first location. Over the course of six months, the escaped rebels were caught and executed, with some being sold to the West Indies. Any slave forced into the rebellion was pardoned and returned to the plantation.

Following the Stono Rebellion, smaller slave revolts happened throughout Georgia and South Carolina. Only a few gained as much traction as the Stono Rebellion, marking it as the most significant slave revolts in America. Not long after the rebellion was stopped, South Carolina passed an act that prohibited slaves from growing their own food, gathering in groups, earning money or leaning how to read.

Charleston also restricted the sale and buying of slaves, closing their port for 10 years. Representatives felt that slaves who were born into it would be less restless than those who were captured and sold. The state also restricted the freeing of slaves, as they felt that seeing a freed slave would make the others desire freedom, making them more likely to revolt. These laws would be enacted until the end of the Civil War in 1865.

Today, the Hutchinson Warehouse, where the revolt began, is marked as a National Historic Landmark. It reminds all of the 100 escaped slaves who fought for the freedom of themselves and others in one of the most significant slave rebellions in America.