Slave Rebellion

Slave Revolt

- Who played a significant role in organizing the uprising? Who else was involved?
- What did the rebels chant as they moved towards New Orleans?
- What did the rebels do as they made their way along the Mississippi River?
- What happened to the rebels that were captured?
- What was the goal of the rebellion?

1811 Slave Revolt Timeline

From 200 to 500 Africans rebelled, armed with various weapons including knives, axes, and some even had guns. The rebellion began on January 8th at Manuel Andry's plantation in St. Charles Parish, about 36 miles from New Orleans. Charles Deslondes, who had been brought from Haiti to New Orleans, played a significant role in the uprising. Despite his relatively privileged position as a slave driver on the Andry plantation, Deslondes used his access to the plantation house to organize fellow enslaved Africans. They attacked Manuel Andry, severely injuring him and killing his son. They then armed themselves further and started moving towards New Orleans, chanting "On to New Orleans," and gaining more recruits along the way. As they made their way along the Mississippi River, they burned down several plantations and sugar mills. The white slave owners and their families fled, notifying the authorities about the approaching rebellion.

On the night of January 9th, a detachment of U.S. regular troops and a plantation militia confronted the Africans at the Jacques Fortier plantation in St. Charles Parish, stopping their advance towards New Orleans. During the clashes between the Africans and the defenders of the plantation system, 66 rebels were killed and 75 were captured. Out of the 75 Africans who were captured, 25 were put on trial. After a brief investigation, 18 were sentenced to death and taken to their masters' plantations, where they were executed and beheaded.

The severed heads of the Africans were placed on poles on the plantations to instill fear in other enslaved people. Some of the Africans who had escaped to Orleans Parish were apprehended and also subjected to a sham trial. They were tried by a tribunal consisting of a judge and a panel of slave holders. Newspaper reports at the time of the 1811 rebellion claimed that the Africans' actions were disorganized and unfocused; however, a later study of the African leaders and the timing of the resistance effort, revealed that their goal was to capture New Orleans and establish an independent republic. Particularly, they drew inspiration from the 1804 Haitian revolution. The strategic timing of the revolt should also be highlighted, coinciding with a period of little work and the absence of significant order due to American expansionism in Spanish West Florida.

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