- Official Letter Books of W.C.C. Claiborne, 1801-1816
- “The Negroes in this County of German Coast in this Territory are in a state of Insurrection; their numbers are variously stated from 180 to 500. Intelligence thereof reached me at 10 O’clock, and the most prompt and effectual measures have been taken for the protection of the persons and property of the Citizens. A detachment of U.S. troops and two Companies of volunteer Militia have this morning marched against the Insurgents. The whole militia of the City are under arms, and you may be assured of its safety.”
- “The Insurgents were attacked on Yesterday by a party of armed Citizens, under command of Col. Andre; several were killed, and 18 or 20 taken, but no official information has yet been received. The Insurrection is by no means general and will I trust be very put down soon.”
- The Territorial Papers of the United States
- “An attempt was made to assassinate me by the stroke of an axe, and my poor son has been ferociously murderd by a hord of brigands who from my plantation to that of Mr. Fortier have committed every kind of mischief and excesses, which can be expected from a gang of atrocious bandittis of that nature.”
- “I have immediately ordered several strong detachments to pursue them through the woods, and at every moment our men bring them in or kill them.”
- History of Louisiana
- “There were about five hundred, and one single man, well armed, kept them at bay. This incident, among with many others, shows how little that population is to be dreaded, when confronted by the superior race to whose care Providence has entrusted their protection and gradual civilization. The misguided negroes, who had been deluded into this foolish attempt at gaining a position in society, which, for the welfare of their own race, will ever be denied to it in the Southern States of North America, as long as their white population is annihilated or subjugated were soon encompassed by a strong body of militia.”
- “To attack was to rout the blacks; they fled in every direction with wild cries of despair, leaving sixty-six dead bodies on the field.”
- This source, created by Charles Gayabre in 1866, continues to highlight the opression towards African Americans and shows who difficult it was for these slaves to have any sense of freedom whatsoever.
- William C.C. Claiborne to Thomas Jefferson, January 24, 1811
- “We have lately experienced much alarm, in consequence of an insurrection among the Slaves in this Vicinity. It at first was a menacing aspect; but was very soon quelled by the prompt and decisive Movements of the armed Force of the United States, and Body of Militia.”
- Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association
- “Though the omnipresent fear weighed heavily upon the territorial mentality, the actual occurrence of a slave insurrection had never before plagued the city and the incident exposed white society’s vulnerability to servile war.”
- “Through the desire to enslave and subjugate the people of one race, the vice touched everyone and no one was truly free.”
- The Persistent Specter: Slave Rebellion in Territorial Louisiana
- “Yet another dimension of the problem of rebellion lies in the extreme paucity of reliable sources from the rebels (or conspirators) themselves. With few exceptions, the survivors of slave uprisings were not permitted the privilege of public statement in their personal defense, much less in defense of the rising itself. Most of what is known about any specific episode, be it actual insurrection, conspiracy to rebel, or just rumor, is known from white sources only, and the whites living among substantial numbers of slaves tended to harbor extremely complex and confused attitudes toward the threat of rebellion, about which more anon. White sources simply cannot be read at face value on the matter, not the least reason for which being that they are invariably inconsistent and frequently contradictory.”
- The New States or A Comparison of the Wealth, Strength, and Population of the Northern and Southern States
- “In the south, the number freemen is decreasing, while the number of slaves continues to increase. This rapid increase of slave population, must be attended with a correspondent increase in the evil of the government and white oppressors.”
- Anti-slavery Catechism
- “The fact is, difficulties and dangers increase every day. In South Carolina and Louisinana, the blacks are already the majority. The annual increase of the slaves, without including the free blacks, in the United States is now 62,000 annually. It is a fact worthy of consideration that the licentiousness of the white man increases the colored race; but the vices of colored men or women can never increase the white race; for the children of such connexions are of course not white.”