Thomas Jeremiah

In the American Southern colonies in the 1770s, there was no more advantageous spot to live for a black freedman than Charleston, SC. The port city provided a number of economic opportunities that in turn often helped individuals of color gain prominence in the community.[1]

Despite this increased status in the community, African Americans in Charleston were constantly reminded that people with their skin tone were considered subhuman with all of their senses. In the colonial period, the port of Charleston often had a stench due to unsold food being tossed in the river. The stench was particularly egregious one week however, and after some investigation, it was discovered that slave ships had dumped dozens of slaves not far from shore.[2] The sight was apparently so horrific that it reminded one viewer of the results of a battle “where they had not had Time to bury their Dead.”[3]

It is noteworthy that even a freedman like Thomas Jeremiah, who spent twenty years as a successful sailing pilot in a successful port city, were frequently reminded of their subhuman status. While the circumstances behind Thomas Jeremiah’s status as a freedman are unknown, he had several ties to the institution of slavery. Jeremiah owned several slaves which likely elevated his status in Charleston society.[4]

Jeremiah’s fortune ran dry when he was accused of inciting a slave rebellion, a crime for which he was found guilty and executed. The most convincing evidence of Jeremiah’s guilt came from the testimony of two slaves as there was no physical evidence against him.[5] This speaks to the hypocrisy of Southern society, that a black man’s testimony was only considered valid if it could be used to convict and execute another black man. Of course, had these slave witnesses testified about any other subject, their mental capacity would surely have been questioned.

Thomas Jeremiah was publicly hanged and his body was burned on August 17, 1775. Just before his death he proclaimed that: “God’s judgement would one day overtake them for shedding [his] innocent blood.”[6] Jeremiah’s words are prophetic, in that he determined the racial struggle and intolerance the not yet independent United States would face for centuries. In addition, the tragic tale of Thomas Jeremiah represents the paranoia and vulnerability of the Southern colonies’ reliance on slavery in a time of war.