Chapter III: Part 3

Number of Prisoners executed 35
Number of Prisoners respited until the 25th October, 1822, with a
view to the commutation of their punishment 12
Number of Prisoners sentenced to be transported by their owners
under direction of the City Council 21
Number of Prisoners sentenced to be transported beyond the limits
of the State 1
Number of Prisoners acquitted, propriety of transportation
suggested to their owners, and those whose masters have agreed to
transport without trial 9
Number of Prisoners acquitted and discharged by the Court 27
Number of Prisoners acquitted and discharged by Committee of
Vigilance 25
———
Whole number arrested 131

_Respectfully submitted by_
FRED. WESNER, THO. D. CONDY, THO. NAPIER, SAMUEL _Com. of
BURGER, EDWARD P. SIMONS, Vigilance_

SENTENCE.

_9th July, 1822._—_JACK, a slave, belonging to Paul Pritchard,
commonly called GULLAH JACK, and sometimes COUTER JACK, was brought
up, and, sentence pronounced by_ L. H. KENNEDY, _Presiding
Magistrate_.

JACK PRITCHARD—The Court, after deliberately considering all the circumstances of your case, are perfectly satisfied of your guilt. In the prosecution of your wicked designs, you were not satisfied with resorting to natural and ordinary means, but endeavored to enlist on your behalf, all the powers of darkness, and employed for that purpose, the most disgusting mummery and superstition. You represented yourself as invulnerable; that you could neither be taken nor destroyed, and that all who fought under your banners would be invincible. While such wretched expedients are calculated to _inspire_ the confidence, or to alarm the fears of the ignorant and credulous, they excite no other emotion in the mind of the intelligent and enlightened, but contempt and disgust. Your boasted Charms have not preserved yourself, and of course could not protect others. “Your Altars and your Gods have sunk together in the dust.” The airy spectres, conjured by you, have been chased away by the superior light of Truth, and you stand exposed, the miserable and deluded victim of offended Justice. Your days are literally numbered. You will shortly be consigned to the cold and silent grave, and all the Powers of Darkness cannot rescue you from your approaching Fate! Let me then, conjure you to devote the remnant of your miserable existence in fleeing from the “_wrath to come_.” This can only be done by a full disclosure of the truth. The Court are willing to afford you all the aid in their power, and to permit any Minister of the Gospel, whom you may select to have free access to you. To him you may unburthen your guilty conscience. Neglect not the opportunity, for there is “no device nor art beyond the tomb,” to which you must shortly be consigned.

SENTENCE _pronounced on DICK, BACCHUS, WILLIAM, NAPHUR, ADAM,
BELLISLE, CHARLES, JEREMY and DEAN, by L. H. KENNEDY, Esq. PRESIDING
MAGISTRATE._

The Court, on mature deliberation, have pronounced you guilty; the punishment of that guilt is DEATH. Your conduct, on the present occasion, exhibits a degree of depravity and extravagance, rarely paralleled. Your professed objects were to trample, not only on the laws of this state, but on those of humanity; to commit murder, outrage and plunder, and to substitute for the blessings we enjoy, anarchy and confusion in their most odious forms.—The beauties of nature and of art, would have fallen victims to your relentless fury; and even the decrepitude of age and the innocence of childhood would have found no other refuge than the grave!

Surely, nothing but infatuation could have prompted you to enter into a plot so wild and diabolical. A moment’s reflection would have convinced you, that disgrace and ruin must have been its consequence, and that it would have probably resulted in the destruction and extermination of _your race_. But if, even complete success had crowned your efforts, what were the golden visions which you anticipated? Such men as you, are, in general, as ignorant as you are vicious, without any settled principles, and possessing but few of the virtues of civilized life;—you would soon, therefore, have degenerated into a horde of barbarians, incapable of any government. But, admitting that a different result might have taken place, it is natural to inquire, what are the miseries of which you complain? That we should all earn our bread by the sweat of our brow, is the decree which God pronounced at the fall of man. It extended alike to the master and the slave; to the cottage and the throne. Every one is more or less subject to control; and the most exalted, as well as the humblest individual, must bow with deference to the laws of that community, in which he is placed by Providence. Your situation, therefore, was neither extraordinary nor unnatural. Servitude has existed under various forms, from the Deluge to the present time, and in no age or country has the condition of slaves been milder or more humane, than your own. You are, with few exceptions, treated with kindness, and enjoy every comfort compatible with your situation. You are exempt from many of the miseries, to which _the poor_ are subject throughout the world. In many countries the life of the slave is at the disposal of his master; here you have always been under the protection of the law.

The tribunal which now imposes this sentence, through its humble organ, affords a strong exemplification of the truth of these remarks. In the discharge of the painful duties which have devolved on them, the members of this Court have been as anxious to acquit the innocent as determined to condemn the guilty.

In addition to the crime of treason, you have on the present occasion, displayed the vilest ingratitude. It is a melancholy truth that those servants in whom was reposed the most unlimited confidence, have been the principal actors in this wicked scheme. Reared by the hand of kindness, and fostered by a master who assumed many of the duties of a parent, you have realized the fable of the Frozen Serpent, and attempted to destroy the bosom that sheltered and protected you.

You have, moreover, committed the grossest impiety: you have perverted the sacred words of God, and attempted to torture them into a sanction for crimes, at the bare imagination of which, humanity shudders. Are you incapable of the Heavenly influence of that Gospel, all whose “paths are Peace?” It was to reconcile us to our destiny on earth, and to enable us to discharge with fidelity all our duties, whether as master or servant, that those inspired precepts were imparted by Heaven to fallen man. There is no condition of life which is not embraced by them: and if you had searched them, _in the spirit of truth_, you would have discovered instructions peculiarly applicable to yourselves—“_Servants_ (says St. Paul) _be obedient to them that are your masters, according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ: not with eye-service as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart._” Had you listened with sincerity to such doctrines, you would not have been arrested by an ignominious death.

Your days on earth are near their close and you now stand upon the confines of eternity. While you linger on this side of the grave, permit me to exhort you, in the name of the ever-living God, whose holy ordinances you have violated, to devote most earnestly the remnant of your days, in penitence and preparation for that Tribunal, whose sentence, whether pronounced in anger or in mercy, is eternal.

_The above Sentences is selected out of the many passed on this occasion, with a view, to give the reader a general idea of them._

POSTSCRIPT.

Since these sheets have been put to press, it affords him, who has been engaged in their preparation, much gratification to be able to correct one mistake, as it places the fidelity of the slave who first gave the intelligence of the intended insurrection, on much higher ground. On conferring with his master and the free man of colour, whose advice he sought, it appears that the slave in question communicated the conversation at the Market to his young master, before he consulted his friend, (the free man of colour,) and that the advice of the latter was that as “his young master was a youth, that it would be best for him _immediately, without delay_, to tell his mistress, that his master might receive the information the instant he came to town.” _Vide_ page 5.

* * * * *

PRINTED AND SOLD BY A. E. MILLER, NO. 4, BROAD-STREET.

_Price 25cts. each; discount by the hundred._

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Footnote 1:

It would be a libel on the liberality and gratitude of this community
to suppose that this man can be _overlooked_ among those who are to be
rewarded for their fidelity and principle.

Footnote 2:

The purport of this letter will be seen by reference to the trial of
Abraham Poyas.

Footnote 3:

Most of the black religious communities in this place, are divided
into classes, over which a Leader is placed, having the confidence of
the Pastor of the Church.

Footnote 4:

This witness gave the information under a pledge, that his name should
not be divulged.

Footnote 5:

The Republican Artillery under Capt. Patterson, was on duty on the
night of the 16th, and were armed with muskets, and stationed in the
Arsenal Yard.

Footnote 6:

The following Note appears on the Journals of the Court, in relation
to the trial of Rolla—“Five witnesses were introduced and examined in
behalf of Rolla, but so far from impeaching the credibility of the
witnesses against him they rather supported it.”

Footnote 7:

After the execution of Peter, his guilt, in the most flagrant degree
became most abundantly established; affording, in every particular,
the strongest corroboration of the testimony by which he had been
convicted. It was apparent that he was the most efficient of all the
ringleaders, and one who possessed the largest share of the confidence
of Denmark Vesey, who was, in every sense of the term, the father of
the plot. Peter was a slave of great value, and for his colour, a
first rate ship-carpenter. He had the confidence of his master in a
remarkable degree, and had been treated with indulgence, liberality
and kindness.

Footnote 8:

As Denmark Vesey has occupied so large a place in the conspiracy, a
brief notice of him will, perhaps, be not devoid of interest. The
following anecdote will show how near he was to the chance of being
distinguished in the bloody events of San Domingo. During the
revolutionary war, Captain Vesey, now an old resident of this city,
commanded a ship that traded between St. Thomas’ and Cape Francais
(San Domingo.) He was engaged in supplying the French of that Island
with Slaves. In the year 1781, he took on board at St. Thomas’ 390
slaves and sailed for the Cape; on the passage, he and his officers
were struck with the beauty, alertness and intelligence of a boy about
14 years of age, whom they made a pet of, by taking him into the
cabin, changing his apparel, and calling him by way of distinction
_Telemaque_, (which appellation has since, by gradual corruption,
among the negroes, been changed to _Denmark_, or sometimes _Telmak_.)
On the arrival, however, of the ship at the Cape, Captain Vesey,
having no use for the boy, sold him among his other slaves, and
returned to St. Thomas’. On his next voyage to the Cape, he was
surprised to learn from his consignee that Telemaque would be returned
on his hands, as the planter, who had purchased him, represented him
unsound, and subject to epileptic fits. According to the custom of
trade in that place, the boy was placed in the hands of the king’s
physician, who decided that he was unsound, and Captain Vesey was
compelled to take him back, of which he had no occasion to repent, as
Denmark proved, for 20 years, a most faithful slave. In 1800, Denmark
drew a prize of $1500 in the East-Bay-Street Lottery, with which he
purchased his freedom from his master, at six hundred dollars, much
less than his real value. From that period to the day of his
apprehension he has been working as a carpenter in this city,
distinguished for great strength and activity. Among his colour he was
always looked up to with awe and respect. His temper was impetuous and
domineering in the extreme, qualifying him for the despotic rule, of
which he was ambitious. All his passions were ungovernable and savage;
and, to his numerous wives and children, he displayed the haughty and
capricious cruelty of an Eastern Bashaw. He had nearly effected his
escape, after information had been lodged against him. For three days
the town was searched for him without success. As early as Monday, the
17th, he had concealed himself. It was not until the night of the 22d
of June, during a perfect tempest, that he was found secreted in the
house of one of his wives. It is to the uncommon efforts and vigilance
of Mr. Wesner, and Capt. Dove, of the City Guard, (the latter of whom
seized him) that public justice received its necessary tribute, in the
execution of this man. If the party had been one moment later, he
would, in all probability, have effected his escape the next day in
some outward bound vessel.

Footnote 9:

_Monday Gell_ is very well known in this city. He is a most excellent
harness-maker, and kept his shop in Meeting-Street. It would be
difficult to name any individual more actively engaged in the plot
than himself, or more able to aid Denmark Vesey, from his uncommon
sagacity and knowledge. He reads and writes with great and equal
facility, and obviously seems to have been the individual who held the
pen, at all the meetings. At which he wrote more than _one_ letter to
San Domingo, for succors. His own situation afforded no excuse for the
effort in which he was engaged, as he enjoyed all the substantial
comforts of a free man; much indulged and trusted by his master, his
time and a large proportion of the profits of his labour were at his
own disposal. He even kept his master’s _arms_ and sometimes his
money. Monday is an _Ebo_, and is now in the prime of life, having
been in the country 15 or 20 years.

Footnote 10:

At the meeting of the Court on the morning of the 13th, Mr. James
Legare, from feeble health and great exhaustion during its previous
sittings, asked, and obtained leave, to withdraw, whereupon Mr. Henry
Deas, was summoned by the Magistrates, who took his seat and served
until the adjournment of the Court.

Footnote 11:

This farm was under the charge of a slave named _Billy_, who became a
witness for the state and gave some important details of the meetings
of the _Gullahs_. Several of whom were executed on the 26th.

Footnote 12:

This Confession of Purcell’s will show, that the evil foretold, from
the discussion of the _Missouri Question_, has been, in some degree,
realized.

Footnote 13:

See Enslow’s Confession, Appendix (M.)

Footnote 14:

An appellation, the seceders assumed after their leaving the white
Methodist Church.

Footnote 15:

Against this witness, the Court had not a tittle of testimony; he
consented without hesitation to become a witness, and to give all the
information he possessed; a pledge having been previously given him by
the Court, that he should not be prosecuted, nor his name revealed.

Footnote 16:

_Perault unhesitatingly stated to Monday’s face, that he had written
two letters, to St. Domingo, and that he (Perault) had gone to
Vanderhorsts wharf with him, in April or May last, to give them in
charge of a black cook on board of a schooner bound to that island.
After Monday was so charged, he confessed that the fact was so, and
that he had been induced to conceal it under an apprehension that if
it were known he had been guilty of such an act all chance of mercy
would be denied him._

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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling. 2. Retained anachronistic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. 3. Footnotes have been re-indexed using numbers and collected together at the end of the last chapter. 4. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.