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Gabriel Prosser Rebellion

When
1800
Where
Richmond, Virginia; Gallows Hill, Richmond, Virginia
Episodes
3

Gabriel's Rebellion was a planned slave uprising in the Richmond, Virginia, area in the summer of 1800, organized by Gabriel, an enslaved blacksmith. The attack was set for August 30, 1800, but information leaked and heavy rain flooded Richmond's streets and central Virginia's creeks. The revolt was quelled before it began; Gabriel and twenty-five followers were hanged.

Episodes

  1. spring–summer 1800 · Richmond, VirginiaPlanning the revolt

    During spring and summer 1800, Gabriel planned a revolt to end slavery in Virginia.

  2. August 30, 1800 · Richmond, VirginiaThwarted attack of August 30, 1800

    The planned August 30, 1800 attack failed after information leaked and heavy rain flooded Richmond and central Virginia.

  3. October 10, 1800 · Gallows Hill, Richmond, VirginiaExecutions on Gallows Hill

    Gabriel and twenty-five followers were hanged; Gabriel's execution occurred October 10, 1800, at Gallows Hill.

Background and detail

Background. Gabriel was a man of African descent born into slavery in 1776 at Brookfield, a large tobacco plantation in Henrico County, Virginia. Living in late eighteenth-century Virginia, he was influenced by the themes of liberty expounded by supporters of the American Revolution. In 1799, Gabriel, his brother Soloman, and a man named Jupiter tried to steal a pig from Absalom Johnson.

Planning and Context. During the spring and summer of 1800, Gabriel began planning a revolt to end slavery in Virginia. Richmond had a total population of 5,700 in 1800, with slightly more blacks than whites, while 39.2 percent of Virginia's total population was enslaved, concentrated on Tidewater plantations and west of Richmond.

Aftermath and Memory. After the rebellion, enslavers significantly restricted their slaves' ability to travel, especially after a second conspiracy was discovered in 1802 among enslaved boatmen along the Appomattox and Roanoke Rivers. The Virginia Assembly in 1802 made it illegal for free or enslaved Black people to obtain and pilot or navigate a boat. In 2002, Richmond adopted a resolution commemorating Gabriel's execution.

People involved

Sources

  1. Gabriel's Rebellion Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-31

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.