Mark W. Buyck II: The Stono Rebellion

The

STONO REBELLION

story by Mark W. Buyck, III

Early Sunday morning, September 9, 1739, two dozen slaves gathered near the Stono River 20 miles south of Charleston. From that gathering began the Stono Rebellion, the most deadly slave uprising in the British North American colonies. As consequential as this event was there is not a generally accepted account of the event. There is one surviving eyewitness account; however, its author is unknown. Several elements of the story have been passed down orally through generations of the slave participants. Regardless, this was a real event with deadly consequences.

As with so many events in colonial South Carolina history this one is rooted in Spanish and English rivalries. Throughout the 1730s the Spanish governors of Florida issued edicts that encouraged slaves from the British colonies to escape to Florida in return for their freedom. These proclamations were mainly directed to the South Carolina low country plantations as colonial Georgia was only created in 1732 and forbade slavery until 1751. Slaves also greatly outnumbered white colonists who feared for their security. It is generally accepted that the two dozen slaves who began the march south on September 9, 1739, were from the African Kingdom of Kongo. The Catholic Church had established a strong connection with the Kingdom of Kongo and many of the North American slaves from Kongo were Catholic and spoke Portuguese. Some have theorized that these rebels were captured soldiers who were forced into enslavement and relocated to South Carolina. The anonymous account writer clearly blamed the Spanish for inciting the rebellion. He mentions the offers of freedom as well as secret visits from Spanish Catholic priests to South Carolina encouraging the slaves to escape to Florida. The leader of the group was a literate slave named “Jemmy” (some accounts refer to the leader as “Cato” and the event as “Cato’s Rebellion.”) The first victims of the Rebellion were two white storekeepers at Hutchenson’s Store where a warehouse containing firearms, ammunition and other military supplies was seized. The band then set off on a trail of destruction led by banners flying and drums beating, all the while shouting “Liberty.” Over the next day, the original group encouraged and coerced other slaves along their route to join them. Various accounts confirm the burning of plantations and the death of white settlers. One account mentions the burning of six plantations and the killing of 23 to 28 colonists. The band eventually encountered Lieutenant Governor William Bull and five of his friends on horseback. Bull, appreciating the danger, escaped to warn other settlers and raise the militia. On Monday afternoon the militia caught up with the slaves, numbering about 100 by this time. One account claims the rebels stopped at a large field and “set to dancing, singing and beating drums to draw more Negroes to them.” By the time the militia arrived, the group had grown to 90 slaves and a battle ensued. By sunset, 20 militiamen had perished as well as 40 rebels. Ten of the rebels were caught by the militia the next day. A week later, a larger group of about 30 rebels engaged in a final battle with militiamen and cooperating Indians about 30 miles south of the initial battle. Most accounts claim that all but a few of the rebels were executed shortly after capture. One account claims that several were beheaded and the severed heads placed on stakes alongside the roads to Charlestown to intimidate other slaves.

In the 1930s George Cato, describing himself as the great-great-grandson of Cato, the rebel leader, gave an interview to the WPA Federal Writer’s Project (full interview can be found at nationalhumanitiescenter. org/pds/becomingamer/peoples/text4/ stonorebellion.pdf). “I reckon it was hot, ‘cause in less than two days, 21 white men, women, and children, and 44 Negroes, was slain. My granddaddy say that in the woods and at Stono, where the war start, there was more than 100 Negroes in line. When the militia come in sight of them at Combahee swamp, the drinking, dancing Negroes scatter in the bush and only 44 stand their ground. Commander Cato speak for the crowd, he say: ‘We don’t like slavery. We start to join the Spanish in Florida. We surrender but we not whip yet and we is not converted.’ The other 43 say: ‘Amen.’ They was taken, unarmed, and hanged by the militia.”

The South Carolina legislative response to the Spanish edicts and the Stono Rebellion was the Slave Code of 1740. Reasoning that the rebels were recent arrivals from Africa, all slave importation to South Carolina was banned for ten years. The law also prohibited slaves from meeting in large groups and playing drums. The law made it illegal to teach slaves how to read and write. There is a Stono Rebellion historic marker on Highway 17 South of Charleston just outside the town of Rantowles. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Stono Rebellion Historical Marker Located in Rantowles, SC

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