Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The enslaved revolutionary known only as Gabriel was born in 1776 near Richmond, Virginia, at Brookfield, the Henrico County plantation of Thomas Prosser. By Virginia standards, Brookfield was a large plantation, with approximately 50 laborers. Most likely, Gabriel's father was a blacksmith, the occupation chosen for Gabriel. Status as an artisan provided considerable standing in the slave community, as did his ability to read and write. In the fall of 1798 Gabriel's master died, and ownership of Brookfield passed to 22-year-old Thomas Henry Prosser, who maximized his profits by hiring out his surplus slaves, so Gabriel spent a considerable part of each month smithing in Richmond for white artisans. Although still a slave, he enjoyed a rough form of freedom. Emboldened by this quasi-liberty, in September 1799 Gabriel moved toward overt rebellion. Caught in the act of stealing a pig by a white neighbor, Gabriel wrestled the man to the ground and bit off the better “part of his left Ear” and was formally charged with attacking a white man, a capital crime. Although found guilty, he escaped the gallows by pleading “benefit of clergy,” which allowed him to avoid hanging in exchange for being branded on the thumb with a small cross as he was able to recite a verse from the Bible. Gabriel's branding and incarceration served as a brutal reminder that despite his literacy and privileged ... log in or subscribe to read full text