In the 1800’s, slave revolts against their white masters were rarely heard of due to slave’s fear of the unknown if they chose to fight back. Even though slave revolts were not very popular during this era, some slaves came together and rebelled against their masters for their right of freedom. One of the most famous rebellion was Nat Turner’s which occurred on August 22, 1831, in an attempt...
On a Sunday night in mid-August, Joseph Travis slept peacefully next to his wife in the home they shared with their three children. The couple had just borne an infant, who that night was sleeping soundly, giving the parents a chance to rest undisturbed. The husband awoke to a sharp blow to his head, shot up out of bed, and called out to his wife. Mrs. Travis awoke to see her husband cut down with...
In mid-August 1831, African Americans and Irishmen rioted in Frederick, Maryland. Lasting two days, the conflict was of so violent a nature that the citizens of New-Market and its vicinity were compelled to interfere, who, after a vigorous and obstinate resistance, succeeded in dispersing the Irish and capturing about twenty of the ring leaders. The captured Irishmen werent jailed for long because...
In present day, the “flu” is more commonly consider an inconvenient virus, which puts one out of commission for a day or two. But in 1832, influenza frequently ran its full course causing respiratory failure and death. In a letter from Fanny Wilson Johnson to her sister Eliza, Fanny discussed their father’s health, church happenings, and town affairs. Amidst her small talk, written sideways...
On March 8, 1832, the steamship Gosport finally arrived in Norfolk, Va. It was the first steam ferry offering service across the Chesapeake, able to complete the trip in a mere five minutes, a feat that at the time was remarkably fast. Previously, ferries were man-powered or run by a blind mule or horse turning paddles by treadmill. The editors of The Norfolk Herald volunteered their confidence...
As the school term drew to a close, W. F. Nelson wrote a letter to his uncle on July 29, 1831 informing him of his son's academic progress and behavioral development over the course of the session. After naming classical studies and algebra as Cleland's primary interests of study, Nelson wrote that if his uncle decided to continue Cleland's schooling, he should begin the study of Geometry...
Cherokee leaders appealed to the Supreme Court in the monumental case Worcester v. Georgia ruling in favor of the Cherokee people and missionary Samuel Worcester and overturning a previous Georgia law from 1831. Chief Justice John Marshall’s majority opinion stated, “Although it had surrendered sovereign powers in those treaties with the United States, the Cherokee Nation remains...
Sometime in October of 1831, two female slaves, Abigail and Ann, escaped with their children from Daniel McKenzie, a local slave trader from Accomack, Virginia. The slaves were later apprehended and placed into the custody of a sheriff in the state of Delaware. Once in Delaware the slaves sued in forma pauperis for their freedom. Before the slaves could appear in front of the court, they escaped...
On the second day of March, 1832, a slave boy named Pompey was hard at work on the Cragwall plantation in Goochland County. All of a sudden he heard a noise high above him in the sky. The boy looked up and saw two enormous birds swooping and stabbing at each other. They began to get closer and closer to the ground until they completely fell out of the sky and landed right beside him. In complete...
“I fought hard. But your guns were well aimed. The bullets flew like birds in the air, and whizzed by our ears like the wind through the trees in the winter. My warriors fell around me; it began to look dismal,” said Sauk chief Black Hawk upon his surrender to the U.S 6th Infantry in August of 1832. He had fiercely resisted the continuing encroachment of white settlers into...