Stono Rebellion 103Church to raise a militia. Already armed, according to the
law, the men of the church formed a militia. At the same
time Gov. Bull was raising the militia, the rebels contin-
ued southward. Th ey burned Colonel Hext’s house, killed
his overseer and his wife. Consecutively, they burned Mr.
Sprye’s house, Mr. Sacheverell’s, and Mr. Nash’s house, also
killing the whites found in them. Mr. Bullock escaped but
his house was also burned.
Aft er traveling between 10 and 15 miles, the rebels, now
numbering almost 100, stopped in an open fi eld and began
celebrating, dancing, singing, and beating drums to draw
more Negroes to them. While in the open fi eld, the militia
came on the warriors and a fi ght ensued. Th e rebels fi red
two shots with no results. Th e militia’s return fi re brought
down 14 of the rebels. During the exchange, some rebels
ran back to their respective plantations while others stayed
and fought. One of the rebels came within point-blank
range of his master, confronted him, then misfi red; in re-
turn, his master shot him through the head. Many Negroes
were shot on the spot while some were taken, questioned,
then shot. Some rebels who tried to escape were captured
by the planters who cut their heads off and placed them on
every mile post they came to.
About 30 escaped from the initial confrontation and
continued southward. Mounted on horseback, the planters
caught up to this group and another battle took place in
which the rebels fought boldly but again were taken by the
planters and killed on the spot; some were hanged and oth-
ers were gibbeted. While there is no record of any of the
rebels reaching St. Augustine, a few of the remnants eluded
capture for nearly a year. In all, approximately 40 blacks and
20 whites were killed.
For many of South Carolina’s colonists, the Stono Re-
bellion was a nightmare come true. By 1730, South Caro-
lina’s economy had become so dependent on African slaves
the ratio of blacks to whites was 2 to 1. Attempts were made
to entice more whites to settle there; however, the response
was slow. Planters and colonists were aware of the growing
danger of importing too many African slaves; however, rice
had become a cash crop and required intense labor. With
the number of slaves increasing and Spanish conspiracy on
the rise, the time for rebellion had come. Th e Stono rebels
struck with a force unknown to South Carolinians. As a re-
sult, many rural colonists left the area.
Th e Stono rebels were previously warriors in Africa.
Th ey knew how to use guns and designed their rebellionBibliography
Fage, J. D. A History of Africa. London: Hutchinson, 1978.
Gomez, Michael. “Timbuktu under Imperial Songhay: A Re-
consideration of Autonomy.” Journal of African History 31
(1990):5–24.
Levtzion, Nehemia. Ancient Ghana and Mali. London: Methuen,
1973.
Stono Rebellion
As early as 1687, slaves in South Carolina were fl eeing to-
ward Spanish territory in Florida. Th ey were responding
to the King of Spain’s decree, which said that any runaway
slave of the British colonies was to be received at St. Augus-
tine and given freedom and protection from the British. In
1733, the decree was repeated and Spanish emissaries were
sent to try and incite a large slave rebellion within South
Carolina. Th e trek from South Carolina through Georgia
to St. Augustine was not easy. For this reason, slaves who
planned their escape killed their masters, then took horses,
food, and other items for the journey. Th ese slaves usu-
ally ran away as individuals or in very small groups but no
large groups had attempted the journey—until the Stono
Rebellion.
On September 9, 1739, the brewing of conspiracy
erupted in the Stono Rebellion when a group of 20 “Ango-
lan” slaves carried out the largest and bloodiest insurrection
of the 18th century. Aft er gathering near South Carolina’s
Stono River, the rebels decided to fi rst secure weapons
and ammunition by robbing a storehouse. Th e rebels con-
fronted and killed the storekeepers, severed their heads,
then placed them on the stairs before leaving. Now armed,
the rebels moved toward Mr. Godfrey’s house and killed
him, his daughter and son, then burned his house. By this
time, more rebels joined the original group. Th ey marched
southward along the “Pons Pons” road shouting for lib-
erty with fl ags displayed to the sound of two drums. Th ey
passed Wallace’s Tavern toward daybreak but left without
hurting him because he was a good man and kind to his
slaves. However, when they came to Mr. Lemy’s house, they
plundered it and killed him, his wife, and his child. Th ey
continued on to Mr. Rose’s and resolved to kill him but he
was saved by a man who hid him.
While heading north, Lieutenant Governor Bull saw
the rebels. He rushed toward the Willtown Presbyterian