The 1822 Vesey Conspiracy
Inspired by the Haitian Revolution of 1791 and angry about the closing of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church, Denmark Vesey, Gullah Jack, and devised a plan of rebellion. The revolt was to take place on Bastille Day, July 14, 1822.
Led by Denmark Vesey, the African Methodist Episcopal church leader who purchased his freedom for $600, the group of free Blacks and slaves plotted to execute the enslavers and liberate Charleston. Thousands of Blacks along the Carolina Coast and Charleston were apart of the revolt. Vesey and his followers were to sail back to Haiti to escape the retaliation of the White Charleston citizens. The well-planned and widespread rebellion involved about 9,000 people.
However, two house slaves informed their masters before the planned date. George Wilson was a member of the AME church and believed in the Christian Rule: Love one's neighbor. He was extremely devoted to his slave master and spent several nights with feelings of dishonesty and lack of loyalty after learning about the Vesey plot. Wilson later leaked the plans to his slave-master on June 14, leading to the arrest and hanging of Rolla Bennett. Wilson was promised his freedom in exchange for his confession but was never granted it. He later committed suicide.
The Denmark Rebellion had been spoiled and the plan was ceased. Charleston charged 131 men with conspiracy and 67 were convicted, 37 hanged publicly including Denmark Vesey. The AME church was set afire and the Blacks were to put an end to the practicing of their African Methodist Episcopal religion. Whites made an enormous effort to convert the Blacks to White Chritianity, but they continued to practice Vesey's Old Testament religion in secret.
After the hanging of his father, Sandy Vesey, one of Denmark's sons, was transported, probably to Cuba. Vesey's wife Susan later emigrated to Liberia, and another son, Robert Vesey, survived to rebuild Charleston's African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1865.
Vesey, who refused to reveal any names, was hanged along with thirty-six others two days before local Independence Day festivities. The foiled uprising prompted the city to establish an armory and militia training ground that became The Citadel and what is now Marion Square, and restrictive laws put harsh new limits on blacks in Charleston, whether enslaved or free.
Charleston put restrictions on the free movement of Blacks both in and out of state and required Blacks to secure a guardian to approve of their character. In 1822, the city's General Assembly "established a competent force to act as a municipal guard for the protection of the City of Charleston and its vicinity." The General Assembly agreed and appropriated funds to erect "suitable buildings for an Arsenal, for the deposit of the arms of the State, and a Guard House, and for the use of the municipal guard."
The buildings that would be known as the Citadel were ready for occupancy in 1829. In the aftermath of the Vesey rebellion, the African Church was burned down and authorities passed a series of laws further restricting the rights of Charleston slaves. Vesey became a martyr for African-Americans and a symbol for the abolitionist movement, while the increasingly militant politics of white America dragged the country toward Civil War.
Led by Denmark Vesey, the African Methodist Episcopal church leader who purchased his freedom for $600, the group of free Blacks and slaves plotted to execute the enslavers and liberate Charleston. Thousands of Blacks along the Carolina Coast and Charleston were apart of the revolt. Vesey and his followers were to sail back to Haiti to escape the retaliation of the White Charleston citizens. The well-planned and widespread rebellion involved about 9,000 people.
However, two house slaves informed their masters before the planned date. George Wilson was a member of the AME church and believed in the Christian Rule: Love one's neighbor. He was extremely devoted to his slave master and spent several nights with feelings of dishonesty and lack of loyalty after learning about the Vesey plot. Wilson later leaked the plans to his slave-master on June 14, leading to the arrest and hanging of Rolla Bennett. Wilson was promised his freedom in exchange for his confession but was never granted it. He later committed suicide.
The Denmark Rebellion had been spoiled and the plan was ceased. Charleston charged 131 men with conspiracy and 67 were convicted, 37 hanged publicly including Denmark Vesey. The AME church was set afire and the Blacks were to put an end to the practicing of their African Methodist Episcopal religion. Whites made an enormous effort to convert the Blacks to White Chritianity, but they continued to practice Vesey's Old Testament religion in secret.
After the hanging of his father, Sandy Vesey, one of Denmark's sons, was transported, probably to Cuba. Vesey's wife Susan later emigrated to Liberia, and another son, Robert Vesey, survived to rebuild Charleston's African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1865.
Vesey, who refused to reveal any names, was hanged along with thirty-six others two days before local Independence Day festivities. The foiled uprising prompted the city to establish an armory and militia training ground that became The Citadel and what is now Marion Square, and restrictive laws put harsh new limits on blacks in Charleston, whether enslaved or free.
Charleston put restrictions on the free movement of Blacks both in and out of state and required Blacks to secure a guardian to approve of their character. In 1822, the city's General Assembly "established a competent force to act as a municipal guard for the protection of the City of Charleston and its vicinity." The General Assembly agreed and appropriated funds to erect "suitable buildings for an Arsenal, for the deposit of the arms of the State, and a Guard House, and for the use of the municipal guard."
The buildings that would be known as the Citadel were ready for occupancy in 1829. In the aftermath of the Vesey rebellion, the African Church was burned down and authorities passed a series of laws further restricting the rights of Charleston slaves. Vesey became a martyr for African-Americans and a symbol for the abolitionist movement, while the increasingly militant politics of white America dragged the country toward Civil War.