The slave revolt of 1811
The slave revolt of 1811
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The idea for this revolt originated in the great slave revolt that took place around 1795 in the French island of Saint Domingue (Haiti), where some 452,000 slaves revolted against the yoke of 40,000 white planters.
The leader of the 1811 revolt was Charles Deslonde, a young mulatto slave in charge of slaves in the sugar cane fields, who managed to convince between 200 and 500 slaves to join the “March on New Orleans” from January 8 to January 10, 1811.
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The slaves walked along the River Road and arrived at the Andry Plantation where they thought they would find weapons and ammunition. Although they did not find any, they killed Manuel Andry’s son, Gilbert, while Manuel was injured and survived to raise the alarm.
The rebels continued along the river in front of the Ormond Estate in St. Charles Parish to J. Fortier’s Plantation near New Orleans.
At about 4:00 a.m. on January 10, 1811, the Militia attacked the group by surprise near the town of Kenner.
21 slaves died in the battle, 45 were condemned to death and executed (including 3 from the Destrehan Plantation), in three trials, one of which was led by Jean Noel Destrehan on his property.
22 slaves will be sent to the overseas prisons, and 27 disappeared in the nearby swamps.
Although this revolt ended in failure, it gave hope to the slaves, but also reinforced among the planters the idea that slaves could and would achieve freedom.