A more alarming insurrection of the Blacks, attended with the destruction of so many innocent lives, has not, we believe, occurred in any christian country since the memorable event of 1804—when in one fatal night more than 1000 of the unfortunate white inhabitants of the island of St. Domingo (men, women and children) were butchered by the Negroes! Although the melancholly scene which has been recently witnessed in Virginia, will bear no comparison with that bloody event, yet it cannot but serve to satisfy us to what an extent the Slaves of the South would in all probability carry the work of human butchery, did they but once obtain the power—which God forbid they ever may. As there may be but few of our readers who are acquainted with the particulars that attended the horrid massacre of the inhabitants of the ill-fated island mentioned it will not we trust be considered by
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them as foreign from the subject of this Narrative, if we devote two or three pages to that purpose.
The first revolt of the Negroes in St. Domingo, took place on the 23d August, 1791, just before the break of day, when a general alarm spread throughout the town of the Cape, that all the negro slaves in the nieghouring parishes had revolted, and were carrying death an desolation over the plantations.
The governor, assembled the military officers; but the reports were too confused and contradictory to gain much credit till day-light brought with it many who had scarcely escaped the massacre, and fled to the town for protection. It was soon evident that the negroes acted in concert, a general massacre of the whites was the consequence, with the exception only, on a few estates, of the women, who were spared for a severer fate.
Consternation now every where prevailed, and the screams of the women and children, running door to door, heightened the horrors of the scene! The citizens took up arms, and the general assembly vested the governor with the command of the national guards—yet so much more numerous were the slaves than the whites, and so general became the revolt, it was computed that, within two months after it began, upwards of two thousand white persons of all conditions and ages, had been massacred!—that one hundred and eighty sugar plantations, and about nine hundred coffee, cotton, and indigo settlements had been destroyed (the buildings
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thereon being consumed by fire,) and one thousand two hundred christian families reduced from opulence, to such a state of misery, as to depend altogether for their cloathing and sustenance on public and private charity. Of the Blacks, it was reckoned that upwards of ten thousand had perished by the sword or by famine; and some hundreds by the hands of the executioner.
To attempt even concisely a record of the many remarkable and bloody engagements, which took place between the two contending parties (the whites and the blacks, and the European troops sent to assist the former) from the period of the first revolt, until the final general massacre in 1804, would occupy too great a pertion of our Narrative—we trust that it will be sufficient to say that after a long, severe and bloody struggle, in which it is probable that the lives of not less than 60,000 human beings were sacrificed, the Blacks succeeded in their views in the almost total extermination of the whites, of the once flourishing island of St. Domingo, and in establishing a government of their own, and in placing one of their own color, and one who in the horrid massacres had mostly distinguished himself (Dassalines) as its head. This blood-thirsty monster as chief in command in August 1804, issued his bloody mandate for the final destruction of the few remaining Frenchmen, with their families, who had survived the several horrid massacres. Having for some time laboured in vain to make the people at large the instruments of his san-
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guinary purpose, he at length determined to accomplish it by a military execution. The various towns where any French inhabitants remained, were successively visited by him, and those unhappy people, with certain exceptions, were put to the sword, under his personal orders and inspection, by the troops whom he appointed to this horrible service.
The work of blood was perpetrated most systematically, in exact obedience to the cruel mandate of the chief. Precautions were adopted to prevent any other foreigners from being involved in the fate of the French. In Cape Francois, where the tragedy took place on the night of the 20th of April; lest, from mistake or some other cause, any of the American merchants should be molested, a strong guard was sent in the evening to each of their houses, with orders not to suffer any individual to enter, not even one of the black generals, without the consent of the master; who was apprized of these orders that he might be under no apprehensions for his own safety. These orders were so punctually obeyed, that one of those priviledged individuals, who had given shelter to some Frenchmen, was able to protect them to the last.
The French priests, and surgeons, and others, who during the war had manifested humanity to the negroes, were spared, to the amount of about one tenth part of the whole number. The massacre, in other respects, was indiscriminate. Neither age nor sex was regarded. The personal security enjoyed by the
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Americans, did not prevent them from feeling it a night of horrors. At short intervals they heard the pick-axe thundering at the door of some devoted neighbour, and soon forcing it—piercing shrieks almost immediately ensued, and these were followed by an expressive silence! The next minute the military party was heard proceeding to some other house, to renew the work of death!
There was one act in this tragedy, which stamps the conduct of Dessalines with the character of most flagitious perfidy, as well as cruelty. A proclamation was published in the newspaper, stating, that the vengeance due to the crimes of the French had been sufficiently executed, and inviting all who had escaped the massacre to appear on the parade, and receive tickets of protection, after which, it was declared, they might depend on perfect security. As the massacre had been expected, many hundreds had contrived to secrete themselves; most of whom now came forth from their hiding places, and appeared on the parade. But instead of receiving the promised tickets of protection they were instantly led away to the place of execution and shot. The rivulet which runs through the town of Cape Francois was literally red with blood!
Such were the horrors that attended the insurrection of the Blacks in St. Domingo; and similar scenes of bloodshed and murder might our brethren at the South expect to witness, were the disaffected Slaves of that section of the country but once to gain
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the ascendency. In a “General Nat,” they might then find a wretch not less disposed to shed innocent blood, than was the perfidious Dessalines—all who ever knew him represent him not only cunning and artful, but one from whom, in such an event, little mercy could be expected! The better to effect his real designs, he has practiced great imposition by a profession of much piety, and we believe in some cases with too much success—the blasphemous wretch has been heard to declare himself inferior to Jesus Christ alone!—he with a white man of low character with whom he was formerly very intimate, baptized each other in a mill-pond some years ago. He never belonged to an established church, but has attempted to pass himself off as an “inspired prophet!” He was once the Slave of Capt. Moore. whose widow married Mr. Travis, the first victim of these bloody cut throats!—his wife was a slave, belonging to Mr. Reese, and it was in her possession after Nat’s escape that his papers were found, comprehending something like a map, with figures inscribed on the margin. He has been as yet so fortunate to escape the vigilance of his pursuers, and it is yet unknown to what part of the country he has bent his course—it was at one time strongly suspected that he had secreted himself among the thick brush of Dismal Swamp, but although the whole swamp has been thoroughly scoured even to its darkest and deepest recesses (since the horrid massacre of the 22d) and a great many runaway slaves found therein,
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no discovery could be made of “Gen. Nat,” the principal object of their pursuit. As this extensive Swamp has been for a long time the receptacle of runaway Slaves at the South, and which it is not improbable the Blacks might have supposed in case of a defeat, might afford them as secure a retreat as did the almost inaccessible mountains of St. Domingo to their Black brethren of that island, a concise description thereof may not be displeasing to our readers.
