Plans for an insurrection in 1812 in Henry County can be found in Calendar
of Virginia State Papers, vol. 10, pp. 120-21.  More information can be
found in my book "The Hairstons" on page 48.  A slave in Henry County
killed a white man, an act which was supposed to trigger a large-scale
revolt there.  (The coroner's report on this killing can be found in the
County papers in the archives.) The planners apparently lost their nerve
after the murder.  The killer was caught and executed; his confession
included an account of the conspiracy.  It is a fascinating account.  The
slaves in Henry County had heard of the great Richmond theater fire of
1812, in which many whites died, and they took it as a sign of divine
anger against the whites.  They had also heard of the war rumors and were
looking forward to an invasion by the British, whom the slaves regarded as
liberators, clearly recalling the events of the Revolution.

Henry Wiencek

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