A CHRONOLOGY OF SLAVE REVOLTS IN THE UNITED STATES
This chronology of slave revolts is taken from Herbert Aptheker’s, Negro Slave Revolts in the United States, 1526-1860, published in 1939. Aptheker placed the number of slave revolts at 250. Melville J. Herskovits, writing in 1941 believed there were no more than 109 slave revolts. This website suggests that the number exceeds Aptheker’s figure because many more revolts in smaller communities were not recorded.
During the years of 1831, 1856 and 1861 there were widespread sporadic uprisings in Virginia, North and South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana and Kentucky. By 1861, with the breakdown of the plantation system, slave actions become more frequent and widespread. These years remain largely unexplored. A comprehensive search of the court records of southern states will shed some new light on this very old controversy an asterisk indicated that two or more revolts were reported within a given year.
More Chronologies
A CHRONOLOGY OF THE ST. CHARLES AND ST. JAMES PARISHERS REVOLT IN 1811
| Dates | Location | Dates | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1526 | South Carolina | 1739 | S.C.,*Md. |
| 1644 | Virginia | 1740 | S.C. |
| 1657 | Conn. | 1741 | NY.,NJ. |
| 1663 | Virginia | 1744 | S.C. |
| 1672 | Virginia | 1747 | S.C. |
| 1680 | Va., NY., Md. | 1755 | Virginia |
| 1690 | Va., Miss. | 1759 | S.C. |
| 1694 | Va. | 1760 | S.C. |
| 1702 | NY. S.C. | 1761 | S.C. |
| 1705 | Md. | 1765 | S.C. |
| 1708 | NY. | 1766 | S.C. |
| 1709 | VA. | 1767 | Virginia. |
| 1710 | VA. | 1768 | Mass. |
| 1711 | S.C. | 1770 | Virginia |
| 1712 | NY. | 1771 | Georgia |
| 1713 | S.C. | 1772 | N.J |
| 1720 | S.C., Mass. | 1774 | GA, Mass. |
| 1721 | S.C. | 1775 | N.C., S.C. |
| 1722 | Va. | 1776 | Ga., N.J. |
| 1723 | VA., Conn., Mass. | 1778 | NY. |
| 1727 | Louisiana | 1779 | Ga., N.J. |
| 1729 | Virginia | 1782 | NY. |
| 1730 | Va., S.C., La. | 1783 | N.C. |
| 1732 | Louisiana | 1784 | Louisiana |
| 1734 | S.C., N.J. | 1787 | S.C. |
| 1738 | S.C., N.J. | 1792 | La., N.C., Va. |
| 1793 | Va., S.C. | 1830 | Miss., Md., N.C., La. |
| 1795 | Va.,* N.C. | ------ | Tenn. |
| 1796 | N.C., S.C., Ga., N.J. | 1831 | Va. |
| ------ | NY | 1833 | Va. |
| 1797 | Va., S.C. | 1835 | Miss., S.C., Ga., La. |
| 1798 | S.C. | ------ | N.C., Tex., Md. Va. |
| 1799 | Virginia | 1836 | Ga., Tenn., Mo., Va. |
| 1800 | Rich. Va. | ||
| 1801 | Virginia | 1837 | La. |
| 1802 | Va.,*N.C. | 1838 | D.C., Ky., Tenn. |
| 1803 | N.C., Pa. | 1839 | La., Tenn., Ga. Ky |
| 1804 | Ga., La., Pa. | Amistad slave revolt* | |
| 1805 | N.C., S.C., Va. Md. | 1840 | La., Ala., D.C., N.C. |
| ------ | La., Ga. | ------ | Va., Md. |
| 1806 | Virginia | 1841 | La., Ga., Miss., Ala. |
| 1807 | Miss. | ------ | Creole slave ship* |
| 1808 | Virginia | 1842 | La., Tenn., Ala. Mo |
| 1809 | Va., La. | 1843 | La. |
| 1810 | Va., Ga., Ky., N.C. | 1845 | Md.., La. |
| ------ | La.* | 1848 | Ky.* |
| 1811 | La.,* Va. | 1849 | Ga. |
| 1812 | Va., La., Ky., Miss. | 1850 | Mo., Va. |
| 1813 | D.C., S.C., Va. | 1851 | Ga., La., N.C., Tex. |
| 1814 | Md., Va.* | 1852 | Va. |
| 1816 | Va., S.C.* | 1853 | La. |
| 1817 | Md. | 1853 | Md.., S.C., Miss. La |
| 1818 | N.C., Va.* | 1855 | Mo., Ga. |
| 1819 | Ga., S.C. | 1856 | Widespread |
| 1820 | Fla.., Va., N.C. | 1857 | Md. |
| 1821 | N.C. | 1858 | Miss., Ark. |
| 1822 | S.C.* | 1859 | Va..,* Mo. |
| 1823 | Va. | 1860 | Widespread |
| 1824 | Va. | 1861 | Widespread, except |
| 1825 | N.C. | N.C., Fla., & Texas | |
| 1826 | Miss | 1862 | Miss.,* La., Va. |
| 1827 | Ga., Ala | 1863 | Fla.., Va.., Ga., Ky. |
| 1829 | Ky., Va., S.C., N.C. | Miss. | |
| Ga., La., N.C., S.C. | 1864 | Va., Miss.,* Ga., Ala. |
