This Day in Henrico History: Sept. 23 – Gabriel is arrested after a failed 1800 rebellion

On Sept. 23, 1800, Gabriel, an enslaved Henrico County blacksmith who had organized a planned uprising against slavery, was arrested after weeks on the run.

Gabriel lived at Brookfield Plantation in Henrico and had been chosen to lead a broad conspiracy intended to seize Richmond, capture Gov. James Monroe and press demands for greater political, social and economic equality.

The uprising had been planned for Aug. 30, but a severe thunderstorm made roads and bridges impassable. Two enslaved men at Meadow Farm, Tom and Pharaoh, informed plantation owner Mosby Sheppard of the plot, and Sheppard alerted Monroe. Gabriel escaped down the Chickahominy River and eventually reached Norfolk before he was captured.

After his Sept. 23 arrest, Gabriel was imprisoned in Richmond. The Henrico Court tried and convicted him and more than 20 other participants. Gabriel was executed Oct. 10, 1800.

Sources: Henrico County historical marker and Gabriel's Rebellion history.