Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1832-03-26

cation to the Governor, that many families in the
counties of South Hampton and Grecnsville had
He'd into Brunsw ick--that many others had assem-
eied III hts camp at Observation-Disclosures and
destitutc the poorer ones sustained on the public
ratons and all in great distress. lie states farther
that there was no reason to believe that any ycne
raj conspiracy had been formed and that in his OPT
mon, 20 resolutc men could at any time have mn,
down Nat Turner and his band.
Extract Of letter from Gen. Broduar. 5o,.J
august 81, 1881.
| at is much to be regretted that in the pcpc,,,
CONSERVATION which prevailed the extent of tho
force which had rcbcllcd should, so Ions have CON
tinucd unknown and exaggerated and the militia of
| the ncighborhood unen,bodcd. For there existed
aPprchend no point of time in which 30 resolutc
men, could not most easily had they confronted
them, suppressed this Instruction
| "Ihc CONSERVATION un fortunately was not conf
ned to the county where the danger existed but OK
| tended over all Immediately above it. Not a white
family in many ncighborhoods remained ut home
many went to other counties and the rest assem-
Ded ut different points in considerable numbers for
mutual protection. In numerous instances females
with their children, fled in the night with but one
imperfect dress and no provisions I found every
mover at hhck s-ford literally filed with women and
| chIldren-with no way to lodge but i'm bc,ps IN
'nc hoors-without an article Of food or the means
vi procuring or cooking provisions. Other on
sagemehts OF primary necessity prevented any at
tempt to ascertain their numbers. The CHARITY o(
'he lew residents of the village would have been
|
seemed Wiling to encounter starvation itself rather
IMAM return home unprotected and while their
husbands and sons were in the field"
"crerdt extracts from a narratire of The insu,,cc
! uon Jmrn'shed the Gorernor and making mart of
me roi: lad before the House.
| "Ihc murdcrcrs commenced thc;r opcr,,;ors =,
Joseph Traviss Monday Aug 22d"-proccedcd to
| .. FRANCESCA negro boy 1S years old here ion
81, uu thenn.wcnt to Mrs. Turncrs--murdcred Mrs
| |. anu Mrs Newsom, vsiter, in their chambers
he re- inif, Il
whose family they murdered, they were Joined Inv
anothcr-procccdcd thence to Traion Doyle,s-
| Killed and mangled him, &c.-at Portcr's they
were joined by several slavcs--at Natl. Francis
they recruited several others. Near Mr. Jas Park
ers these wrctchcs were ovcrtaken by small
party OF gentlemen who pursued them-sthey were
shot at and little engagement cnsucd-but the
gentlemen were compelled to give ground (bcing
few IN numbcr) until reinforced when the ncgrocs
IN turn were compelled TO retreat" ''The necro>s
were so squandered in this engagement and retreat
ana so notify pursued, that their murdcrous career
| was arrested. There was no other engagement on
Monday On Tuesday the pursuit was renewed
several were killed and on Wednesday as their m
mic increased several others were taken without
Offering resistance"
| w. y. Goode and f. b. Hicks on the mart Of n
| "Committcc of Safety" in the county of Mecklen
burg address letter to the Governor from which
the following extracts:
| "Ihese tidings (thc account of the s. Uonpton
insurrcction) found us destitute of arms on which
we can rcly--and when take into consideration
that the population of this county is made I'M of
about IL thousand blacks to about s thousand
whites; and more especially when we reflect that
a large portion of the blacks are situated ON the
river Roanoke sufficiently contiguous to assemble
i'll bodies OF or 500 in few hours, the conclu.
sion is forced upon us, trust il will be OH your
Excellcncy that our situation is critical if not
perilous."
| properly armed have entire confidence in
our ability to defend ourselves well as to give
aid to other places which may be threatened"
! "Up to this time aug 49, there has been no in
surrectionary movement i'll this county, but we can.
not expect forbearancc if the insurgents below us
are not speedily quellcd. We consider that less
time will be lost by your Exccency's pressing or
otherwise procuring wagons to transport the arms
hther."
Extracts from letter addressed to Gen. Jackson
/ by a Committee Of the Citizens of SOUTHAMPTON
on august 29th, 1881.
/ "Most OF the havoc has been confined to a limit.
ed section of our country but so inhuman has been
the butchery, SO indiscriminatc the carnage, that
the tomahawls aud scalping knife have now no ter.
rors: Along the road travelled by our rebeous
blacks, comprising distance of something like
20 miles, no white soul now lives to tell how fiend
IKE was their purpose. In the bosom of almost
every family this enemy still cxists.-Our homes
as well those the of havoc as Others
more remote have oil been deserted and our fam
lies gathered together and guarded at public places
in the county;" and ''s farther the excitemen,
Is 30 great, &C. &C, tnat were the Justices to
nounce slave innocent we fear a mob would be
the consequence" This Committee therefore ask
for Detachment of the U. States troops as 9
Guard This application RENTED to the Presi
dent was enclosed to the Governor, who very pro
perly repels the idea that the State could not dc
fend its citizens.
f 10Th Sept 1881, Judge Semple thus writes tc
the Governor, nearly month after the insurrec
tom
1.-The people here in state Of great excite
mcnt aud the Town is one entire camp"
In an official Despatch from General Eppes a
Jerusalem of date the 9th Aug. IS3l-we have
the following: Speaking of the apprehensions o
the negroes themselves he says-"Couplcd witt
the violence done upon some in this neigh
borhood who have been shot at sight, ever
without knowing who they were, it does no
seem to me remarkable that they should be under
apprehensons." Speaking farther of a case in a
neighboring county in which ga negro had beer
examined, discharged and afterwards shot down ,
he states, 81 put an end to this inhuman butcher
in fro days dispersed the troops from where
they were assembled, the citizens retired and
have not heard Of act Of violence since excep
upon the rebels in arms who refused to surren
der"
But, Mr.. Speaker, forboar further reference Il
this volume which, is literally, volume of terror
Huge as it is, it is filled with communications O
distress or alarm, with requests for from the
citizens and officers of some 80 counties o
the State.
From these and like extracts which might easily
be multiplied it appears, generally, sir that it
extent, there never bloodicr more shock
r ing massacre than that of South Hampton
besides the 81 or 60 white persons who were muir
dcred and the 40 odd insurgents who were shot il
arms or executed afterwards, there were other.
chow many is not known who shot priyy
(and by whom believe is not known without nc
cusatIon or trial;-hat many died in the field refu
sing to surrender; that detachment only of these
wrctches attacked DIR. BIounrs house and were