The Stono Rebellion (1739)
Hollywood, Charleston County, South Carolina
Marker Inscription
The Stono Rebellion (1739) The Stono Rebellion, the largest slave insurrection in British North America, began nearby on September 9, 1739. About 20 Africans raided a store near Wallace Creek, a branch of the Stono River. Taking guns and other weapons, they killed two shopkeepers. The rebels marched south toward promised freedom in Spanish Florida, waving flags, beating drums, and shouting "Liberty!" The rebels were joined by 40 to 60 more during their 15-mile march. They killed at least 20 whites, but spared others. The rebellion ended late that afternoon, when the militia caught the rebels, killing at least 34 of them. Most who escaped were captured and executed; any forced to join the rebels were released. The S. C. assembly soon enacted a harsh slave code, in force until 1865.
Erected by Sea Island Farmers Cooperative
The Story
On September 9, 1739, about twenty enslaved Africans gathered near the Stono River, seized weapons from a store, and marched south toward the promise of freedom in Spanish Florida, beating drums and calling out for liberty. Their ranks swelled to dozens as they moved, and in the fighting that followed roughly twenty white colonists and many more of the rebels were killed before the militia crushed the uprising. It was the largest slave insurrection in British North America.
Why it matters
The rebellion terrified colonial South Carolina into a brutally restrictive slave code and stands as a foundational act of resistance in the long history of the fight against American slavery.
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Related events
- · Stono Rebellion, September 9, 1739
Themes & tags
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