The Stono Rebellion was one of the largest slave revolts in United States colonial history. This significant event took place near the Stono River in South Carolina in early September 1739, led by a group of enslaved Africans who sought to gain their freedom through an armed rebellion. The rebellion lasted several days but was eventually put down by white militia and resulted in the deaths of around 20 white colonists and 40 enslaved Africans. At the time, many colonists perceived the Stono Rebellion as a criminal act. Many white settlers were startled by the event, believing it signified a threat to their power and control. The event was a clear example of the increasing racial tensions at the time. The revolt also demonstrated a lack of centralized …show more content…
Alexander Hewatt, the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Charleston details how the fear and hysteria affected church goers following the revolt. Hewatt begins, “by a law of the province all planters were obliged to carry their arms to church, which at this critical juncture proved a very useful and necessary regulation. The women were left in the church trembling with fear, while the militia, under the command of Bee, marched in quest of the negroes, who by this time had become formidable from the number that joined them.” The pastor highlights the measures taken by the slaveholding class to protect their power and order in response to the rebellion. The pastor refers back to the law from the Negro Act requiring planters to carry their arms to church, illustrating the hysteria from the effects of the rebellion and demonstrating how everyone viewed the Africans as a significant threat, forcing them to take measures to suppress the rebellion and prevent similar uprisings from taking place in the future. In addition, the Pastor further adds “All Carolina was struck with terror and consternation by this insurrection, in which about twenty persons were murdered before it was quelled” (Hewatt, 1776.) Hewatt continues to detail the distress and fear felt within the church following the revolt and adds the number of colonizers killed from the event to further explain what brought about the widespread fear and