Killing of Jesse Kirby and John Kirby
Jesse Kirby and John Kirby (d. April 23, 1834) were two men from the U.S. state of Georgia who were killed by enslaved people they were trafficking from Maryland to points south. The killing of the Kirbys is an example of enslaved captives of the interstate slave trade conspiring "to kill their masters and avoid being taken out of the Upper South."[1]
Murders and prosecution[edit]
The Kirbys had been to the slave markets of Baltimore (one enslaved person was purchased at Chestertown) and were traveling with a group of at least nine slaves through Virginia.[2][3] The Kirbys were killed at an overnight campsite near Bill's Tavern,[1] around "Prince Edward C. House," near Farmville, Prince Edward County, Virginia, by between two to four enslaved men.[3] Such campsites were apparently typical to the transportation of slaves by overland coffle, as a letter from Georgia written in 1833 described "During this and other days I have passed by many negro traders, who were crossing to Alabama. These negro traders, in order to save expense, usually carry their own provisions, and encamp out at night. Passing many of these encampments early in the morning, when they were just pitching tents, I have observed groups of negroes hand-cuffed, probably to prevent them from running away. The driver told us, that a thousand negroes had gone on his road to Alabama, the present spring."[4]
News stories about the killings that were headlined "Horrid Outrage" reported, "Their throats were cut, and the head of one cleft open with an ax."[3][5] Am enslaved woman named Rachel later described how "their heads were broken, faces bloody, brains knocked out."[1] Governor of Virginia Littleton Waller Tazewell offered a US$200 (equivalent to $Error when using {{Inflation}}: |index=US (parameter 1) not a recognized index. in 2018) reward for the men believed responsible: George and Littleton.[6] George had reportedly been "in Philadelphia several years a runaway," was "larger than common negroes," was advanced in years, black, bearded, and was wearing a white cloth coat.[6] Littleton was described as a "dark mulatto" wearing a "green round-about coat and hat."[6] Also with group was Moses, Horace, George the younger, Julia Ann and her two-year-old child, and "Matilda, a bright mulatto girl, about 10 years old."[6] The culprits were believed to absconded with the Kirbys' pistol, cash, and clothing.[6]
According to the Farmville Journal, by way of the North Carolina Star, in mid-May 1834, seven of the group of eight were recaptured together, in possession of US$582 (equivalent to $Error when using {{Inflation}}: |index=US (parameter 1) not a recognized index. in 2018) that had been carried by the Kirbys.[3] An eighth member of the group had recaptured separately.[3] Per the Farmville Journal, "Four of them have confessed their guilt."[3] According to newspaper, the killings were said to have occurred an hour before daybreak.[3] The records of the subsequent court cases Commonwealth of Virginia vs. Littleton and Commonwealth of Virginia vs. George reported that the murders happened in the evening, after dinner; the bodies were discovered when "the scream of a young slave boy jolted everyone awake."[1]
Slaves working "collectively" to do violence to "cruel owners" was a comparative "rarity" in the history of antebellum violence by the enslaved in Virginia, but "Having left Maryland and their homes behind, [George, Little and their allies] likely believed that violence afforded them the last possible opportunity to escape whatever fate awaited them in Georgia. Georgia offered fewer opportunities for escape than Maryland. The movement south threw the slaves lives into flux."[1]
From statehood until 1856, it was illegal to import slaves into Georgia "except for personal use."[7]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Bouton, Christopher H. (2016). Against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth: physical confrontations between slaves and whites in antebellum Virginia, 1801-1860 (Thesis). University of Delaware. ProQuest 10156550. pages viii, 62–64
- ↑ "Murder of Negro Traders". The Liberator. 1834-05-10. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "Horrid Outrage". The North-Carolina Star. 1834-05-15. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
- ↑ "Effects of slavery". The Liberator. 1833-09-07. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
- ↑ "Horrid Outrage". The Franklin Repository (Weekly). 1834-05-20. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "By the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, A PROCLAMATION". Richmond Enquirer. 1834-05-16. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
- ↑ "Slave Laws of Georgia, 1755–1860" (PDF). georgiaarchives.org. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
Further reading[edit]
- Commonwealth of Virginia vs. Littleton and Commonwealth of Virginia vs. George in Littleton W. Tazewell Executive Papers, 1834-1836. Accession 42998. Box 1, Folder 3. State Records Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
External links[edit]
- "AL-family". Archived from the original on 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
Jesse KIRBY, born ca 1773 prob. in VA, 3 May 1834 (Jesse and his nephew, John Lawson KIRBY, were killed in Prince Edward Co., VA, by slaves they were taking back to Georgia)
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