Fearing a general insurrection of the slaves, supposedly planned for Christmas Eve 1808, Westmoreland County whites armed themselves and began systematically searching slave cabins on various plantations. Instructions from the officers were to "put to death such as resisted." During the search, a slave named Joe, belonging to the estate of the late William Hutt, for which the petitioner, Samuel Templeman, is the executor, was shot and died of his wounds the next day. Templeman explains that Joe, a "large and likely" young man, whom he expected to sell to pay for the estate debts, had been a runaway before; on the night of the search, he was found in his wife's cabin and when the patrol came to the door "he was alarmed and attempted to escape by flight;" when commanded to stop, he continued and was fired at. Templeman seeks compensation.
Result: Rejected.
Or you may view all people.
Repository: Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
