Gabriel's Uprising
Historical highway marker SA-66 · Richmond City
Gabriel, an enslaved blacksmith from Henrico County, attempted to lead a mass uprising against slavery on 30 Aug. 1800. A fierce rainstorm and disclosure of the plot by two enslaved men foiled plans to attack Richmond and capture Gov. James Monroe. Arrested and tried, Gabriel was hanged on 10 Oct. alongside two associates, Isaac and Laddis, at Richmond’s “usual place” for executions, likely near present-day S. First St. and the Downtown Expressway. His probable burial place was near there on Cary St. at the Richmond Baptist Church burying ground, no longer visible. Shockoe Bottom, where the city’s gallows later stood, was long thought to be the site of Gabriel’s execution and burial.
Department of Historic Resources, 2025