German Coast Uprising (1811)

Tue Jan 08, 1811

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On this day in 1811, the largest slave revolt in U.S. history began near modern day LaPlace, Louisiana when ~100 enslaved men began marching towards New Orleans, collecting more people and destroying slaveowners’ property as they went.

On the first day, 64-125 enslaved men marched from sugar plantations in and near present-day LaPlace on the German Coast toward the city of New Orleans, collecting more men as they traveled. During their two-day, twenty-mile march, the men burned five plantation houses (three completely), several sugarhouses, and crops, armed with little more than hand tools.

The revolt ended when white planters, aided by Native American trackers, captured and executed Charles Deslondes (suspected leader of the revolt). In the following days, nearly one hundred enslaved people were either sentenced to death in unfair trials or summary executions, while only two white people were killed during the uprising.