6. German Coast Uprising 1811
German pioneers settled the German Coast in the early 18th century, located north of New Orleans and east of the Mississippi River. The region was ethnically diverse, had a large free black population, and contained numerous sugar plantations. The area became a part of the United States in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase, yet most residents were French speakers. The enslaved population far outnumbered the white population. Commodities traveled along waterways, which were prevalent along the German Coast. Despite the use of violence and terror, slaves created intricate networks or communication between plantations. In late 1810, the slave communication network was abuzz with talk of insurrection.
On January 8, 1811, 15 slaves arrived at the Andry plantation located 30 miles upriver of New Orleans. With “the stroke of an axe” they wounded Manuel Andry and killed his son gilbert. The slaves in revolt then traveled to the next-door plantation of Jacques and Georges Deslondes. A field slave, Charles Deslondes, came from that plantation as testimony identified him as a “principal chief” of the revolt. The slaves in revolt marched to a drum going from plantation to plantation along the German Coast harming planters, their families, and homes. After marching from 14 to 22 miles, the slaves reached Cannes-Brulees, a plantation about 15 miles north of New Orleans. Throughout their march, they passed larger and larger sugar plantations and more and more slaves joined in the revolt.
Witnesses estimated that anywhere between 200 and 500 slaves participated in the largest slave revolt in United States history. Planters fled to New Orleans and the other side of the Mississippi River. Residents of New Orleans heard about the insurrection the next morning and began raising a volunteer army to fight against the slaves. A battle took place around 9 am on January 10th where 40 to 45 slaves were killed with the remaining 200 to 500 escaping into the woods. Charles Deslondes, the believed leader of the insurgency, was captured on January 11th. Instead of being tried for his crimes his hands were chopped off, each thigh was shot at until the bone broke, and then he was placed on “a bundle of straw and roasted” before he died.
Parish officials held three tribunals for the slaves captured after the suppression of the insurrection. At one tribunal, 18 slaves were executed by firing squad and their heads placed on pikes. One observer stated that the heads decorated the levee, “all the way up the coast” looking like “crows sitting on long poles.” Support of the insurrection was not universal among the slave community. Some rebellious slaves escaped into the woods and avoided punishment, while others were simply returned to their masters to be punished as their owners saw fit. Most of the known participants were men from 20 to 30 years old and performed the most strenuous labor required on a sugar plantation. The Orleans Territory government granted $300 compensation to owners for any executed slave. Planters along the German Coast accepted a permanent US military presence to ensure their protection from the enslaved majority. No historical markers identify the largest slave revolt in American history.