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.On the advice of Monroe, however,the court began to deal less harshly with those who had enlisted in the plotbut had done no recruiting or planning.On the same day that Graham wascondemned, the court also pronounced Thomas Burton s Abraham guiltyas charged.But  for reasons appearing to the Court they recommend[ed]Abraham to the Executive as a proper Object for mercy, and the governoragreed.Later that afternoon Jim Allen and Moses were both acquitted de-spite solid cases against them and the testimony of Ben Woolfolk.51On the last day of the month the court still faced a full docket, but the willof Jefferson had been made clear, for the desire to shed more blood beganto wane.Jacob and Dick, slaves of Thomas Woodfin and Jesse Smith, ap-peared in turn before the bar.Both were found guilty of conspiring to be-come free men and sentenced to death, but the court deemed them, likeAbraham,  fit Object[s] for mercy. The governor pardoned both on Octo-ber 2, well before their scheduled execution on October 10.The last slave toappear was Solomon,  the property of the Estate of Joseph Lewis. He toowas found guilty and sentenced to hang.But all five justices who heard hiscase  respectfully recommend[ed] that Solomon be pardoned.Again Mon-roe assented.52For the justices it had been a busy month, and now it was nearly over.Yetone trial more, at least, remained.The  Villon Gabriel had been capturedin Norfolk on Tuesday, September 23, and had been returned  in irons tothe capital city.5394 Richmond 180077777A Companion PictureAs Norfolk authorities took Gabriel to Richmond, the trials of his followerscontinued in the special courts of oyer and terminer in a number of coun-ties.Slaves were tried in the county of their arrest, not in that of theirmaster s residence; a number of those already tried in the Henrico tribu-nal, including young Ben Woolfolk, belonged to Caroline or Hanoverslaveholders.As the far-flung conspiracy collapsed, rebels across the statewere brought before the dock in several different towns and hamlets.Strangely enough, some of the trials were separated from Henrico onlyby arbitrary lines of jurisdiction.Richmond City County had been carvedout of Henrico, but the city still conducted its legal business in the old build-ing on Twenty-second Street (which both municipalities shared with theVirginia s Supreme Court of Appeals).In normal times the state s justicewas a sleepy enough affair, and the multiple use of the courthouse posedfew problems.But in the hectic days of September, the Richmond justiceswaited impatiently for the Henrico magistrates to pause in their deliberations.On Thursday, September 25, such a break occurred.The Richmond magis-trates, led by Mayor James McClurg, bustled into the temporarily empty cham-ber and shouted for King to be brought before them.Despite overwhelmingevidence against him both Ben Woolfolk, who had first recruited him, andMary Martin, the shopkeeper who had heard King talk of fighting on after therebellion collapsed, testified for the prosecution his owner, Philip A.Nicho-las, wished to retain the venerable rebel.Nicholas testified in King s behalfand even hired an expensive lawyer to conduct his defense.The justices, how-ever, remained unimpressed and sentenced King to die with the other rebelson October 3.Still Nicholas persisted.His friend Larkin Stanard wrote in King sbehalf to the governor, who was by now ready to embrace any argument thatwould spare a minor conspirator. I always thought him to be much attach d tohis master, Larkin insisted,  Tho subject to drink.[A]nd when in a State ofIntoxication would say things I do not believe he thought of when sober. Thatwas good enough for Monroe, who decided to split the difference.King got hispardon but not his freedom.Until the governor could decideupon the fate of the likes of such men, he ordered the slave returned to hiscell.1 Brutus alias Julius, the property of the classically inclined but indeci-sive William Anderson of Caroline, was the next man to be brought beforethe bar.Brutus insisted  he was in no wise guilty, and either the evidenceagainst him was weak or James Rind performed better than Nicholas shigher-priced talent, because the court found in his favor.Ralph, the prop-erty of Elizabeth Page, was the last slave to be tried by the Richmond jus-tices.He too was found not guilty and  discharged. 2To the west, a court of oyer and terminer was sitting in Louisa County.Despite the boasts of Sam Byrd, who had passed through on his way toAlbemarle, few in the county had joined in the business, but among thosewho had was Charles Smith s Ben.Now Ben, charged with  Feloniously anddeliberately Conspiring to make Rebellion, and insurrection, &c againstthe peace & Dignity of the Commonwealth, stood and faced his tormen-tors.Ben knew he was likely to swing [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]