Richmond Constitutional Whig,

September 6, 1831

To The Editors of the Whig

            Post Office, Jerusalem, Va.

            Saturday, 3d September 12 o’clock.

Sir: Agreeably to my promise, I give you the news of the day; since your departure with that worthy and respectable band of brothers, the Richmond Cavalry, nothing new has yet occurred to produce unpleasant sensations; families are returning home, and opening their doors to the weary soldier as he passes, with the grateful acknowledgement for the promptness which the same came to our relief. Our Supreme Court was to have commenced on the first of the month, the Judge arrived in due time, and gave way in a few moments to our county authorities. We are progressing but slowly, owing to the innumerable quantity of witnesses to be brought from different parts of the county. So far as we have gone the testimony has been strong and conclusive as respects conspirators. No good testimony as yet to induce a belief that the conspiracy was a general one. I shall go on to detail circumstances as they occur hourly, waiting until tomorrow, up the closing of the mail, and then will conclude with a postscript.—It is just reported that Billy Artis, a [p. 73] free man and one of the principals, has killed himself. No doubt of his being killed, but not by his own hands; further reports that Artis is certainly dead.

Six o’clock P.M.—We have been rather more expeditious today; the court has just adjourned until Monday.—Condemned 14 of 15.

P.S.—Sunday evening, 3 o’clock—Nothing more today. We commence hanging tomorrow.

                                                                        Your friend,

                                                                                    T. Trezevant, P.M. Jersalem

From Henry Irving Tragle, The Southampton Slave Revolt of 1831: A Compilation of Source Material (Amherst, MA: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1971), pp. 72-73.