Petition of Levi Waller, December 12, 1831

 

To the Senate and the House of Delegates composing the Legislature of Virginia—

 

                            Your Petitioner Levi Waller of the County of Southampton, prays of the Legislature of Virginia, compensation for the loss of a negro man Alfred belonging to him, who was killed by a party of Dragoons from the County of Greenville engaged in suppressing the late insurrection in the County of Southampton — From the accompanying affidavits, it will appear that the slave for whom compensation is now asked was overtaken on the 22nd August by A. P. Peete and the party with him, who from having no opportunity of securing him, were compelled to hamstring and disable him, and that in this situation he was afterwards found by the Greenville Dragoons and shot by them –

 

                            Your Petitions under this statement of facts deems himself entitled to compensation to the amount of the value of his slave                  At a period of the greater terror and excitement, created by the dreadful atrocities which this wretch and his other misguided associates had committed, he was overtaken by a small party whom the exigency of the moment had hastily called together for mutual protection, and disabled from committing further injury; thus maimed and in such a situation that scarcely a reasonable hope could remain, that he would survive until an opportunity would offer of delivering him up to public justice, he was found by the party from Greensville, unknown to your Petitioner, who he his informed, deemed that his immediate execution would operate as a beneficial example to the other Insurgents—many of whom were still in arms and unsubdued.

 

                            Feeling forbids your Petitioner from dwelling on a subject connected with the most heart rending associations to himself – He is willing to trust his claim to the justice of the Legislature.

 

                                                                                                                                           Levi Waller

 

 

[other side of petition]

                  The petition of

                  Levi Waller, to the

                  Genl Assembly of

                          Virginia

 

                  Dec. 12th 1831

                  refd to select

                         Comee

     Jany 3.  Rejected