John Ingram (revolutionary)


John Ingram was a settler of the 17th century British colony of Jamestown, and became a member of Nathaniel Bacon's Rebellion. He took the lead of the rebellion after Sir Nathaniel Bacon died from dysentery. The members of the rebellion consisted of 300-500 mostly indentured servants, but included a number of African slaves. They had been upset at the treaty of 1646, which ended the wars between the British and the Powhatan tribes. The rebellion occurred throughout 1676, and resulted in Bacon's forces burning much of Jamestown to the ground.

Early life

John Ingram Jr. was born sometime before 1644 in Northumberland County, Virginia. His father was John Ingram Sir. and his mother, Jane Ingram. His siblings were Elizabeth Ingram, Thomas Ingram, and Jane Ingram.

Bacon's Rebellion

Background

The first Anglo-Powhatan War occurred from 1610 to 1614, when the English soldiers killed dozens of the Powhatan Native Americans. In 1622, the second Anglo-Powhatan was sparked when the Powhatan went inside Jamestown and suddenly murdered 347 civilians, roughly 30% of Jamestown's population at the time. In 1644, the Powhatan attacked Jamestown in the same style as the 1622 attack. They murdered 400 civilians, about 10% of Jamestown's population at the time, which started the third Anglo-Powhatan war.
In 1646, Governor William Berkeley signed a peace treaty with the Powhatan. Indentured servants had been promised that after years of hard work, they would get 100 acres of land. John Ingram himself was an indentured servant. However, this land would be Powhatan territory. The Peace Treaty of 1646 ended these promises towards the indentured servants in order to avoid conflicts with the Powhatan, whose lands they would have occupied.

Bacon's Rebellion

In 1676, John Ingram joined 300–500 men under the leadership of Sir Nathaniel Bacon in a rebellion against the local government. In "The Declaration of the People," Bacon accused Governor Berkeley of being nepotistic and demanded a military commission to fight Native tribes. Despite a peace treaty, the rebels attacked Native American villages.
On September 19, members of the rebellion burned Jamestown to the ground, but Governor Berkeley was able to flee. Bacon caught dysentery and died from it on October 26, 1676. As second in command, John Ingram took over leadership of the rebellion, but it soon collapsed, as British reinforcements arrived to Jamestown and restored order.

Aftermath

Berkeley returned to Jamestown soon after. He ordered the hanging of 23 leading members of the rebellion. It is not known when Ingram died, but most likely, he was one of the men who was hanged.