The Military Organization of Bacon’s Rebels
Two reenactors of Bacon’s Rebellion. Who were Bacon’s Rebels? The men who took up arms and swore oaths to obey and fight for Nathaniel Bacon in 1676 came from all ranks of Virginia society, but chiefly from among its lower ranks. They were uneasy men, who had friends and family attacked by hostile Indians, or who experienced their brutality firsthand. They were sick of paying taxes to support a government that could not protect them from their enemies, and then prevented them from protecting themselves. They chafed at a political system that seemed only to benefit the wealthiest planters. While only two members of the House of Burgesses openly supported Bacon, thousands of small planters, farmers, artisans, traders, servants, and slaves flocked to his banner. Not only white Virginians supported Bacon, but free and enslaved blacks as well. There were even a handful of Indians who joined the rebels, in spite of Bacon’s harsh stance against all Indians. The planter elites of Vi...
