The New Orleans Times Picayune has an article about the 1811 Louisiana slave revolt, which was the largest in US History.
As mentioned in the article:
More than a century before the first modern-day civil rights march, there was Charles Deslondes and his make-do army of more than 200 enslaved men battling with hoes, axes and cane knives for that most basic human right: freedom.
They spoke different languages, came from various parts of the United States, Africa and Haiti, and lived miles apart on plantations along the German Coast of Louisiana. Yet after years of planning at clandestine meetings under the constant threat of immediate death, they staged a revolt on Jan. 8, 1811, that historians say is the largest uprising of enslaved people in this country.
It’s interesting that this story is not as prominent as, for example, the Denmark Vesey incident – which was a conspiracy, not even an actual revolt. It’s funny how our historical memory works.
Jubilo! The Emancipation Century 