Benjamin J. Harris Whips and Burns Enslaved Teenage Girl to Death
Benjamin J. Harris was a wealthy tobacconist in Richmond, Virginia, and he was known for his cruel treatment of enslaved people, according to William Poe, a former slaveholder in Virginia whose grueling testimony of horrendous acts against enslaved people was captured in the book “American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses.” One of the most disturbing stories involves an enslaved girl who was only 15 years old and a man who was forced to go to extreme lengths to please Harris. Unfortunately, the treatment of the teenage girl was not unusual for enslaved people of the time. Harris whipped the girl while his wife was burning her body with a hot smoothing iron. Severe burns covered the girl’s body and those already incredibly painful whippings became even more unbearable. As the burns resulted in raw, scorched flesh, Harris kept whipping the severely burned girl until she died.
Benjamin J. Harris Forces Enslaved Man to Cut Off His Own Hand Before Whipping Him
The same tobacconist who whipped the young girl to death and scorched her skin began whipping another enslaved person shortly afterwards. This time, Harris seemed to be more interested in toying with the enslaved man. In another act of cringe-worthy cruelty, Harris gave this man an option. In order to please the slave owner, the enslaved man was ordered to cut off his own hand. The enslaved man did so but was still subjected to a severe whipping that testimonies claim left him in a pool of his own blood.
