On Nov. 23, 1733, a group of captive Africans used weapons stashed away in woodpiles to steal six months of freedom. On Friday, their revolt will be remembered with a commemorative hike to Fortsberg in Coral Bay, the site where the revolt was first sparked.

Now in its 26th year, the event will include dramatic historical presentations, drumming, ecological education, ancestral tributes and Afrocentric cultural discussion. The event begins with a ceremony at Cruz Bay offering libations to participants' ancestors, followed by visits to an old steam mill at Estate Adrian and a restored sugar mill at Cathrineberg and a steep, but measured, hike to Fortsberg.

Tensions were mounting as conditions were deteriorating in the Danish West Indies of the 1730s. Illness was rampant, but food and water were scarce, and a harsh code of punishment was in place for slave disobedience. In 1733, a plague of locusts, a drought and a fierce hurricane pushed the captives over the edge. And, decades before the Hatian or American revolutions, they made a bold move for independence, hoping to create a free black nation.

The revolt's leaders, the Akan people of present-day Ghana, stashed weapons in loads of firewood and overtook the Danish fort at Fortsberg. The Akan were known for their military prowess and over the coming weeks took control of all of St. John, with the exception of Durloo's Plantation. They left most of the island's crops and existing structures intact, intending to use available infrastructure to establish their own nation.

"They came up with a plan not just to do away with slavery, but to establish their own nation," Sele Adeyemi, one of the event's organizers, said. "They established a system of government, established their own economic system and elected leaders."

It took the combined efforts of Danish, British and French forces, along with the Free Negro Corps, until May 1734 to quell the rebellion.

In 1999, the V.I. Legislature passed a bill commemorating Nov. 23 as Virgin Islands Freedom Fighters Day. The annual commemorative St. John hike is held by the St. John African Slave Revolution Committee and the Pan-African Support group.

"It's living history outdoors," Adeyemi said of the event.

The tour group will depart to Cruz Bay on the Red Hook Ferry at 9 a.m. Cost is $27 for adults, $22 for children under 12 and includes the price of the ferry and land transportation. Cost for St. John residents is $15 per person.

Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing and shoes and to bring a light lunch and water.

For information, call 774-1318 or 693-1348.

- Contact reporter Constance Cooper at 774-8772 ext. 364 or e-mail ccooper@dailynews.vi.