Harry Stowe oversaw the sims on Charles Gillen's plantation in Virginia. His contempt for Gillen's house-slave Jeremiah was barely concealed. When Jeremiah was sent to the fields, Stowe enjoyed making his differently-hued fellow human miserable. Stowe's poor treatment played a part in Jeremiah's decision to run away. Stowe was present at Jeremiah's trial in Portsmouth. He was upbraided by Judge Kemble for his racist outburst.