Who was Nat Turner ?
general information
Nathanial "Nat" Turner was a black American slave who led the only effective slave rebellion in U.S. history. His terror-filled action set off a new wave of discriminatory legislation prohibiting the education, movement, and assembly of slaves.
early life
The picture above shows Turner planning the uprising with his co-conspirators.
Nat Turner was born on October 2,1800 in Southampton County, Virginia. According to legend, his mother tried to kill him as soon as he was born to protect him from a life in slavery. Turner was named "Nat" by Benjamin Turner, the man who held his mother and him as slaves. When Benjamin died in 1810, Nat was inherited as property by Benjamin's son Samuel. Turner grew up hearing stories about his father who allegedly escaped slavery when Turner was a child. These stories later fueled Turner's later rebellion.
Turner spent his entire life in the plantation system, in an environment where slaves comprised the majority of the population. He was said to have "natural intelligence and quickness of apprehension, surpassed by few," as displayed by his precocious reading and writing abilities. In addition to being unusually well-read for his time, Turner was also incredibly religious. He was often seen fasting, praying, or immersed in reading the stories of the Bible.
Turner's religious fervor eventually caused him to have frequent visions, which he interpreted as messages from God. According to Turner, his fundamental knowledge of the alphabet had come to him in a vision. The major first vision Turner interpreted and acted on was the vision he saw when he was 22. This monumental vision led Turner to flee from his owner's house. He returned a month later, after having what he called a "spiritual revelation". Following this revelation, Turner began to conduct services, preaching the Bible to slaves, earning himself the epithet "The Prophet". Turner even managed to gather white followers such as Etheldred T. Brantley, who Turner convinced to "cease...his wickedness".
In the 1820s, Turner became a slave of Thomas Moore and was separated from his mother, wife, and children. On Moore's plantation, Turner focused on his religious development and started planning his rebellion.
The picture above shows Turner's rebellion.
planning the rebellion
In early 1828, Turner was convinced that he "was ordained for some great purpose in the hands of the Almighty." While working in his owner's fields on May 12, Turner said later that he "heard a loud noise in the heavens, and the Spirit instantly appeared to me and said the Serpent was loosened, and Christ had laid down the yoke he had borne for the sins of men, and that I should take it on and fight against the Serpent, for the time was fast approaching when the first should be last and the last should be first."
The vision made Turner believe he was participating in the "confrontation between God's Kingdom and the anti-Kingdom that characterized his social-historical context." He perceived himself to be the one who would slay his enemies with their own weapons. He saw himself as an almost Moses-like figure, delivering his fellow slaves much like Moses did the Israelites from Egypt. Turner told his fellow slaves, Henry, Hark, Nelson, and Sam, of his newly discovered purpose.
On February 12, 1831, Nat Turner witnessed a solar eclipse in Virginia. Turner saw the eclipse as a black man's hand reaching over the sun and began conspiring a rebellion on July 4. Turner later postponed it because of illness and used the delay for additional planning with his conspirators. On August 7 there was another solar eclipse. Turner interpreted the eclipse as the final signal, and about a week later, on August 21, he began the uprising he had planned for months.
the rebellion
Please refer to the page titled "Turner's Rebellion" to learn about this part of Nat Turner's life.
consequences of the rebellion
The rebellion was suppressed in two days. After the rebellion, Turner was able to hide for 6 weeks, evading capture for as long as he could. He hid in the woods until he was discovered on October 30. He was discovered by the farmer Benjamin Phipps, who found him hiding in a hole covered with fence rails. While awaiting trial, Turner confessed his involvement in the rebellion to the attorney Thomas Ruffin Gray, who compiled Turner's confession. After the insurrection, 45 slaves, including Turner, and five free blacks were tried. Of the 45 slaves tried, 15 were acquitted. Of the 30 convicted, 18 were hanged while 12 were sold out of state. Of the five free blacks tried for participation in the insurrection, one was hanged while the others were acquitted. On November 5, 1831, Turner was tried for "conspiring to rebel and making insurrection", convicted, and sentenced to death by hanging. Turner was executed on November 11 in Jerusalem, Virginia. His body was flayed and beheaded as an example and threat to frighten other potential rebels. Turner received no formal burial and his remains were buried in an unmarked grave.
Soon after Turner's execution, Thomas Ruffin Gray published The Confessions of Nat Turner. His book was derived from research Gray did and from jailhouse conversations with Turner before trial. This work is considered the primary historical document regarding Nat Turner.
The picture above shows a publication of Turner's confessions to the attorney Gray. It is the closest primary account we have regarding his religious convictions. To learn more about his religious values, please see "Religion and Turner".
