Nat Turner (October 2, 1800 – November 11, 1831) was an enslaved Black carpenter and preacher who led a four-day rebellion of both slave and free Black people in Southampton County, Virginia, in August 1831. Turner's Rebellion resulted in the death of 55 White people before state militias suppressed the uprising. At the same time, as many as 120 Black men, women, and children, many of whom were not involved in the revolt, were killed by soldiers and local mobs in retaliation.
Turner was captured in October 1831 and, after a trial, was executed in November. Before his execution, he told his story to attorney Thomas Ruffin Gray, who published The Confessions of Nat Turner in November 1831.
In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante included Nat Turner on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans. Turner has been depicted in films, literature, and plays, as well as many scholarly works.
Early life Turner was born into slavery on October 2, 1800, in Southampton County, Virginia. Southampton County was a rural plantation area with more Black people than White. Benjamin Turner, the man who held Nat and his family as slaves, called the infant Nat in his records. Even when grown, the young man was known simply as Nat, but after the 1831 rebellion, he was widely referred to as Nat Turner.Nat Turner: A Slave Rebellion in History and Memory. Oxford University Press, 2003. Kenneth S. Greenberg, ed., pp. 3–12. According to Greenberg, the trial transcript refers to him on the first mention as "Nat alias Nat Turner" and subsequently as "Nat". Greenberg writes that Thomas Ruffin Gray's The Confessions of Nat Turner, which purports to be Turner's confession and account of his life leading up to the rebellion, was the most influential source of the name by which he is known.
Turner knew little about the background of his father, who was believed to have escaped from slavery when Turner was a child.Nat Turner: A Slave Rebellion in History and Memory. Kenneth S. Greenberg, ed. Oxford University Press, 2003. p. 18. However, Turner grew up "much attached to his grandmother".
Turner learned to read and write at a young age. He was identified as having "natural intelligence and quickness of apprehension, surpassed by few". He grew up deeply religious and was often seen fasting, praying, or immersed in reading the stories of the Bible.Aptheker, Herbert. American Negro Slave Revolts. 5th ed., New York: International Publishers, 1983. p. 295.
Benjamin Turner died in 1810, and his son Samuel inherited Nat. When he was 21, Nat Turner escaped from Samuel Turner, but he returned a month later after receiving a vision in which the Spirit appeared to him and told him that he "had [his] wishes directed to the things of this world, and not to the kingdom of Heaven, and that [he] should return to the service of [his] earthly master".Gray, Thomas Ruffin (1831). The Confessions of Nat Turner, the Leader of the Late Insurrections in Southampton, Va. Baltimore, Maryland: Lucas & Deaver, p. 9. In 1830, Joseph Travis purchased Turner; Turner later recalled that Travis was "a kind master" who "placed the greatest confidence" in him.Gray, Thomas Ruffin (1831). The Confessions of Nat Turner, the Leader of the Late Insurrections in Southampton, Va. Baltimore, Maryland: Lucas & Deaver, p. 11.
An 1831 reward notice described Turner as:5 feet 6 or 8 inches [168–173 cm] high, weighs between 150 and 160 pounds [68–73 kg], rather "bright" [light-colored] complexion, but not a mulatto, broad shoulders, larger flat nose, large eyes, broad flat feet, rather knockneed [sic], walks brisk and active, hair on the top of the head very thin, no beard, except on the upper lip and the top of the chin, a scar on one of his temples, also one on the back of his neck, a large knot on one of the bones of his right arm, near the wrist, produced by a blow.Description of Turner included in a $500 reward notice in the Washington National Intelligencer on September 24, 1831.
Visions and religious activities Turner often conducted religious services, preaching the Bible to his fellow slaves, who dubbed him "The Prophet". In addition to Blacks, Turner garnered some white followers such as Ethelred T. Brantley, whom Turner baptized after convincing him to "cease from his wickedness".
Turner had visions that he interpreted as messages from God, which influenced his life. The historian Patrick Breen stated, "Nat Turner thought that God used the natural world as a backdrop in front of which he placed signs and omens." Breen further states that Turner claimed to possess a gift of prophecy and could interpret these divine revelations. His deep spiritual commitment served as a significant influence on slaves within the surrounding plantations in Virginia.
Historian David Allmendinger notes that Turner had ten different supernatural experiences between 1822 and 1828. These included appearances of both the Spirit communicating through a religious language and scripture along with the visions of the Holy Ghost. While working in Moore's field on May 12, Turner said 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". In 1824, Turner had a second vision while working in the fields for Thomas Moore, recalling, "The Saviour was about to lay down the yoke he had borne for the sins of men, and the great day of judgment was at hand".Gray, Thomas Ruffin (1831). The Confessions of Nat Turner, the Leader of the Late Insurrections in Southampton, Va. Baltimore, Maryland: Lucas & Deaver, p. 10. By the spring of 1828, Turner was convinced that he "was ordained for some great purpose in the hands of the Almighty".
Turner was motivated by strong convictions, at least partly inspired by his religious beliefs, to organize his fellow slaves against enslavement. Historian and theologian Joseph Dreis says, "In connecting this vision to the motivation for his rebellion, Turner makes it clear that he sees himself as participating in the confrontation between God's Kingdom and the anti-Kingdom that characterized his social-historical context." After Turner viewed the solar eclipse in 1831, he was certain that God wanted the revolt to commence.
Historian Jean W. Cash notes that, despite Turner’s revelations being dismissed by some historians for appearing delusional or incoherent, they fit a pattern of leadership focused on a biblical interpretation of prophetic divine wrath. According to Cash, Turner's visions appear to be rooted in his understanding of apocalyptic Christian theology, where Old Testament themes of revolutionary reform and divine justice are prevalent. Cash notes that Turner’s self-conception as a prophet was a product of a coherent religious worldview at that time, as opposed to him having mental instability.
Rebellion
Over approximately a decade, Turner built up support for his cause, culminating in a four-day rebellion started on August 21, 1831.
Nat Turner's Rebellion resulted in the death of 55 white men, women, and children. This is considered the "most deadly slave revolt" in United States history. Turner would later claim to have only personally killed one individual, Margaret Whitehead, whom he bashed with a fencepost. The state militia and local troops quickly suppressed the uprising; between 36 and 120 Black men, women, and children, many of whom were not involved in the revolt, were killed by soldiers and local mobs in retaliation.Breen 2015, Chapter 9 and Allmendinger 2014, Appendix F are recent studies that review various estimates for the number of slaves and free blacks killed without trial, giving a range of from 23 killed to over 200 killed. Breen notes on page 231 that "high estimates have been widely accepted in both academic and popular sources".
Turner eluded capture but remained in Southampton County, in hiding. Slaves from a nearby house provided him with food. On October 30, a farmer named Benjamin Phipps discovered Turner hiding in a depression in the earth, created by a large, fallen tree covered with fence rails.Drewry, William Sydney (1900). The Southampton Insurrection. Washington, D.C.: The Neale Company. pp. 13, 151–53. via Internet Archive This was referred to locally as Nat Turner's cave, although it was not a natural cave. Around 1 p.m. on October 31, Turner arrived at the prison in the county seat of Jerusalem, Virginia (now Courtland). According to Thomas Wentworth Higginson, writing in 1861, Turner was found "emaciated, ragged, a mere scarecrow."
Trial and execution
Turner was tried on November 5, 1831, for "conspiring to rebel and making insurrection". He pled not guilty; however, his lawyer made no arguments to defend Turner and called no witnesses. Turner was convicted and sentenced to death.Southampton Co., VA, Court Minute Book 1830–1835, pp. 121–23. "Proceedings on the Southampton Insurrection, Aug–Nov 1831" His attorney was James Strange French, and James Trezvant served on the jury for Turner's trial. Before his execution, Turner told his story to attorney and slavery apologist Thomas R. Gray, who published The Confessions of Nat Turner in November 1831. When Gray asked him if he had been mistaken, after hearing Turner's account of the Spirit's telling him that "the time was fast approaching when the first should be last, and the last should be first," Turner responded, "Was not Christ crucified?"
An "immense throng" had gathered to watch Turner's execution, on the gallows the executioner told Turner he could give a final speech if he desired, Turner declined and his last words were telling the executioner "I'm ready".America’s Long Struggle against Slavery Turner was hanged on Friday, November 11, 1831, in Jerusalem. According to some sources, he was beheaded as an example to frighten other would-be rebels. Historian Adam Thomas found an alternative account of Turner's death within the Black community: Percy Claud stated that his mother, Elizabeth, said Turner was “dragged and whipped to death” through multiple towns. Thomas notes this memory originated with Black Virginians and was built from generational memory and trauma, with Turner’s execution being recalled as a lynching, similar to the treatment of the Black community during that time.French, Scot. The Rebellious Slave: Nat Turner in American Memory. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2004, pp. 278–279.
After his execution, Turner's body was dissected and flayed, with his skin being used to make souvenir purses. "His body was given over to the surgeons for dissection. He was skinned to supply such souvenirs as purses, his flesh made into grease, and his bones divided as trophies to be handed down as heirlooms. It is said that there still lives a Virginian who has a piece of his skin which was tanned, that another Virginian possesses one of his ears and that the skull graces the collection of a physician in the city of Norfolk." In October 1897, Virginia newspapers ran a story about Nat Turner's skeleton being used as a medical specimen by Dr. H. U. Stephenson of Toana, Virginia. Stephenson acquired the skeleton from a son of Dr. S. B. Kellar; Dr. Kellar claimed to have paid Turner $10 for his body while he was in jail. After the execution, Kellar had Turner's bones scraped and hung as a medical specimen.