Nat Turner - Wikipedia

Thank you my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that October 2 is the anniversary of the birth of African-American slave who led a two-day rebellion of slaves and free blacks Nathaniel “Nat” Turner in Southampton County, Virginia on August 21, 1831.

Image; 1831 Depiction of Nat Turner’s Rebellion; 1831 Nat Turner woodcut; Nathaniel “Nat” Turner
He may be resting in peace but probably not.

Background from pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p1518.html
"Nat Turner was born on October 2, 1800, in Southampton County, Virginia, the week before Gabriel was hanged. While still a young child, Nat was overheard describing events that had happened before he was born. This, along with his keen intelligence, and other signs marked him in the eyes of his people as a prophet "intended for some great purpose." A deeply religious man, he "therefore studiously avoided mixing in society, and wrapped [him]self in mystery, devoting [his] time to fasting and praying."

In 1821, Turner ran away from his overseer, returning after thirty days because of a vision in which the Spirit had told him to "return to the service of my earthly master." The next year, following the death of his master, Samuel Turner, Nat was sold to Thomas Moore. Three years later, Nat Turner had another vision. He saw lights in the sky and prayed to find out what they meant. Then "... while laboring in the field, I discovered drops of blood on the corn, as though it were dew from heaven, and I communicated it to many, both white and black, in the neighborhood; and then I found on the leaves in the woods hieroglyphic characters and numbers, with the forms of men in different attitudes, portrayed in blood, and representing the figures I had seen before in the heavens."

On May 12, 1828, Turner had his third vision: "I 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... And by signs in the heavens that it would make known to me when I should commence the great work, and until the first sign appeared I should conceal it from the knowledge of men; and on the appearance of the sign... I should arise and prepare myself and slay my enemies with their own weapons."

At the beginning of the year 1830, Turner was moved to the home of Joseph Travis, the new husband of Thomas Moore's widow. His official owner was Putnum Moore, still a young child. Turner described Travis as a kind master, against whom he had no complaints.

Then, in February, 1831, there was an eclipse of the sun. Turner took this to be the sign he had been promised and confided his plan to the four men he trusted the most, Henry, Hark, Nelson, and Sam. They decided to hold the insurrection on the 4th of July and began planning a strategy. However, they had to postpone action because Turner became ill.

On August 13, there was an atmospheric disturbance in which the sun appeared bluish-green. This was the final sign, and a week later, on August 21, Turner and six of his men met in the woods to eat a dinner and make their plans. At 2:00 that morning, they set out to the Travis household, where they killed the entire family as they lay sleeping. They continued on, from house to house, killing all of the white people they encountered. Turner's force eventually consisted of more than 40 slaves, most on horseback.

By about mid-day on August 22, Turner decided to march toward Jerusalem, the closest town. By then word of the rebellion had gotten out to the whites; confronted by a group of militia, the rebels scattered, and Turner's force became disorganized. After spending the night near some slave cabins, Turner and his men attempted to attack another house, but were repulsed. Several of the rebels were captured. The remaining force then met the state and federal troops in final skirmish, in which one slave was killed and many escaped, including Turner. In the end, the rebels had stabbed, shot and clubbed at least 55 white people to death.

Nat Turner hid in several different places near the Travis farm, but on October 30 was discovered and captured. His "Confession," dictated to physician Thomas R. Gray, was taken while he was imprisoned in the County Jail. On November 5, Nat Turner was tried in the Southampton County Court and sentenced to execution. He was hanged, and then skinned, on November 11.

In total, the state executed 55 people, banished many more, and acquitted a few. The state reimbursed the slaveholders for their slaves. But in the hysterical climate that followed the rebellion, close to 200 black people, many of whom had nothing to do with the rebellion, were murdered by white mobs. In addition, slaves as far away as North Carolina were accused of having a connection with the insurrection, and were subsequently tried and executed.

The state legislature of Virginia considered abolishing slavery, but in a close vote decided to retain slavery and to support a repressive policy against black people, slave and free."

2. Background from /lastbesthopeofearth.com/2016/04/22/nat-turners-rebellion/
"On August 22, 1831, the greatest slave rebellion in United States history occurred, led by a “mystic religious visionary named Nat Turner.” Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, .

Turner was a slave of Joseph and Sally Travis in Southampton County, Virginia. Id. At that time, Southampton County’s population was 16,074, with “41 percent white, 48 percent enslaved, and 11 percent free colored.” Id. citing Census of 1830, United States Historical Census Data Browser. In the early morning hours of August 22, 1831, Turner crawled through the window of the Travis’ home, unbarred the door for his six armed companions, and killed the entire family, including a baby in a cradle. Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, .

After killing the Travis family, Turner and his cohorts went farm-to-farm, “killing all the whites they found on their march toward Jerusalem, as the Southampton county seat was portentously named.” Id. at 324 citing Herbert Aptheker, Nat Turner’s Slave Rebellion (New York, 1966); Stephen Oates, The Fires of Jubilee (New York, 1975). Turner himself, however, only killed one person himself, a woman who was going to flee and alert others to their rebellion. Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 324. Slaves joined the rebellion as it progressed, with as many as 60 slaves participating in total. Id.

Nat Turner advised his rebels: “Remember that ours is not a war for robbery, nor to satisfy our passions; it is a struggle for freedom.” Vincent Harding, There Is a River (New York, 1981), 95. Nonetheless, some of his men “looted and got drunk on captured brandy,” and there were decapitations of victims. Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 324 citing Vincent Harding, There Is a River (New York, 1981), .

Ultimately, vigilantes, the Virginia state militia, and federal troops put down the uprising. Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 325. After the uprising was quelled, “[o]ver twenty additional blacks were executed elsewhere in Virginia and North Carolina.” Id. citing Mary Kemp Davis, Nat Turner Before the Bar of Judgment (Baton Rouge, 1999), 55-61.

Turner eluded capture until October 30, 1831, where he was tried and hanged on November 11, 1831 in Jerusalem, Virginia. Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 325. Facing imminent death, and with Thomas Gray asking if Turner felt he had made a mistake, Turner posed the question: “Was not Christ crucified?” Id. quoting Confessions of Nat Turner . . . fully and voluntarily made to Thos. C. Gray (1831; Petersburg, Va., 1881), 6, 10, 11.

Many conservatives in the South, and particularly Virginia, noted that some free blacks had joined Turner’s rebellion and argued that the state “would be better off with fewer slaves and a more industrial-commercial economy.” Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 326. On January 25, 1832, the Virginia House voted that “further action for the removal of slaves should await a more definite development of public opinion.” SeeDaniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 326; Alison Freehling, Drift Toward Dissolution: The Virginia Slavery Debate of 1831-32 (Baton Rouge, 1982).

In the wake of Turner’s rebellion, Americans in the South had seen their worst fears realized and were shaken to the core. For the years and decades leading up to the rebellion, there was a fear that America would have the same fate as Haiti, with a widespread slave rebellion creating turmoil and discord. This nearly happened just years prior in Vesey’s Almost Rebellion.

Regrettably for the South, slavery was becoming an increasingly prominent issue for Americans, as it best highlighted the difference between the North and the South. Turner’s rebellion essentially forced southern Americans to dig their heels in, tightening security and reinforcing their grip on slaves. Consequently, the chances for universal abolition of slavery in America were diminishing as the 1800s were progressing."



Nat Turner was born a slave in 1800 near a town in southeastern Virginia called ironically Jerusalem, Virginia; today the town is named Courtland. The Southampton County town was less than a hundred miles away from the initial spot where slaves were traditionally brought to market.

Nat Turner is famous for leading a slave revolt in the Southampton County area. Nat was captured and surrendered his sword in 1831. For his misdeeds that led to the deaths of over 50 Edomite slave holders and their progeny, he was beaten, hanged and his body was dismembered with parts kept for some sort of morbid trophies. Legend has it that his skin was turned into several purses, and one turned up during the 1940s at a Southampton county fair as an historical exhibit.
https://youtu.be/LqpTqRhyd1w

FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Orlando Illi Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price CPT Jack Durish Capt Tom Brown CMSgt (Join to see) MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SGT (Join to see) Sgt Albert Castro SSG David Andrews Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Charles H. Hawes SGT Mark Halmrast PO1 William "Chip" Nagel CPT Gabe SnellLTC Greg Henning

This narrative was made into a film recently.

Maj Marty Hogan Interesting history.