Southern states enacted even harsher laws against the enslaved instead. The incident put fear in the heart of Southerners, ending the organized emancipation movement in that region. Many of his co-conspirators met the same fate. He was sentenced to death by hanging, and this sentence was carried out on November 11, 1831. Turner pled not guilty during his trial, believing that his rebellion was the work of God. Gray, who wrote down Turner's confession.
Turner was eventually captured on October 30, 1831. Estimates range from approximately 100 to 200 African Americans who were slaughtered after the rebellion. While Turner hid, white mobs took their revenge on the Black people of Southampton County. They faced off against a group of armed white men at a plantation near Jerusalem, and the conflict soon dissolved into chaos. Initially, Turner had planned to reach the county seat of Jerusalem and take over the armory there, but he and his men were foiled in this plan. Most sources say that about 55 white men, women and children died during Turner's rebellion. They were able to secure arms and horses from those they killed. Turner gathered more supporters - growing to a group of up to 40 or 50 enslaved people - as he and his men continued their violent spree through the county. He recruited several other enslaved people to join him in his cause. Turner took a solar eclipse that occurred in February 1831 as a signal that the time to rise up had come. In his later confession, Turner explained: "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." Turner would receive another sign to tell him when to fight, but this latest message meant "I should arise and prepare myself and slay my enemies with their own weapons." Three years later, he had what he believed to be another message from God. Turner believed in signs and heard divine voices, and he had a vision in 1825 of a bloody conflict between Black and white spirits. On August 21, 1831, Turner and his supporters began a revolt against white owners with the killing of his owners, the Travis family. When she married John Travis, Turner went to work on Travis' lands. After Samuel's death, Turner became the enslaved person of Thomas Moore and then the property of his widow. After 30 days of hiding in the woods, Turner came back to Samuel's plantation after he received what he believed to be a sign from God. He ran away from Samuel Turner, his former owner's brother, in 1821. Over the years, Turner worked on a number of different plantations. His mother and grandmother told Turner that he "was intended for some great purpose." Turner was deeply religious and spent much of his time reading the Bible, praying and fasting. Some even remarked that he "surely would be a prophet," according to his later confession. Turner’s owner, Benjamin, allowed him to be instructed in reading, writing and religion.Īs a small child, Turner was thought to have some special talent because he could describe things that happened before he was even born. His mother was named Nancy, but nothing is known about his father.
Turner was born on October 2, 1800, in Southampton County, Virginia, on the plantation of Benjamin Turner. While Turner became an icon of the 1960s Black power movement, others have criticized him for using violence as a means of demanding change. The incident ended the emancipation movement in that region and led to even harsher laws against the enslaved. Following the insurrection, Turner hid for six weeks, but he was eventually caught and later hanged. Nat Turner was an enslaved person who became a preacher and made history as the leader of one of the bloodiest enslaved revolts in America on August 21, 1831.
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