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Nat Turner

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Template:Short description Template:Infobox person Nat Turner (October 2, 1800 – November 11, 1831) was an enslaved Black carpenter and preacher who led a four-day rebellion of both enslaved and free Black people in Southampton County, Virginia in August 1831.

Nat Turner's Rebellion resulted in the death of 55 white men, women, and children before state militias suppressed the uprising, while 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 Grey, 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

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Turner was born into slavery on October 2, 1800, in Southampton County, Virginia.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":4" /> Southampton County was a rural plantation area with more Black people than White.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite book</ref> Benjamin Turner, the man who held Nat and his family as slaves, called the infant Nat in his records. Even when grown, the slave was known simply as Nat, but after the 1831 rebellion, he was widely referred to as Nat Turner.<ref>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.</ref>

Turner knew little about the background of his father, who was believed to have escaped from slavery when Turner was a child.<ref>Nat Turner: A Slave Rebellion in History and Memory. Kenneth S. Greenberg, ed. Oxford University Press, 2003. p. 18.</ref><ref name=":3" /> However, Turner grew up "much attached to his grandmother".<ref name=":3" />

Turner learned how to read and write at a young age.<ref name=":3" /> He was identified as having "natural intelligence and quickness of apprehension, surpassed by few".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He grew up deeply religious and was often seen fasting, praying, or immersed in reading the stories of the Bible.<ref name=":5">Aptheker, Herbert. American Negro Slave Revolts. 5th ed., New York: International Publishers, 1983. p. 295. Template:ISBN</ref>

Benjamin Turner died in 1810, and his son Samuel inherited Nat.<ref name="white225">Template:Cite book</ref> When he was 21, Nat Turner escaped from Samuel Turner; but he returned a month later, after becoming delirious from hunger and receiving a vision that told him to "return to the service of my earthly master".<ref name="p9">Gray, Thomas Ruffin (1831). The Confessions of Nat Turner, the Leader of the Late Insurrections in Southampton, Va. Baltimore, Maryland: Lucas & Deaver, p. 9.</ref> In 1830, Joseph Travis purchased Turner; Turner later recalled that Travis was "a kind master" who "placed the greatest confidence" in him.<ref name="p11">Gray, Thomas Ruffin (1831). The Confessions of Nat Turner, the Leader of the Late Insurrections in Southampton, Va. Baltimore, Maryland: Lucas & Deaver, p. 11.</ref>

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.<ref>Description of Turner included in a $500 reward notice in the Washington National Intelligencer on September 24, 1831.</ref>

Visions and religious activities

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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".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":3" />

Turner had visions that he interpreted as messages from God, and 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."<ref name=":03">Template:Cite book</ref> Breen further states that Turner claimed to possess a gift of prophecy and could interpret these divine revelations.<ref name=":03" /> His deep spiritual commitment served as a significant influence on slaves within the surrounding plantations in Virginia.<ref name="kaye">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="akinyela">Template:Cite journal</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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".<ref name="p11" /> 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".<ref>Gray, Thomas Ruffin (1831). The Confessions of Nat Turner, the Leader of the Late Insurrections in Southampton, Va. Baltimore, Maryland: Lucas & Deaver, p. 10.</ref> By the spring of 1828, Turner was convinced that he "was ordained for some great purpose in the hands of the Almighty".<ref name="p9" />

Turner was motivated by strong convictions, at least partly inspired by his religious beliefs, to organize his fellow slaves against enslavement.<ref name="akinyela" /> 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."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> After Turner viewed the solar eclipse in 1831, he was certain that God wanted the revolt to commence.<ref name=":03" />

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.<ref name=":8" /> 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. <ref name=":8">Template:Cite journal</ref> Cash notes that Turner’s self-conception as a prophet was a product of a coherent religious world view at that time, as opposed to him having mental instability.<ref name=":8" />

Rebellion

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File:1831 Nat Turner's slave rebellion (Library of Congress).jpg
An illustration of rebel slaves from 1831

Over approximately a decade, Turner built up support for his cause, culminating in an anti-slavery uprising that served as a source of inspiration for later abolitionist organizers and rebels.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The four-day rebellion started on August 21, 1831.<ref name="birth">Template:Cite book</ref>

Nat Turner's Rebellion resulted in the death of 55 white men, women, and children.<ref name=":3" /> This is considered the "most deadly slave revolt" in United States history.<ref name=":3" /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Breen2015p98,231">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="attrocitynote">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".</ref><ref name=":3" />

Turner eluded capture but remained in Southampton County, in hiding.<ref name="akinyela" /> 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.<ref name=":6">Drewry, William Sydney (1900). The Southampton Insurrection. Washington, D.C.: The Neale Company. pp. 13, 151–53. via Internet Archive</ref> This was referred to locally as Nat Turner's cave, although it was not a natural cave.<ref name=":6" /> Around 1 p.m. on October 31, Turner arrived at the prison in the county seat of Jerusalem, Virginia (now Courtland).<ref name=":13"/>

Trial and execution

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File:The Confessions of Nat Turner (title page).jpg
Title page of The Confessions of Nat Turner

Turner was tried on November 5, 1831, for "conspiring to rebel and making insurrection" and was convicted and sentenced to death.<ref>Southampton Co., VA, Court Minute Book 1830–1835, pp. 121–23. Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>"Proceedings on the Southampton Insurrection, Aug–Nov 1831" Template:Webarchive</ref> His attorney was James Strange French. Before his execution, he told his story to attorney Thomas R. Grey, who published The Confessions of Nat Turner in November 1831.<ref>Fabricant, Daniel S. "Thomas R. Gray and William Styron: Finally, A Critical Look at the 1831 Confessions of Nat Turner". The American Journal of Legal History, vol. 37, no. 3, 1993, pp. 332–61.</ref> James Trezvant served on the jury for Turner's trial. Asked if he regretted what he had done, Turner responded, "Was Christ not crucified?"<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>

Turner was hanged on November 11, 1831, in Jerusalem, Virginia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to some sources, he was beheaded as an example to frighten other would-be rebels. Historian Adam Thomas found a 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. <ref name=":12">Template:Cite journal</ref> 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 Blacks during that time.<ref name=":12" /><ref name="NGeo">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>French, Scot. The Rebellious Slave: Nat Turner in American Memory. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2004, pp. 278–279. Template:ISBN</ref>

After his execution, Turner's body was dissected and flayed, with his skin being used to make souvenir purses. <ref>Template:Cite journal "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."</ref><ref name="lightening">Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name=":1" /> After the execution, Kellar had Turner's bones scraped and hung as a medical specimen.<ref name=":1" />

In 2002, a skull said to have been Turner's was given to Richard G. Hatcher, the former mayor of Gary, Indiana, for the collection of a civil rights museum he planned to build there. In 2016, Hatcher returned the skull to two of Turner's descendants. Since receiving the skull, the family has temporarily placed it with the Smithsonian Institution, where DNA testing will be done to determine whether it is the authentic remains of Nat Turner. If the test renders positive results, the family plans to bury his remains next to his descendants.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Another skull said to have been Turner's was contributed to the College of Wooster in Ohio upon its incorporation in 1866. When the school's only academic building burned down in 1901, the skull was saved by Dr. H. N. Mateer. Visitors recalled seeing a certificate, signed by a physician in Southampton County in 1866, that attested to the authenticity of the skull. The skull was eventually misplaced.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Marriage and children

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Turner married an enslaved woman named Cherry, also spelled Chary (however, historians still dispute exactly who Nat Turner's wife was).<ref name=":10">Breen, Patrick (2015). The Land Shall Be Deluged in Blood: A New History of the Nat Turner Revolt. Oxford University Press. Template:ISBN</ref><ref name=":11">Allmendinger, David (2014). Nat Turner and the Rising in Southampton County. Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 64. Template:ISBN</ref> It is thought that Turner and Cherry met and were married at Samuel Turner's plantation in the early 1820s.<ref name=":10" /> The couple had children; historians vary in believing that there were one, two, or three children (a daughter and possibly one or two sons, including one named Riddick).<ref name=":11" /><ref>Greenberg, Kenneth (2004). Nat Turner: A Slave Rebellion in History and Memory. Oxford University Press. Template:ISBN</ref>

The family was separated after Samuel Turner died in 1823, when Turner was sold to Thomas Moore and his family were sold to Giles Reese.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 1831, his son was enslaved by Piety Reese and lived on a farm that was near the Travis farm where Turner was enslaved.<ref name=":3" /> However, in February 1831, Reese's son John used Turner's son as collateral for a family debt.<ref name=":3" /> One historian notes that Turner approached his conspirators for the rebellion days after his son was used as collateral.<ref name=":3" />

After the rebellion, the authoritiesTemplate:Who beat and tortured Cherry Turner in hopes of finding her husband.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> On September 26, 1831, the Richmond Constitutional Whig published a story about the raiding of Reese plantation stating that, "some papers [were] given up by his wife, under the lash."<ref name=":13">Kossuth, Lajos (1852). Letter to Louis Kossuth: Concerning Freedom and Slavery in the United States. R.F. Walcutt. p. 76. via Hathi Trust.</ref>

Legacy

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Film

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Literature

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Music

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Theater

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See also

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References

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