Nat Turner

author

Nat Turner

d. 1831

A preacher and enslaved man in Virginia, he led the 1831 Southampton uprising, the most consequential slave rebellion in U.S. history. His life and death became part of the long story of resistance to slavery in America.

1 Audiobook

The Confessions of Nat Turner The Leader of the Late Insurrections in Southampton, Va. As Fully and Voluntarily Made to Thomas R. Gray, in the Prison Where He Was Confined, and Acknowledged by Him to be Such when Read Before the Court of Southampton; With the Certificate, Under Seal of the Court Convened at Jerusalem, Nov. 5, 1831, For His Trial. Also, an Authentic Account of the Whole Insurrection.

The Confessions of Nat Turner The Leader of the Late Insurrections in Southampton, Va. As Fully and Voluntarily Made to Thomas R. Gray, in the Prison Where He Was Confined, and Acknowledged by Him to be Such when Read Before the Court of Southampton; With the Certificate, Under Seal of the Court Convened at Jerusalem, Nov. 5, 1831, For His Trial. Also, an Authentic Account of the Whole Insurrection.

by Nat Turner

About the author

Born into slavery in Southampton County, Virginia, Nat Turner was known as a deeply religious man who believed he had been chosen for a divine purpose. Contemporary accounts and later reference works describe him as a preacher who drew meaning from visions and signs, and who used that spiritual authority to gather followers.

In August 1831, he led an uprising in Southampton County that killed dozens of white residents before it was suppressed. Turner was captured after weeks in hiding and executed on November 11, 1831. The revolt shocked the South and led to harsher laws aimed at enslaved and free Black people, while also becoming a lasting symbol of resistance to slavery.

Because Turner was enslaved, much of what is known about his inner life comes through records created by others, especially after the rebellion. Even so, he remains one of the most studied figures in the history of American slavery, remembered for the fear he inspired in slaveholding society and the force of his challenge to it.