Nat Turner

Nat Turner (October 2, 1800 – November 11, 1831) was an enslaved African-American 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 approximately sixty White men, women, and children before state militias suppressed the uprising. Turner was captured in October 1831 and was executed after a trial 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. He has been depicted in films, literature, and plays, as well as many scholarly works.

Early life
Turner was born into slavery around 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 slave was known simply as Nat; but after the 1831 rebellion, he was widely referred to as Nat Turner.

Turner knew little about the background of his father, who was believed to have escaped from slavery when Turner was a child. However, Turner grew up "much attached to his grandmother."

Turner learned how 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.

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 becoming delirious from hunger and receiving a vision that told him to "return to the service of my earthly master". In 1830, Joseph Travis purchased Turner; Turner later recalled that Travis was "a kind master" who "placed the greatest confidence" in him.

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."

Visions and religious activities
Turner was deeply religious and was often seen fasting, praying, or immersed in reading the stories of the Bible. He had visions that he interpreted as messages from God, and which influenced his life. The historian Patrick Breen states that "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 Nat Turner claimed he possessed a gift of prophecy and that he could interpret these divine revelations.

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".

When he was 21, Nat Turner escaped but returned a month later, after receiving a vision that told him to "return to the service of my earthly master". In 1824, Turner had a second vision while working in the fields for Thomas Moore: "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".

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. By the spring of 1828, Turner was convinced that he "was ordained for some great purpose in the hands of the Almighty".

Turner said he "heard a loud noise in the heavens" while working in Moore's fields on May 12th "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". 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."

During the 1820s, Turner was motivated by strong convictions, at least partly inspired by his religious beliefs, to organize his fellow slaves against enslavement. His deep spiritual commitment served as a significant influence on slaves within the surrounding plantations in Virginia. After Turner viewed the eclipse in 1831, he was certain that God wanted the revolt to commence.

Rebellion
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. The 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. 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.

Turner eluded capture but remained hidden in Southampton County. 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. 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).

Trial and execution
Turner was tried on November 5, 1831, for "conspiring to rebel and making insurrection" and was convicted and sentenced to death. 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. James Trezvant served on the jury for Turner's trial.

Asked if he regretted what he had done, Turner responded, "Was Christ not crucified?" Turner was hanged on November 11, 1831, in Jerusalem. According to some sources, he was beheaded as an example to frighten other would-be rebels.

After his execution, Turner's body was dissected and flayed, with his skin being used to make souvenir purses. 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.

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.

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.

Marriage and children
Turner married an enslaved woman named Cherry, also spelled Chary (however, historians still dispute exactly who Nat Turner's wife was). It is thought that Turner and Cherry met and were married at Samuel Turner's plantation in the early 1820s. The couple had children; although historians vary in believing that there were one, two, or three children -- a daughter and one or two sons, including a son named Riddick.

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. By 1831, his son was enslaved by Piety Reese and lived on a farm that was near the Travis farm where Turner was enslaved. However, in February 1831, Reese's son John used Turner's son as collateral for a family debt. One historian notes that Turner approached his conspirators for the rebellion days after his son was used as collateral.

After the rebellion, the authorities beat and tortured Cherry Turner in hopes of finding her husband. 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."

Legacy

 * In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Nat Turner as one of the 100 Greatest African Americans.
 * In 2009, in Newark, New Jersey, the largest city-owned park was named Nat Turner Park. The facility cost $12 million to construct.
 * In 2012, the small Bible that belonged to Turner was donated to the National Museum of African American History and Culture by the Person family of Southampton County, Virginia.
 * In 2017, it was announced that Turner was to be honored with others with an Emancipation and Freedom Monument in Richmond, Virginia. Created by Thomas Jay Warren, the state-funded bronze sculpture was dedicated in September 2021.
 * Nat Turner's Rebellion is celebrated as part of Black August.

Film

 * In 2003, Charles Burnett released the documentary Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property.
 * The Birth of a Nation, the 2016 film written and directed by Nate Parker, is based on the story of Nat Turner.

Literature

 * In 1884, The Cleveland Gazette published the poem "Nat Turner" by Timothy Thomas Fortune.
 * Sterling Allen Brown, the first Poet Laureate of the District of Columbia, wrote the poem, "Remembering Nat Turner" in 1932.
 * The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967), a novel by William Styron, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1968. Styron's work was controversial, with some criticizing the White author for writing about such an important black figure and calling him racist for portraying Turner as lusting for a white woman.
 * In response to Styron's novel, ten Black scholars and authors published a collection of essays, William Styron's The Confessions of Nat Turner: Ten Black Writers Respond (1968).
 * In 2006, Kyle Baker's graphic novel, Nat Turner, received the Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work and the Glyph Comic Award for Best Story of the Year.
 * Sharon Ewell Foster published her novel, The Resurrection of Nat Turner, Part One, The Witness, A Novel in 2011.

Music

 * The 1960s funk-soul band Nat Turner Rebellion was named after Turner's slave revolt.
 * Chance The Rapper's song "How Great" refers to Turner's rebellion in the line, "Hosanna Santa invoked and woke up enslaved people from Southampton to Chatham Manor."
 * In the early 1990s, hip hop artist Tupac Shakur spoke in interviews about Nat Turner and his admiration for his spirit against oppression. Shakur also honored Turner with a cross tattoo on his back, "EXODUS 1831", referring to the year Turner led the rebellion.

Theater

 * African American theater educator Randolph Edmonds included Nat Turner: A Play in One Act in his Six Plays for the Negro Theatre, published in 1934 for schools and colleges.


 * In 1940, Paul Peter's play, Nat Turner, was produced by the People's Drama Theater in New York City.
 * In 2011, Following Faith: A Nat Turner Story, a play by Paula Neiman, was produced in Los Angeles.
 * In 2016, the play Nat Turner in Jerusalem, by Nathan Alan Davis was produced at the New York Theatre Workshop, and in 2018 at the Forum Theatre in Washington, D.C.
 * In 2021, the Conejo Players Theatre streamed a live production of Nat's Last Struggle by playwright P. A. Wray. The play was also performed virtually by the Virginia Stage Company in August 2020.