Nat Turner
(1800-1831)
Nat
Turner was born on October 2, 1800, in Southampton County, Virginia. His
mother's name was Nancy, she was an African-born slave; Nat's father's name is
unknown. At a young age his father supposedly ran away and escaped to the North,
never to come back. His owner for his first nine years was Benjamin Turner. In
1809 Samuel, Benjamin's son received Nat and his mother as a loan to help
maintain his fields. 
After Benjamin's death Samuel received Nat Turner and his mother as his
slaves. Nat in the following years had three other owners. Though all that time
Nat stayed in Southampton County.
Nat Turner was a reverend, a clergy man of the church, for the enslaved people of the plantation. Nat Turner had said that he had received visions from God. He had received numerous visions from God that the slaves where to revolt against his masters and other white people. He received his final vision for the revolt on February 12, 1831, during a solar eclipse. He took the eclipse as a black hand reaching down he took that as a sign that the time of a revolt was then.
He had set a date for July 4, 1831. Do to issues about the revolt it was postponed until August 21, 1831. The Turner Rebellion just started out as four or five slaves, but by the end of the night the rebellion grew to over forty enslaved people. They broke into homes with axes, tools, and hatchets; they did not use fire arms. Nat Turner and his followers killed an estimated 55 white people (including Nat Turners owner, Joseph Travis). The Jerusalem Postmaster wrote a letter to the mayor of Virginia about the uprising of slaves. The State Militia came in and ended the rebellion. Nat Turner and his followers fled in all directions.
Because of the Nat Turner Rebellion, over two-hundred blacks were killed by white mobs infuriated with the rebellion. On top of that another fifty-six blacks were caught and executed that were expected of being involved with the rebellion. Nat Turner hid in the woods close to where the rebellion began. Nat Turner was captured on October 30, 1831, by a local farmer who saw him about in the forest. He held a firearm at Nat and made him surrender. On November 11, 1831 he was tried and convicted of leading a rebellion and slaughtering an estimated 55 people.
On November 11, 1831 Nat Turner was hung in Jerusalem, Virginia (now called Courtland, Virginia). Then Nat Turner was beheaded after being hung. Nat Turner died at the young age of 31. A minister and murderer, weird combination, but that was the life of Nat Turner. Nat Turner was best known the leader of the Nat Turner Rebellion; also some called him a messenger from God.
Oddities and Interesting Facts about Nat Turner:
n a time when nearly no slaves where taught to read, Nat Turner was taught to read by his master's son . Nat Turners real name was Nathaniel Turner. During the Rebellion Nat and the other slaves spared the lives of a family of poor white people. They did this because the white family owned no slaves. After the rebellion while Nat was in hiding he was known as the "Black Spartacus". Nat Turner believed in what Patrick Henry stood for, "Give me liberty or give me death."
Bibliography:
.
After Benjamin's death Samuel received Nat Turner and his mother as his
slaves. Nat in the following years had three other owners. Though all that time
Nat stayed in Southampton County.Nat Turner was a reverend, a clergy man of the church, for the enslaved people of the plantation. Nat Turner had said that he had received visions from God. He had received numerous visions from God that the slaves where to revolt against his masters and other white people. He received his final vision for the revolt on February 12, 1831, during a solar eclipse. He took the eclipse as a black hand reaching down he took that as a sign that the time of a revolt was then.
He had set a date for July 4, 1831. Do to issues about the revolt it was postponed until August 21, 1831. The Turner Rebellion just started out as four or five slaves, but by the end of the night the rebellion grew to over forty enslaved people. They broke into homes with axes, tools, and hatchets; they did not use fire arms. Nat Turner and his followers killed an estimated 55 white people (including Nat Turners owner, Joseph Travis). The Jerusalem Postmaster wrote a letter to the mayor of Virginia about the uprising of slaves. The State Militia came in and ended the rebellion. Nat Turner and his followers fled in all directions.
Because of the Nat Turner Rebellion, over two-hundred blacks were killed by white mobs infuriated with the rebellion. On top of that another fifty-six blacks were caught and executed that were expected of being involved with the rebellion. Nat Turner hid in the woods close to where the rebellion began. Nat Turner was captured on October 30, 1831, by a local farmer who saw him about in the forest. He held a firearm at Nat and made him surrender. On November 11, 1831 he was tried and convicted of leading a rebellion and slaughtering an estimated 55 people.
On November 11, 1831 Nat Turner was hung in Jerusalem, Virginia (now called Courtland, Virginia). Then Nat Turner was beheaded after being hung. Nat Turner died at the young age of 31. A minister and murderer, weird combination, but that was the life of Nat Turner. Nat Turner was best known the leader of the Nat Turner Rebellion; also some called him a messenger from God.
Oddities and Interesting Facts about Nat Turner:
n a time when nearly no slaves where taught to read, Nat Turner was taught to read by his master's son . Nat Turners real name was Nathaniel Turner. During the Rebellion Nat and the other slaves spared the lives of a family of poor white people. They did this because the white family owned no slaves. After the rebellion while Nat was in hiding he was known as the "Black Spartacus". Nat Turner believed in what Patrick Henry stood for, "Give me liberty or give me death."
Bibliography:
Wikipedia , "Nat Turner."
Wikipedia. 22 January 2009. Wikipedia
Foundations. 22 Jan 2009
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Turner>.
.com, Answers. "Nat
Turner-Biography." Nat
Turner, Slave.
2008.
Wikipedia Foundations. 22 Jan 2009
<http://www.answers.com/topic/nat-turner>.
Wallenstein, Peter. "Nat Turner's
Bio." Nat
Turner's Bio. July
1993. Peter
Wallenstein. 23 Jan 2009
<http://blackrevolution.net/BLACKREV/CFBR/PAGES/NTBIO.html>.